Because we all had such fun with the Pumpkin Round-Up in October (and because I begged him to host a Thanksgiving one), Phyl decided to host a Thanksgiving Dinner Round-Up, all participants submitting their intended recipes, and Phyl gathering them all up for a post on his blog click here to view them all.
I wanted to do Persimmon Pudding for this event as it is such an Indiana kind of tradition...I had never heard of it until I moved here, but once I had it, I was hooked. It is delicious in a I-can't-explain-the-flavor-you-just-need-to-make-it-and-see-for-yourself kind of way. It reminds me of a mango, but not quite that intense in flavor, maybe a subtle mango flavor, a mango's second cousin who dresses down for every occasion.
Fresh persimmons (photo at the top) are only around for this part of the year (although you can buy the pulp frozen as well), so once this time of year passes, no one makes it anymore and you need to wait a whole year for it to come around again. It's sort of like pumpkin pie, everyone makes it this time of year and then you look forward to it the rest of the year until it comes around again.
Actually, persimmon pudding has a rather pumpkin pie-like texture to it without the crust. I am thinking you could put this in a pie shell and have persimmon pudding pie without any trouble at all. Might be an option actually.
There might be a Christmas Dinner Round-Up in the works as well, so stay tuned, or if you would like to participate, drop Phyl a note and he will include you in the line-up...and let you choose your favorite dish to make for it.
Persimmon Pudding
Making the Persimmon pulp mixture:
1/2 Tablespoon of butter, for buttering the pan
1 cup Persimmon pulp (about 2-3 Fuyu persimmons)
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8x8 inch baking pan.
Peel the persimmons, cut into large chunks, and put into a food processor.
Add the sugar, the egg, and the vanilla.
Pulse the mixture until it is smooth. Set aside.
Making the Persimmon Pudding:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon of unsalted butter, melted
Large bowl: combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Mix in the persimmon pulp mixture, 1/3 at a time, beating until smooth.
Mix in buttermilk, cream, and melted butter only until mixed.
Pour into the prepared buttered pan.
Bake for 45 minutes...will be lightly browned and puffed on edges, coming away from the sides of the pan.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Serve with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
