Baked Pumpkin and Apples

By judith@hudsonvalleycooking • November 11, 2010 • 1 Comments

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Author Notes: I read about a Turkish dessert of pumpkin cubes baked with a lot of sugar. It looked interesting but too sweet. I thought that since pumpkin and apples come into season at about the same time why not put them together and decrease the sugar. I expected it would be good, so I brought my first try to a lunch at Hand Hollow Farm, a CSA in Columbia County NY. To my surprise it was fabulous. Ellen Poggi, the farmer, the next day described the apples pieces as sweet little pillows.
I had a 4½ pound cheese pumpkin and used ¼ of it to make this dessert. Both apples and pumpkins are round so you will not get nice neat cubes unless you waste a great deal of delicious food. I used the odd shape chunks both produce.
- judith@hudsonvalleycooking

Serves 6 to 8

Butter for pan
1 pound pumpkin - peeled
2 large Courtland Apples
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar - vanilla sugar if you have it
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cups toasted chopped pecans or other nuts

Butter a 10 inch or 1 1/2 quart pottery or glass baking dish and preheat the oven to 350℉.
Cut the pumpkin into 1 inch pieces.
Peel and core the apples and cut into 1 inch pieces. Both apples and pumpkins are round so do not expect to get perfectly square pieces of either.
Place the pumpkin and apples into the buttered dish and sprinkle with the sugar.
Bake for 50 minutes, until both pumpkin and apples are soft. Do not stir while baking. Cool to room temperature.
Beat the heavy cream, when it is beginning to thicken add the sugar and vanilla and continue beating until the cream forms peaks.
Serve the pumpkin and apples with whipped cream and nuts