Pumpkin Coconut Compote (Brazilian Doce de Abóbora)
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We all know that October is Pumpkin month! You walk around the city and you see pumpkins everywhere. Sometimes the sidewalk becomes this little stripe where the humans struggle to fit because the rest of the space is filled with pumpkins displayed outside a grocery store or something! So I can’t help but think of pumpkins 24/7! And I also can’t help if all my blog ideas involve pumpkin… It is not my fault, really! I’m being pumpkin brain washed! (Let’s see how many times I can write “pumpkin” in this post!)
In Brazil we are not as obsessed with pumpkin as the North Americans. Sure we have pumpkin and sure we have some typical Brazilian pumpkin dishes. We just don’t have that frenzy – that I absolutely love, by the way – that you guys have here!
One of our traditional pumpkin recipes is this Pumpkin Coconut Compote that we call “Doce de Abóbora com Coco”; which, if translated literally, would be Pumpkin and Coconut Sweet. However, I’ve decided that Compote is more appropriate. Compote is a french dessert made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. And that’s exactly what Doce de Abóbora is!
I grew up eating the best Doce de Abóbora in the whole world, made – of course! – by my grandma! She would send us a jar and I would eat in all sorts of ways. My favorite way of eating this compote is with cheese, especially with something creamy like requeijão, which is a Brazilian cheese spread that is to die for. Cream cheese is not as good as requeijão, so here in the U.S. I eat my Pumpkin Compote with Queso Blanco that is a Mexican white cheese that is creamy, soft and mild and it balances the sweet of the compote pretty well! It is also not hard to find in NYC.
But, please, don’t feel like you only have to eat this with cheese. You can pretty much spread this delicious compote over anything! I, for example, see myself eating this over waffles in the near future (like tomorrow!). You can also eat it with some crackers, making it the perfect afternoon snack!
Sadly, I have to admit that this compote, although tasting really similar to my grandma’s, doesn’t look like hers. :( After some research, I found out that in Brazil they actually use butternut squash instead of the sugar pumpkin I used, which makes the final result more reddish! So go ahead and make it with butternut squash (I’m guessing any type of winter squash would do) if you want it to look how it’s supposed to look. But if you only have pumpkins on hand, like me, don’t worry! It will taste the same! :) I just had lots of pumpkin that we got when we visit the Outhouse Orchards, so I had had had to use them! 
So what are you waiting for? Get yourself to the kitchen and start working on this amazing pumpkin compote! It is so easy to make and, while all your neighbors (or church friends, or pot luck friends, or sister-in-law that you’re always competing with) are making the same old boring pumpkin recipes, you will be making something new, delicious and exotic! Doesn’t that sound like fun? ;-)
Oh, and this recipe makes like 3 cups, which would fill three 8.5oz little jars! So, if you’re feeling generous, you can give some of them as gifts! In fact, by writing this just now, I just decided to give some as a hostess gift to my Thanksgiving hostess! I mean, if I decide to go somewhere instead of hosting my own! :-)
Pumpkin Coconut Compote (Brazilian Doce de Abóbora)
Cook Time:
1 hour
Total Time:
1 hour
Ingredients
- 1 small sugar pumpkin (about 3lbs) cubed - you can substitute for any winter squash
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 10 cloves
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 2 cups granulated sugar
16 Comments on “Pumpkin Coconut Compote (Brazilian Doce de Abóbora)”
How delicious is this pumpkin and coconut compote! I have only ever made berry compotes before.. you definitely have inspired me to recreate the recipe. Pinned!
Thanks, Thalia! :)
I didn’t know that pumpkin wasn’t as prevalent in Brazil, Olivia! But this pumpkin coconut compote definitely seems to make up for it! I love the flavors that are combined! Sounds way better than plain ‘ole pumpkin! :)
We have some pumpkin dishes down there. We just don’t have a “pumpkin season” and the whole frenzy about pumpkins that you guys have here (pumpkin everything, even coffee!). But after living in the US for over 4 years, I’m now obsessed with pumpkin just like all the Americans! (I’m writing that while taking a sip of my Pumpkin Spiced Latte! lol)
this looks so good, I have never made a compote before but all the flavors in there plus your pictures are making me drool!
I’m also not a compote person, but this one is so easy and so delicious that it’s worth a try! :)
I love the sound of pumpkin compote. I have never tried it but I can imagine how amazing it tastes! I am a big coconut fan so love the shredded coconut in here:)
Thanks, Kelly! :) I love the flavors of pumpkin and coconut together. They were meant to be! :)
This looks like a great way to use pumpkin – the color is lovely! I think I’m going to make this and try it with toast. Thanks, Olivia.
Thanks, Geraldine! :)
You totally have me sold on this compote! And it’s such a unique use of pumpkin in the flurry of pumpkin baked goods flying around the internet. Looks amazing, gotta try it soon!
Thanks, Rachel! It is really popular down in Brazil. :)
Oi Olívia!
Ha uns 8 anos tento fazer doce de abóbora. Já comprei varias variedades e nada fica como o nosso doce. Segui seu conselho e comprei a butternut squash, mas mesmo assim, não ficou com a consistência do nosso doce. Ele ficou mais purê, tipo batata invés de fruta, que despedaça. Não lembro se já tentei com sugar pumpkin, talvez deva tentar, mas ninguém aqui em casa gosta do doce por conta da textura que fica. Acaba virando pumpkin pie.
Você já tentou com alguma outra abóbora? Ah! Tbm fiz com a abóbora de halloween, aquela que a gente decora, mas não deu certo.
Oi Ana. Seu comentário me deixou intrigada, então fui pesquisar. A abóbora mais usada pra fazer doce no Brasil é a “abóbora de pescoço” e seu nome científico é Cucurbita moschata. Aqui nos EUA ela é encontrada como “crookneck squash” e é considerada um “winter squash” (assim como o Butternut Squash). Nunca vi dela por aqui, mas agora que sei o nome vou ficar de olho e tentar comprar uma pra fazer doce. Te aviso quando/se eu encontrar e os resultados! :)
Oi,
Amei esta receita e vou fazer assim que comprar abobora.
Vou experimentar com o Butternut squash porque é o meu preferido.
Para além do pumpkin pie e sopa, que mais posso fazer com o pumpkin enlatado?
Tenho cerca de 15 latas e gostaria de fazer algo diferente.