Persimmon Pudding Recipe

For a sweetened comfort dessert, dive into a dish of persimmon pudding.

By Jay T. Stratton
Fall 2018

Sweet and sticky persimmon pudding makes for a favorite holiday dessert. Serve it with ice cream!
Photo by Getty Images/sf_foodphoto

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

You can eat this pudding hot with the addition of whipped cream, or cool, accompanied by ice cream or yogurt. Crack the nuts and add the nutmeats, chopped fine, or position larger pieces on top of the puddings.

Ingredients:

1 cup persimmon pulp
2 tablespoons cream
1 egg
1 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
6 walnuts or butternuts

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes in individual, serving-sized bowls placed in a water bath.
If baked without the water bath, the puddings will have a richer brown color and come out with a more gooey and chewy (but totally acceptable!) texture.

Recipe Note:

To make persimmon pulp, remove the stems, slice the persimmons in half, and scoop out any seeds. Place the seeded fruit into a blender and puree. Sieve the puree over a bowl and press it though for a smooth consistency. Make sure the skin has been well blended! It's often the best part, but large pieces can be unpleasant.

Learn more about persimmons in All About Persimmon: Gather and Enjoy Your Own Divine Fruit.

Jay T. Stratton is a retired teacher and linguist as well as an amateur botanist and farmer who lives in Westfield and Rochester, New York.

Excerpted with permission from Pomona’s Lost Children: A Book of Uncommon Antique Fruits by Jay T. Stratton, published by Chautauqua Gorge Press, 2017.