Practicing Patience with Persimmons

Two years ago I planted two Persimmon trees. One is called Nikita’s Gift and it’s a Fuyu type of Persimmon. They are the ones that have fruit that is light orange in colour and their shape is squat like a Tomato. You tend to eat them when they are hard, sliced in salads etc.

The other tree is a Hachiya type (I forget the name). Its fruits are darker orange in colour and their shape tends to be elongated to a point. You eat these when they are soft.

Even without fruit I can wholeheartedly recommend a Persimmon tree. They’re small and slow growing (so not much pruning needed). Their leaves are thick and glossy and healthy-looking. Their Autumn colour is amazing too.

Neither tree flowered this year, and so there are no fruit on any of the trees. I’m practicing patience. Except, that when I went to the grocery store the other day I noticed there were the Fuyu type of Persimmon for sale. So I bought some. I’m thinking once my trees start producing I will have lots of Persimmons so I had better start practicing with some recipes now. Right?

I discovered that most recipes use the Hachiya type of Persimmon. They’re easier to deal with in a cooking sense. You just halve them and scoop out the mushy middle. It’s a bit like having a pre-cooked pumpkin just ready to throw in a pie. There are tons of recipes out there for Hachiya.

Not so many for the humble Fuyu. At this point I’m glad to be practicing – don’t want to be left with a glut of Fuyu and no recipes to hand, do I?

I did find one – a bundt (honestly I’ve never made one, even though, inexplicably, I own a bundt tin). So off we go, making a bundt using cubed Fuyu Persimmon. I’ve adapted the recipe to omit ingredients that I know my children (and in some cases husband!) will not eat. I do however know someone who will definitely eat it, the minute I leave the room!

Here’s my version:

Persimmon (Fuyu) Spiced Bundt

• 3 Fuyu Persimmons, peeled and cubed
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (soft)
• 1 2/3 cups of baking sugar (caster sugar to you and I)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup chopped apricots

Method:

1. Butter the bundt tin then dust with flour. Preheat oven to 350F
2. In a bowl mix the cubed Persimmon with the baking soda.
3. Better the butter and sugar until creamed. Add the eggs, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat again.
4. Fold in the Persimmon mix.
5. Sift flour, bakin powder, salt, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
6. Stir flour mix into Persimmon mix.
7. Stir in Walnuts and Apricots.
8. Pour into prepared tin and bake for about an hour.
9. Cool in tin for 10 mins then turn onto a wire rack, dust with powdered sugar (icing sugar).
10. Eat at will.