Before I begin, it’s shameless plug time: November and December holiday baking classes are up on the In-Person Classes page, and I’m super excited about them! Come learn to bake pie, rugelach, biscotti, and more this season with your friends, family, and partners (or just by yourself, because you’re cool like that). There are even youth classes available! Sign up and learn to bake some of the cool things I talk about here and at market.

End plug.

Today, let’s talk about another cool heirloom squash you can use in place of pumpkin: the cushaw squash.

Old timers have been using cushaw for pies for decades. Real old timers (i.e. Native peoples) brought cushaws from Mesoamerica to the United States millennia ago, and have been using them in cooking for just as long.

But today, you might be more likely to find a cushaw in a decorative gourd display or, if you’re lucky, grown and sold by a farmer at a tailgate market to people in the know. And now, you shall be one of those people who knows.

These large, gorgeous squashes – weighing in between 5 and 25 pounds – are not just for setting around your Halloween pumpkins or Thanksgiving displays. They are chock full of mild, lightly sweet fruit that can be used interchangeably with pumpkin, butternut squash, and other winter squashes in sweet and savory dishes. I just made over a gallon of puree from one fruit, which I’ll be using for everything from pumpkin cake to soup to ice cream, and I’m not sorry about it.

The most difficult aspect of using a cushaw is probably its second-best asset (next to taste): the size. As mentioned, these buggers can get up to 25 pounds, although I tend to stick to fruits closer to 5-10 pounds. A vegetable cleaver will be your friend here in prepping these bad boys.

My favorite way of preparing cushaw squash (and any squash, for that matter) for puree is to scoop out the strings and seeds, slice the fruit into large rounds and chunks, unpeeled, and roast in the oven at 350 for about 1 hour, or until the flesh is soft. I scoop the flesh from the peel (you can use a peeler, too, but it tends to fall apart) and process in a blender or food processor with just enough water to turn it into a puree. (The water varies based on how moist your squash is.) For more detailed instructions, see my Homemade Pumpkin Puree post.

If you’re using cushaw squash for soup, you can prepare it in the same manner as for butternut squash: peel, cube, boil, and soup. Easy.

And now, for a cake recipe, because I love you and you deserve cushaw cake and all the cushaw things this season. (Psst – this recipe works great with pie pumpkins and candy roasters, too!) It’s a bit denser than a layer cake, and closer to the texture of a coffee cake, and great with or without the addition of the ginger buttercream. (A glaze or icing drizzle would do just fine, too!) Plus, you’re probably getting a lot of pie recipes around this time, and I’ll give you something a little different.

Enjoy!