Dona Palmira’s delicious pumpkin and coconut jam

Better late than never, here goes my entry, Bridget… 😉
Pumpkin! When this month’s theme was announced, I knew I had to make the most popular dessert in Brazil – doce de abóbora com coco.

I had a hard time trying to figure out a name in English for it. Is it a compote? A preserve? Pumpkin in syrup?  With some help from my twitter friends, we came to the conclusion it’s a pumpkin/coconut jam or marmalade. Here in Brazil it’s eaten by itself, as a spoon dessert, sometimes served with fresh white cheese, and that’s the way I know it since… forever. If you asked me to get all creative, I think it would be delicious as a cake or cupcake filling, spread on a brioche toast or even as a waffle topping, why not?

Pumpkin and Coconut Jam (adapted from TV Culinária)

• 2 lb/ 1 kg pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cut in cubes
• 1 lb/ 500g sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 cloves
• 1/2 cup grated coconut

In a large pan, mix pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves. Cook over medium heat, always stirring, until the pumpkin starts to release juices and moist the sugar. Lower the heat to minimum and let cook, stirring every know and then, until the pumpkin turns into a paste, and a syrup has formed, 35 to 40 minutes. Add the coconut  and cook for 10 minutes more. Let cool and keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week.

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