:: persimmon tea cake (adapted from local flavors) ::
ingredients:
2 large ripe hachiya persimmons (enough for 1 cup puree)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 cups organic white or whole wheat pastry flour (or half and half)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup (1 stick) good quality organic butter at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 organic egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated zest of 1 lemon
instructions:
preheat oven to 350°. butter and flour a bread (loaf) pan.
open the persimmons lengthwise, pick out an seeds, then scrape the pulp into a measuring cup, puree, measure out 1 cup and stir in the baking soda. combine the flour, salt and spices in a bowl.
cream the butter and sugar until smooth, then beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla and the persimmon puree. add the flour mixture and the lemon zest.
scrape the batter into the loaf pan and put it in the middle of the oven. reduce heat to 325° and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before digging in (if you can wait that long. i didn't. the bread was still steaming when i scooped it onto my plate. mmm.)
i'm serving this to the kids later with whipped cream for dessert. it has a gingerbread sort of a taste. very light and fluffy and yummm. you can't really taste the persimmon. it's sort of hidden in there with the spices. give it a whirl and see what you think.
p.s. look at these wonderful things. i want them all.
p.p.s the persimmons for this recipe came from our neighbors next door which is extra cool in my book for so many reasons. she has so many persimmons on her tree she doesn't know what to do with them and she was bringing them over in exchange for the baskets of cherry tomatoes we gave her last summer. i told her i'd figure out a recipe and that we'd do something with all those persimmons and here it is! later i will bring over the recipe and have a chat with her about making tea cakes for the neighbors or teachers at our schools, etc. tis the spirit.
have a peaceful day!
thank you for:
converse
handshakes
the kindness of strangers
(per gillian's gratitude project).
YOU. ARE. Killing. Moi.
I want some!!! And no, no persimmons trees nearby. I even love the word persimmons, it is beeeautiful!
Thanks for such mouthwatering recipes and photos. As usual. Sigh. Heavenly here it is.... xoxo
Posted by: Gillian daSilva | December 03, 2009 at 11:15 AM
I am drooling...you've done a tremendous job! Homemade bread is so cozy.
Posted by: alexandria | December 04, 2009 at 04:34 PM