tummy tues #2: persimmon pudding recipe via culinate

Today's recipe, Persimmon Pudding <3

Recently I bought the cutest little persimmon mochi from a Mikawaya shop in Little Tokyo, which inspired me for this second Tummy Tuesday post.

Today's inspiration!

Today I'm going to share one of my favorite recipes for Persimmon Pudding (okay, I admit it's the only persimmon pudding recipe I have tried, but it is delicious and I have not strayed!). I made it for the first time when I was working abroad in South Korea and happily surprised with the delicious results have made it couple of times since.

The first time I used a combination of crushed pecans and walnut--or was it almond?--and it turned out fine. I also like to add some chocolate chips. :D And I've mostly used the oven method (method 2 below) for ease.

Mmmm, melty chocolate chips...

The recipe comes from Culinate, a holistic food site that I like a lot for its honest and practical approach. They give great seasonal articles and recipes. From their About page (emphasis added):

At Culinate we’re engaged in an ongoing conversation about eating well. Our content — articles, cooking tips, interviews, recipes, podcasts, food news, blog posts — helps people put real food at the center of their lives.

After all, food is fundamental. We all make dozens of decisions about it every day: what to eat, where to buy it, how to prepare it. But there’s more to dinner than meets the eye. Where does our food come from? How is it produced? What does the phrase “you are what you eat” mean in the 21st century? 

Culinate is a community for eaters who are asking just these kinds of questions.
Making food choices that fuse health, taste, and the environment isn’t always easy, but it’s effort well spent.

yesss, look at that subtle choco+nut combo. enjoy!

Persimmon Pudding

By Kim Carlson, from the Culinate Kitchen collection

Serves	8 to 10
Total Time	1 hour

 

Introduction

This old-fashioned dessert recipe came from a neighbor with a persimmon tree, via another neighbor who whipped it up and brought me a taste. The flavors are of late fall.
Like Edna Lewis’ version of Persimmon Pudding, this dessert is essentially a steamed, dense cake along the lines of a Christmas pudding. The instructions here call for a jury-rigged version of a pudding mold, but you could also use a snaplock pudding mold. Or simply follow the second set of cooking instructions and bake the pudding in a dish inside a water bath.

 

Ingredients

	1½	cups persimmon purée (the pulp of 3 very ripe Hachiya persimmons or 4 ripe Fuyu persimmons)
	1½	cups sugar
	¾	cup butter, softened
	1	tsp. vanilla
	3	eggs, beaten
	1½	cups flour
	1	Tbsp. baking soda
	¼	tsp. salt
	1½	tsp. cinnamon
	½	tsp. nutmeg
	½	cup ground pecans
	½	cup raisins
	4	Tbsp. brandy (optional)

 

Steps

1. Halve the persimmons. With a spoon, scrape the soft pulp from the skins. Mash the pulp with a fork or your fingers.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, and vanilla. Mix in the purée and the eggs.
3. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; stir them into the butter mixture. Add the nuts, raisins, and brandy, if using.
4. Cooking instructions, version 1: Butter a standard-size Bundt pan and fill it two-thirds full with batter. Cover tightly with foil. Place a cake rack on the bottom of a large stockpot; pour boiling water into the pot and set the Bundt pan in the stockpot so that the water comes two-thirds up the sides of the Bundt pan. Cover the pot and simmer very gently for 2½ hours, adding more water as needed. When the pudding is set, carefully remove the Bundt pan and let cool before removing pudding.
5. Cooking instructions, version 2: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8-by-12-inch baking dish. Scrape the batter into the dish and place it in a larger baking dish. Put the stacked dishes into the preheated oven and pour boiling water into the larger dish so that the water comes two-thirds up the sides of the inner baking dish. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the pudding is a deep brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out moist but clean.
6. Serve with whipped cream, if you like, although a more traditional sauce would be Crème Anglaise or Whiskey Sauce.