This recipe is adapted from one that Google turned up. It had considerably less butter and sugar than some other recipes I found, and it could probably stand to have even less sugar in it ... or maybe use honey instead.
2c. unbleached white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1c. persimmon slices (two medium-small persimmons)
1c. sugar
1/2c. milk
2 eggs
1/4c. softened butter
1/2c. chopped toasted pecans
1/2c raisins (golden and thompson)
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Mix together the dry ingredients, using what spices you like (the ones above are estimates of what I used) and sifting the baking soda/powder so it's not clumpy. A great trick for people who hate to sift: I use a small tea strainer, which is just the right size to sift a couple tsp of something quickly. Beat the eggs with the sugar and milk, and add the softened butter. Beat togther well, then mix into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Add the raisins and pecans and fold those in. Pour this into a buttered loaf pan and sprinkle a little extra sugar over it - it makes the top a little extra sweet and crunchy. The recipe I was working from called for 45 minutes in the oven, but my loaf took about 65 minutes total. The result was a little crunchy at the edges, but perfectly moist inside. If you were using a brownie pan instead of a loaf pan, 45 minutes might be just perfect.
A note about persimmons:
I'm really intrigued by persimmons. They are simultaneously beautiful, delicious, and quietly repellent all at once. I love the rich color, and the sweet apricoty taste when they are ripe, but I can't stand the stringent aftertaste of the acorn-shaped variety (Hachiya). These ones are great for baking, and also great for eating (when VERY soft) if you can stand the tannic aftertaste (I can't). I waited until I thought my persimmons were perhaps too ripe and even beginning to pucker, but they turned out to be just perfect. The non-astringent ones (Fuyu, or others) much less tannic and can be eaten sooner, but I've never baked with them. I'm not sure how a crisper, younger Fuyu persimmon would turn out in bread or pudding form - anyone else have experience with this?
Up next: Persimmon Jam!
4 comments:
persimmon pudding!
when i worked at a bakery and christmastime rolled around, out came the persimmons. we bought the ripest ones possible, and they were large and acorn-shaped; some even had black spots on the skin, but they were perfect that way. basically, the less firm they are, the better, was our experience (for baking, anyhow). amazing how the batter cooks up into something almost black... but so delicious! hope your holidays are fantastic, katrina. thanks for the recipe! sorry i don't have better persimmon info for ya ;)
p.s.) a great trick to getting the persimmon fruit out efficiently: using a small knife, held at an angle, cut the leafy bit at the top out, much as you would a strawberry. then take a large spoon, and while holding the persimmon from the bottom, simply insert the spoon between the skin and the persimmon flesh. begin rotating the persimmon against the spoon, effectively separating the fruit off of the skin. it works like a charm, once you get the hang of it! (i learned this from having to prep box after box after box of the things :P)
Woah - if you can scoop the pulp out with a spoon like that, I don't think I'm letting them get quite ripe enough. And don't get me wrong, the ones I used were goddamn SOFT and nearly melted on the tongue, but maybe I should let the next batch get even softer (and maybe spotty) and see if there's any difference. I just sliced mine up and left the skins on - no complaints there. Do you ever eat them fresh? Do you like them that way? I really *want* to like them fresh, but that tannic finish gets me every time :(
yeah, when i was little we used to eat them fresh, but since it was so long ago i don't remember a specific aftertaste, just that they tasted, well, persimmony ;) But i do remember that they were the smaller, rounder, lighter-colored ones, if that helps. I feel you on the tannic acid thing, though, i think- because recently i bought a bag of goji berries (because i'd hears such great things), and me and nat wanted to puke after chewing on them for more than 3 seconds. They tasted like acrid tea, or something... blecch!
And about the ripeness factor of persimmons: the boxes we would get had different levels of ripeness, but basically when you hold one in your hand, you definitely want to feel a little bit of give, and after spooning 30 or 40 into a big container, it would be a giant orange pulpy mass, not 30 or 40 persimmon-shaped mounds lying on top of one another. Am i making any sense? I can't even tell anymore :P
ok-love ya! good luck in persimmon land :)
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