Persimmon Pudding

American Dessert Recipes

2 c. persimmon puree 3 c. milk 2 c. sugar 2 eggs 2 c. all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. vanilla extract whipped cream for serving

My mother-in-law called and said, "Do you know what to do with persimmons?" Well, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade, but when life hands you persimmons, make persimmon pudding. Preheat oven to 350°F. Persimmon Puree Remove the skin and any seeds or fibrous core from the fruit. If your persimmons are nice and ripe, you'll nearly be able to puree the flesh with your fingers. Place in a blender or food processor to complete the process. Make the Pudding In a large bowl, combine the puree, milk, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients into the persimmon-milk mixture. Pour the pudding batter into a 9x13-inch rectangular baking pan. Bake at 350° for about 70 minutes: until center is set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve warm with whipped cream. Notes: This is one of those "gotta have faith" recipes. The persimmons, if you've never seen one, are a lurid orange color inside and out. Ripe ones are gloppy and weird looking on the inside. Beat into the pudding batter, it becomes a light orange color, a little like Orange Julius. As it bakes, it stays pale in color and puffs up high until the very end of baking, and then condenses into a dark, rich, not-quite-pudding but not-quite-cake either. Warm, with a little whipped cream, it's delicious and a little reminiscent of dense gingerbread.

Submitted by Gretchen Grant
Contributed on: Friday October 19th, 2007 and modified on Friday October 19th, 2007