Persimmon Pudding Cake with Dried Fruit

persimmon pudding cake with chokecherry sauce on a china plate

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5 from 4 votes

A rustic, baked cake made with persimmon pulp, dried wild fruit, maple syrup and acorn flour.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Brunch, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Acorn, Dried fruit, Maple, Persimmon, Wild Plums

Servings: servings

Calories: 257kcal

Author: Alan Bergo

Cost: 10

Equipment

8 inch metal mixing bowl this partially mimics the round shape you get from forming the batter into a ball in muslin, but is more accessible for home cooking. MAny vessels can be used.
Egg Beaters

Ingredients

8 oz 1 cup ripe persimmon pulp or another thick, slightly sweet fruit puree like nannyberry or mashed bananas
½ cup maple syrup or ½ cup of brown sugar
½ cup acorn flour you can substitute almond meal in a pinch
½ cup + 2 Tablespoons cake flour use all purpose flour in a pinch
2 large eggs
2 oz melted lard coconut oil or butter
Pinch salt
Dusting of sugar for the mold
½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup chopped black walnuts or other nuts, like hickory or butternuts

Dried wild fruit (use what you have on hand)

1 oz dried wild plums or ¼ cup other dried fruit
¼ cup dried wild blueberries

Spices

¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ of a nutmeg grated

Garnishes

Whipped cream
Chokecherry gastrique a rum and butter "hard sauce" is more traditional

Instructions

Soak the wild plums in water overnight or cover with water and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the wild plums from the water and chop coarse, then add the wild blueberries to the leftover rehydrating liquid and allow to soak for 30 minutes or so, until softened.
Combine the chopped plums, blueberries and walnuts if using.
Mix the breadcrumbs, flour and baking powder and reserve.
Mix the persimmon pulp and maple, then puree in a blender or with a stick blender to break up strands of persimmon, then whisk in the acorn flour and spices.
If you use a flour other than acorn flour, skpi the step of heating the persimmon pulp with the flour and simply mix the ingredients as you would a regular cake.
Heat the persimmon mixture until steaming and the acorn flour has thickened, stir in the fruit, flour-breadcrumb mixture, cover, and allow to cool. Beat the eggs until doubled in volume, then gradually beat in the persimmon-acorn-fruit mix and finally the oil or melted lard.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Liberally grease an 8 inch bowl and dust with breadcrumbs and a pinch of sugar. Spoon in the batter. Bake for exactly one hour, then unmold onto a cooling rack hot. Allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. It’s excellent reheated.

Notes

I have made this cake many different ways over the years with different, thick fruit purees, in a pinch, even thick apple sauce will work. Applesauce lacks the deep color of persimmon or nannyberry, but crabapple butter gets a nice color.

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