Seasonal Fruit and Fruit Sweets

Oranges, sugarcane and apples are the fruits Mexico City names for the ofrenda, and their job is plain: whatever the season brings at the end of October is shared with the visiting dead. Fruit also turns into the season's smaller sweets. Tejocotes, a tart little golden fruit, are peeled and cooked with piloncillo or sugar and cinnamon, and purple sweet potato is usually made into a dulce. Both are cheap, quick and a good way to fill an altar with color without baking all weekend.