22 November 2006

Persimmon

Persimmons grow on beautiful trees with leaves long and glossy, folding in a drop-lazy curl. And in late autumn, turning coppery red and orange, these leaves make the perfect foil for ripening pink and coral persimmon fruit.
Today I went thumbing through my recipe book, looking for a fitting Thanksgiving Day dessert. You know. Something spicy and aromatic - something like...



Persimmon Pudding Recipe


3 large really, really, really ripe soft persimmons (remove the stems)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
6 TBS brown sugar
6 TBS regular sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup flour
1¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
½ cup milk
one large canning pot or dutch oven.
one-quart bowl

Directions:

-Purée the persimmons (including the skins) with vanilla, and set aside.
-Beat the butter and sugars together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg and combine till creamy.
-Sift the flour, soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a separate bowl. Add these dry ingredients, one
-third at a time, to the butter mixture, alternating with one-third of the milk. Add the persimmon purée mixture and mix well.
-Generously butter a 1-quart bowl. Pour the batter into the bowl, and cover tightly with a buttered lid or buttered aluminum foil.Place a small rack or small metal trivet in a pot taller than the bowl.
-Place the bowl on the trivet and add enough boiling water to reach the middle of the bowl.
-Cover the pot with a lid or aluminum foil. Place over medium heat on the stove-top, or bake in a preheated oven at 325°.
-Cook until set, about 90 minutes.
-Check the water level frequently and add more boiling water if necessary to maintain the same level.
-Transfer the bowl to a cooling rack. Remove the cover, and let cool until lukewarm. Un-mold onto a plate and serve warm or at room temperature.

13 comments:

Brine Blank said...

Great color...would look great hanging on a wall

HARDWAX said...

That's one beautiful piece of work Happy T-day, and the recipe looks scrumptious. Gobblegobble!

Anonymous said...

This is quite beautiful! Love the texture too. And I've been lucky enough to have had some persimmon pudding....Yummy!!

Anonymous said...

I love your persimmon tree. It reminds me of fire. Where I live we have wild persimmon trees but the fruits a very small yet they taste great.

The persimmon skins pucker up your mouth so it suprises me that you would puree them with the pulp. I'm going to have to try this delicious sounding recipe. An appropriate fall dessert.

S.

Janet said...

Beautiful work! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Anonymous said...

Years ago driving across Italy to Venice in the fall, I saw persimmon trees laden with fruit. They are one of my favorites, and I will eat them just as is, but your recipe sounds wonderful.
This year for some reason I haven't yet seen the soft ones in our local farmers' market but only the hard flat kind that I don't like so well.

valerie walsh said...

um-yum! this illo is so appealing,I love these colours and would eat anything you made! Your description sounds tantalizing!

Anonymous said...

persimmon is a great word... I have no idea what one tastes like; but a great word none the less

Anonymous said...

Your images are quite impressive. Very nice work :)

Thank you for stopping by my blog and commenting.

tsduff said...

How have I missed all this art? And from a crow lover to boot? I You make beautiful pictures.

Anonymous said...

That is beautiful. Such gorgeous colours.

Anonymous said...

Nicely done.

iamnasra said...

Im fasting today..just reading pudding it really is not helping..many thanks for your visit to my blog