Pumpkin Compote (Brazilian Doce de Abobora)
This Brazilian dessert calls for just 2 ingredients! The end result is a thick, rich, all-out pumpkin flavored dessert that can be eaten plain or combined with other foods.
A few years ago, I spent a summer in Brazil (technically, it was their winter). One of my favorite parts of the whole experience – no surprise here – was the food:
- Brazilian pizza was my favorite – especially the calabreza.
- I tried Brazilian churrascaria (the all-you-can-eat meat skewer phenomenon) many times.
- Brazilian “maionese” (potato salad) was a lucky discovery: They would add olives, corn, pineapple, carrots, and other ingredients to their potato salad.
- I had my fair share of fresh-squeezed orange juice, at something like 30 cents a glass.
But the Brazilian desserts. Oh, the Brazilian desserts.
The custards, the goiabada with cheese, the vast array of ice cream flavors, the brigadeiro chocolate truffles… and the doce de abóbora.
About The Recipe: Brazilian Doce De Abobora
This is one pumpkin recipe that hasn’t been overdone (sorry, food bloggers!)
Pumpkin compote, or “doce de abóbora” in Portuguese. That translates to sweet pumpkin.
In this recipe, pumpkin and sugar are slowly cooked on the stovetop. Yes, this is a simple 2-ingredient recipe. Some people add coconut to the mix, but I prefer the basic version.
As the pumpkin slowly cooks, it softens and cooks down. Eventually, the mixture becomes jam-like. It’s sticky, sweet, and very pumpkin-y. Here are some serving ideas:
- Top a large spoonful of doce de abóbora with heavy cream (this is how it was served in Brazil)
- Mix a bit of doce de abóbora with cream cheese and use it as a bagel or toast spread
- Use it as you would use jam
Have an extra pumpkin laying around? Do yourself a favor and make this pumpkin compote. As a bonus, this recipe couldn’t be cheaper to make!
More Cheap Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin spice dessert pizza
- Pumpkin mug cake (gluten-free)
- 3-Ingredient pumpkin oat clusters
- Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with cream cheese frosting
- Moist pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting (A reader favorite!)
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Pumpkin Compote (Brazilian Doce de Abóbora)
I used a small pie pumpkin to make this batch of compote. But in the past I have used the pulp from a traditional large pumpkin (the jack-o-lantern type).
If the pumpkin is too hard to cut into, bake it in the oven at 350F for 20 minutes or so. Then cut it in half, remove seeds, and scoop or cut the pulp out. For this batch, I used about 5 cups of roasted pumpkin pulp, and 1 3/4 cup sugar.
Otherwise, if you can manage to cut and peel the pumpkin without baking it first, go that route.
Ingredients
- 1 small pie pumpkin, approximately 5 lbs (if you are roasting the pumpkin first, use about 5 cups of pumpkin puree/pulp)
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Cut pumpkin in half. Remove seeds and cut into several smaller pieces. Cut skin off.
- Place pumpkin chunks and sugar in a large cooking pot. Turn on heat to medium and begin cooking, stirring every few minutes.
- Continue cooking and stirring frequently until the mixture softens and cooks down into a jam-like consistency. This should take an hour or more. If you roasted the pumpkin first, cooking time will be less.
- Allow to cool and store in the refrigerator. This will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
That looks really delicious! Such an amazing recipe!
Love this recipe Haley, it reminds me of a desert my Ouma always used to make for us when we were kids, but I think she used honey instead of sugar. It was one of our all time favorite puddings served with a big dollop of Vanilla Ice Cream. Thanks for bring back those memories, pinned 😉