California Persimmon Pudding

When i was younger my mom would occasionally serve us unfrosted yellow cake for breakfast. As you can imagine there were not leftovers at breakfast. Nobody said "i don't like this" on those days.

Now that you've had a little peek into my childhood you can understand why I'm posting Persimmon Pudding in the breakfast section as opposed to the dessert section. BTW respect the cake! In this day and age of science we have these things called multi-vitamins...

Anywhoo-When I told my husband that I would be making persimmon pudding he gave a very supportive "Oh?", but I could tell he wasn't so hearty on trying it. The reason is that he imagined a cup piled high with a persimmon flavored pudding like the instant Jell-O varieties so readily available in our markets. That's when I explained to him that "pudding" in this reference was more like banana bread, except moister. Think British "pudding".

If you can't tell by now I love persimmon pudding. Another little peek into my past: It reminds me of my childhood, it reminds me of my great-grandmother and her amazing house we visited weekly. I think she might have had a persimmon tree.

Persimmons are orange and kind of look like tomatoes. To make persimmon pulp. Just cut off the tops and scoop out the pulp with a spoon. Puree the persimmon pulp in a food processor or blender. I used 5 Fuyu persimmons to make approximately 1 cup pulp. Remember, California persimmons are bigger, so take that into account if you are using them. Enjoy!

P.S. This recipe also makes fantastic banana bread!

OK now to the recipe :D

ingredients
2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup persimmon pulp (from over ripe persimmons)
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup milk
½ cup melted butter
½ teaspoons nutmeg, or allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup chopped dates (optional)

instructions

Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar together into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl combine persimmon pulp, dates, nuts, vanilla, melted butter and milk. Add dry ingredients to permission mixture and mix to combine. Scoop pudding mixture into a loaf pan or 1 ½ half quart pudding mold. Bake at 350 degrees for 1-1 ½ hours or cover pudding mold place on a trivet in closed pan and steam for 3 hours.