We’re in the midst of a hellacious heatwave here in Southern California. Lots of sun and way too much humidity! (I had to look up the spelling of hellacious just now and my spell checker suggested hilarious. Now that is funny!)
So…I’m longing for autumn with all the oranges and browns and cinnamon and cardamon (shorter days and cooling trends!) that season brings.
My local Trader Joe’s, with their over-the-top tradition of stocking pumpkin everything in October kind of burns me out on pumpkin. (Truth be told, Pumpkin Body Butter is just a wee bit too outré for me.) So, this week I was quick to pick up some early persimmons at my local farmers’ market and impatiently waited for them to ripen. During that wait I came across this Claire Saffitz recipe for spiced Persimmon Cake and Juliet and I enjoyed every single bite.
It may not be autumn according to the sizzle recorded on the garden thermometer but it is autumn in our hearts. What’s better than that?
This Spiced Persimmon Cake recipe is a Claire Saffitz recipe from her wonderful cookbook Dessert Person. You can find the cookbook through your local bookstore or on Amazon here. Dessert Person is a must have in your cookbook collection if you enjoy baking.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen and shared with Blue Cayenne’s Chief Quality Officer, Juliet, who was rocking a pretty autumn-orange bow for the occasion.
Spiced Persimmon Cake
Ingredients
- 1 C. walnut halves
- 2 large ripe Fuyu persimmons
- 1 t. baking soda
- 1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
- 2 t. Chinese five-spice powder
- 1 t. Kosher salt
- 1/2 t. baking powder
- 1 C. granulated sugar
- 1/2 C. neutral oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 t. grated orange zest
- 1/4 C. fresh orange juice
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- Demerara sugar (for garnish)
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a loaf pan by oiling it with a neutral oil. Then, line the pan with parchment leaving long sides to hang over the pan and act as handles to remove the cake from the pan after it is baked. Oil the parchment paper and sprinkle the oiled paper with demerara sugar.
- Step 2 Roast the walnuts on a large flat baking sheet. You want the walnuts (or pecans, if you choose) to be well-browned and fragrant. Remove the walnuts from the oven and let them cool. Coarsely chop the walnuts. Set aside.
- Step 3 Prepare the persimmon puree by slicing the persimmons and scooping out the pulp and pureeing it in a blender. You need 1 C. of puree. If necessary, use a third persimmon to get enough puree for the recipe. Whisk baking soda into puree and set the mixture aside to firm up.
- Step 4 Whisk the dry ingredients (flour, five-spice powder, salt and baking powder) together and set aside.
- Step 5 When your persimmon/baking soda mixture has solidified, whisk the granulated sugar, oil, eggs, orange zest and vanilla into the persimmon mixture until the ingredients are totally combined.
- Step 6 Fold the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients being careful that you moisten all the dry ingredients and have a batter that is evenly-mixed. Fold in the roasted walnuts.
- Step 7 Spoon the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top of the batter with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the top of the batter with demerara sugar. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 60 minutes. You want your cake to have risen and you want a skewer inserted into the center of the cake to come out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes on your counter. After 20 minutes, remove the cake from the loaf pan and let it continue to cool on a wire rack.
- Step 8 Cook’s Note: The original recipe called for Hachiya persimmons.
