Calabaza en tacha

If the season has one dessert, it is this. A major Mexican food dictionary calls candied pumpkin perhaps the most important sweet of the Día de Muertos festivities, and it is often read as the sweetness of life and a thank-you for the harvest. The method is forgiving: pumpkin or winter squash simmered slowly in piloncillo with cinnamon until the syrup turns dark and glossy, with star anise, cloves or orange if you like. The name comes from the tachos, the big cauldrons it was once cooked in. It is a sweet offering for the living and the dead alike, so make enough for the family to eat once the altar comes down.