Candied Pumpkin in Orange-Piloncillo Syrup with a Cajeta Cream: Calabaza en Tacha, With an Extra

Walk past any ofrenda on November 1st and you'll find it: a clay bowl of calabaza en tacha, dark amber and glistening, next to the pan de muerto and the cup of chocolate. The name comes from the tacho, the big copper kettle sugar mills used to boil cane juice down into piloncillo — and that's the whole recipe, really. Pumpkin, piloncillo, cinnamon, a few cloves, and time. The sugar pulls the water out of the squash and sends back a syrup so thick it coats the spoon. It's the dessert our abuelas made because it needed nothing from the store.

Ours keeps every bit of that and adds an extra: orange juice and peel in the syrup for brightness, two guavas tucked in with the pumpkin (very ofrenda, very October), and — instead of the traditional splash of cold milk — a quick crema de cajeta: goat-milk cajeta stirred into Mexican crema with a pinch of salt. Warm pumpkin, cold tangy caramel cream, crunchy toasted pepitas. The syrup that's left goes over pan dulce the next morning. 🌼

Ingredients

• 1 small calabaza de Castilla (about 4 lb) — kabocha or a sugar pumpkin works too
• 1 lb piloncillo — about 2½ cups of El Huerto de Carmen granulated piloncillo, which dissolves in minutes (no hammer needed)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 whole cloves — El Huerto de Carmen whole cloves
• 1 orange — the juice plus 3 wide strips of peel
• 2 guavas, halved (optional, very ofrenda)
• 3 cups water
• The extra — crema de cajeta: ½ cup Mi Tienda goat-milk cajeta quemada + ½ cup Mexican crema (or table cream) + a pinch of salt
• To finish: toasted pepitas

How to Make It

Step 1 — Cut the calabaza

Wash the pumpkin, cut it into 3-inch wedges and scoop out the seeds and strings. Leave the skin ON — it holds the pieces together while they candy. Score the flesh side in a diamond pattern so the syrup sinks in.

Step 2 — Make the piloncillo syrup

In a wide, heavy pot dissolve the piloncillo in the water over medium heat with the cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange juice and the strips of orange peel. Simmer 10 minutes until it coats a spoon lightly.

Step 3 — Nest the pumpkin

Place the wedges skin-side DOWN in the syrup in a single snug layer, tucking the guava halves between them. The syrup should come about halfway up the pieces.

Step 4 — Candy it slowly

Cover and simmer gently 40–50 minutes, spooning the syrup over the flesh every 10 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender and glossy and the syrup has thickened to a dark amber. Uncover the last 10 minutes so it reduces.

Step 5 — Whip the crema de cajeta

While it bubbles, stir the cajeta into the crema with a pinch of salt until smooth and pourable — this is the extra that replaces the usual splash of cold milk.

Step 6 — Serve warm

Set a wedge in a bowl, spoon over plenty of syrup with a guava half, drizzle the crema de cajeta and finish with toasted pepitas. Just as good cold the next morning with a cup of chocolate de mesa.

The piloncillo, the clavo and the cajeta are in the shop — and everything else for the altar (Mexican hot chocolate, moles, atole, pan dulce, alegrías, ates, obleas, glorias) lives in our new La Ofrenda collection. 🌼

Taste the Fiesta!