I actually made this bread last week, but work got very busy, as did everything else. I’m running a half marathon on Sunday, so I’ve been very wrapped up in training. Also registering for Graduate School, preparing for my 3 week long trip abroad… it’s no wonder I haven’t had much time!
Okay so my recipe this time was persimmon bread. Reading the recipe I was excited because it was so similar to the pumpkin loaf that was so delicious. But then… tragedy. There was literally no sugar anywhere in the recipe. And Persimmons aren’t as sweet as say, apples or something. But I decided mmmm, maybe it’ll be good. So I got super excited when I saw fuyu persimmons at Fresh Thyme (a grocery chain that’s similar to Whole Foods but maybe less bougie? IDK I’ve been to Whole Foods like twice in my entire life). I bought four and winced that it cost over $12 but soldiered on.
First things first I had to make persimmon puree, which the recipe did not instruct me on. I found a method online and this is what I did. I took the 4 persimmons and cut off the leaves and quartered them.
Prince REALLY wanted to photobomb. Plz ignore the mess on the floor my life is in shambles.
I put the pieces of persimmon into my crock pot and put enough water in to not-quite submerge the fruit. I also dumped in some cinnamon. I left it to stew for 6 hours.
Once they were soft, I drained them, then put a strainer over a bowl.
Boil ’em mash ’em stick ’em in a bread.
The pulp was being difficult so I pulled out the trusty immersion blender I “borrowed” from my mom. Then it was ready for the bread.
Flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon.
Separately, I put in a cup of persimmon puree. I still had 2 cups leftover, but it was tasty so I thought I’d just eat it like applesauce later. I did not.
Lots of oil. Don’t tell the recipe blog commenters.
Eggs and melted butter.
So of course the butter seized because it was warm and the eggs were cold so I actually used the immersion blender again.
Then I started mixing in the flour mixture.
All mixed up and ready to bake.
I was roasting some bell peppers for dinner, please ignore those. Unless you like them, I don’t know your life.
So I baked it for over an hour and when I took it out, it looked okay. I let it cool for awhile and tried a bite. I did not get photos because it was Not. Good. Like, it wasn’t gagging me, but it did not taste like persimmons and it just tasted like boring quick bread with none of the fun stuff like sugar or flavor.
I wasn’t even upset when Nubie got into the bread because I knew I wouldn’t eat it. The loaf got tossed. I still had those 2 cups of persimmon pulp/puree left. The next day after this bread failure, I opened Chrome and saw a recommended article. It was for persimmon pudding. I read the article, interested, and realized it was less custard pudding (or snackpack puddings) and it was a baked pudding, closer to bread pudding.
I figured, why not! I had just enough pumpkin puree left and I like baked puddings. So I made it. And Reader, it was good!
It filled a whole casserole dish!
I took it to my folks’ house to try and I brought whipped cream.
It had a more mild flavor, but the sugar really helped. The whipped cream gave it a good contrast. It’s best warm. Even though the bread was very disappointing, at least I got something very nice after everything! Here is the recipe I used for the pudding: https://gardenandgun.com/recipe/the-lasting-legacy-of-old-fashioned-persimmon-pudding/
Next week I hope to bake some good ol’ fashioned yeast bread, so stay tuned! I’m also hoping to bake a pie for Thanksgiving, so I’ll blog about that too since it’s from the old fashioned pie cookbook. Have a good weekend!
The Solo Geographer 