Persimmon Pudding

I love working with persimmons - when you harvest them in the fall you can set them out in a cool, dry place and use them as they ripen all season long. If you have extra pulp it freezes really well and you can make puddings all through the winter as well. For our pudding at the restaurant we use the Hachiya (long oval shaped) variety pictured above. We have used the Fuyu (short and squat) variety as well, but their pulp makes a less juicy and firmer pudding.

This recipe makes 1x 9-inch cake

INGREDIENTS:
All Purpose Flour - 1 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
Baking Soda - 3/4 teaspoon
Baking Powder - 3/4 teaspoon
Cinnamon - 1 teaspoon
Persimmon Pulp - 1 1/3 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Eggs - 3
Milk - 1 1/2 cup
Cream - 1/4 cup
Honey - 1 Tablespoon
Walnuts (toasted and chopped roughly) - 1 cup
Butter (melted) - 3 ounces
Currants (soaked in Cognac or Brandy) - 1/2 cup

METHOD:

Preheat oven 325º F/163 º C. Butter and line the cake pan with parchment.

Make sure your persimmons are VERY ripe (they should feel like water balloons). Cut off the leaf end and scoop out the persimmon pulp with a spoon and pass it through a strainer to separate out any seeds. Measure out the amount of puree you need and set aside.

Sift all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl and making sure everything is room temperature, mix together persimmon puree, sugar, eggs, milk, cream, and honey. Add this slowly to the dry ingredients and whisk until there are no more lumps.

Let batter stand 10 minutes to thicken. Add drained currants, walnuts, and melted butter to batter and stir. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1-1 ½ hours or until set and coming away from the sides of the pan. The cake will set up more as it cools. If needed, warm pan to remove and unmold cake. Cut into slices and serve with whipped cream or crème fraîche.