Persimmons are like cartoon fruit.
They’re so bulbous, sweet and juicy that… I dunno… I have a hard time believing that they’re a real life fruit.
Every year around this time, my mom shoves giant bag of super ripe oozing persimmons in my hands and I’m left to figure out what to do with them.
Soup? Gross. Candy? Weird. Softballs? Possibly. Inside of the refrigerator decorator? Yes.
Bread? Why the heck not?
Persimmons taste like… sugar. That’s the best way I can describe them.
I used the rounder Hachiya Persimmon for this recipe. Fuyu persimmons are more squat and firm. They’re not for baking. They’re for eating like an apple or putting on salads.
This bread is delicious. It’s got just a hint of spice from ginger. It’s moist and sweet… and it has large, baked in chunks of persimmon fruit. Perfectly seasonal.
Ginger Persimmon Bread
adapted from Epicurious the website
makes one 9x4x3-inch loaf
1/2 cup persimmon pulp
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 9x4x3-inch loaf pan and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together flour and salt.
In a small bowl, whisk together persimmon pulp and baking soda. This will thicken the pulp a bit.
In a medium bowl…. (yea, we using a lot of bowls) whisk together sugar, oil, eggs, spices, fresh ginger and water. Once well incorporated, whisk in the persimmon mixture. Pour the wet ingredients, all at once, into the dry ingredients. Fold to incorporate. Once no flour remains, pour into the loaf pan and place in the oven.
Bake loaf for 55 to 60 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the loaf comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature before serving. Loaf lasts well wrapped at room temperature for up to five days.
Barb Murphy
I found the recipe on Epicurious . . . both yours and theirs call for 1/3 C. water, but neither recipe instructions advise when or if to add the water. Please advise. I love baking with persimmons; I make cookies and use the James Beard recipe for tea bread. But I’d love to make this one too, because I like ginger.
Eden
I have never tried one of your recipes that didn’t turn out perfectly. This recipe is gold!
My husband’s co-worker sent him home with a bunch of persimmons from his tree & I had no idea what to do with one. I had never seen one, let alone tasted one! So Google led me to this page & now I have to find a market near me that sells persimmons because my kids are begging me for more. I made this recipe into muffins, because they’re easier for my kids to run around with & they ate the entire batch (16 muffins) in two days!
Thank you for the delicious recipe! :)
Barbara
Water?
Jen
where does the 1/3 cup water get added?
Denise | Chez Danisse
When is the 1/3 c water incorporated into the batter?
Vicki kirkland
I seem to be missing a steo. Water is listed in the ingredients, but I don’t see where it is added.
Mary
Water is listed as an ingredient but doesn’t say when or where to add it. Is it needed.
Sally L Hernandez
I have a recipe similar to this that I have been using, it also calls for water. My instructions state that you add flour in increments between adding flour you add a portion of the water to keep it smooth.
Annie
I made these into gluten-free, and needed the extra water. I made muffins, instead of bread, as gluten-free can be hard to get leavened in loaves with fruit/vegetable purees in the mix. YUMMY!