In the Kitchen: Persimmon Pudding Recipe
Persimmon Pudding:
Both fresh and dried persimmons carry a uniquely delicious and hearty flavor. Fresh persimmons have a smooth texture while our dried persimmons have a chewy, candy-like texture. While many people prefer to eat our dried persimmons straight out of the bag, fresh persimmons are outstanding to use in recipes; including the following persimmon pudding recipe.
The residents of the town of Mitchell, Indiana believe persimmons are so wonderful they’ve been hosting an annual persimmon festival for the past 71 years! While the weeklong festival is filled with many activities and decadents, the persimmon pudding contest is perhaps the most famous festival staple. We at Bella Viva Orchards have decided to feature a five-time winning recipe which has been entered by Eva Powell, a former librarian of an elementary school in Mitchell. The warm, richness of the pudding is full of sweet spices and your home will be left with an incredible aroma while it’s baking. So, try it out!
Cook Time: 90 mins
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
Pulp from enough halved persimmons to make 2 cups (about 5 fresh hachiyas)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
¼ cup heavy cream
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
Whipped Cream (optional)
*Dried persimmon slices (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Put pulp and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Beat in eggs. Put buttermilk and baking soda into a small bowl and stir. Add to pulp and mix well.
Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt into a medium bowl. Gradually add to pulp, stirring well combined. Add heavy cream and mix well.
Grease a 9” X 13’ baking dish with some of the butter. Stir remaining butter into batter.
Pour batter into dish. Bake until dark brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Set aside to cool.
Serve with whipped cream, if you’d like. Top each portion with a piece of dried persimmon slice.
*Note: The dried persimmon slices are added to the original recipe by Bella Viva Orchards.
SOURCE: https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Persimmon-Pudding