Fall is literally pumpkin season all around the world and why not. There are beautiful varieties of pumpkin all around. My mother-in-law’s garden has three gorgeous varieties growing in her garden right now. However, okay wait; we are deviating, aren’t we. I also love Persimmons, which start making an appearance in the fall. They are these gorgeous fruits originally from Japan and Korea and are a distant relative to tomatoes.

There are multiple varieties of Persimmons in the market. The key ones are Sheng, Hachiya, Fuyu, and Saijo. I love the Fuyu variety for its sweet flavor –  it’s not- astringent and not so much the Hachiya variety which is really astringent and has a strong flavor – it can absolutely not be consumed unless ripe.

I have made this loaf several times and make small changes each time to keep it interesting. Also, based on who’s consuming my loaf, I decided to add/omit liquor. You can easily add a splash of Jim Beam to it to take the flavor up a notch. But this is purely optional and can be omitted.

Persimmon_Cake_Loaf
Persimmon Cake Loaf

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes
COOKING TIME: 45 minutes
SERVINGS: 1 loaf (my bakeware is 25.5 x 11.5 x 7cm)
DIFFICULTY SCALE: Medium

INGREDIENTS: 

  1. Ripe Persimmons – 2, pureed
  2. All-purpose flour/maida – 1 cup
  3. Semolina/Sooji – ½ cup
  4. Curd – ½ cup
  5. Brown Sugar – ½ cup
  6. Olive oil – ¼ cup
  7. Milk powder – 4 tablespoons
  8. Milk – 3 tablespoons, optional
  9. Pecan nuts – 10-12
  10. Dried cranberries – ¼ cup
  11. Cinnamon powder – ½ teaspoon
  12. Nutmeg powder – a pinch
  13. Vanilla Essence – 4-5 drops
  14. Jim Beam Bourbon – ¼ cup, optional
  15. Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
  16. Baking soda – ½ teaspoon
  17. Salt – a pinch

UTENSILS/EQUIPMENT:

  1. A mixing bowl
  2. A mixer grinder
  3. Frying pan
  4. OTG/Microwave

RECIPE:

  1. Take a frying pan and dry toast the pecan nuts. Keep it on a low flame and keep stirring so that you don’t burn them.
  2. Once they turn aromatic, keep them aside and allow them to cool. Chop them roughly after that.
Roasted_pecans
Roasted pecans

3. Take 2-3 Persimmons depending on their size and peel them. I took 2 since I had fairly large ones.
4. Add them to a mixer grinder and blend them into a smooth puree. I used the Fuyu variety, which was devoid of any seeds.

Persimmon_Puree
Persimmon Puree

5. Take a big mixing bowl and add the all-purpose flour and semolina. The ratio should be 2:1, feel free to change the quantity I mentioned based on your tin size.
6. Add in all the dry ingredients – salt, dry milk powder, nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well.
7. Take the brown sugar in a blender and turn it into a powder. Now add the curd and blend that in too.

Curd_sugar_mix
Curd sugar mix

8. Preheat the oven/OTG at 180 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes.
9. Add these wet ingredients into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients – persimmon puree, curd-brown sugar mixture, and olive oil.
10. Fold everything with light hands.

Cake_batter
Cake Batter

11. Now add in a few drops of vanilla essence, chopped pecans, and dried cranberries. Mix well.

Roasted_pecans_and_cranberries
Roasted pecans and cranberries

12. See if the batter has the desired consistency, I had to add 2-3 tablespoons of lukewarm milk since I felt that the mixture was too dense.
13. Now line your mould with butter paper and add the batter to it. You can add a few pecan nuts on top if you like.

Lining_cake_mould
Lining_cake_mould

14. Place it in the OTG for 45-50 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Remember to check it once after 35 minutes.
15. Let it cool for 5 minutes or so and enjoy fresh with a cup of tea.

Persimmon_Loaf
Persimmon Loaf