Persimmon-y Goodness

Do you have any foods that make you think of Christmas? There are several that quickly put me into a holiday mood. Persimmon Cake is one of them.

My Grandma's neighbors have a persimmon tree and they have been gifting her with the heavy, orange fruit for several years. They make a sweet, dense cake and, because they ripen at the end of December, are a holiday staple at my Grandma's house.

When Bryan made his quick trip to California a few weeks ago my Grandma was kind enough to send with him some frozen persimmons from last year's crop. I couldn't find the family recipe for the first batch and made do with one I found on the internet. The cake was good, but not Grandma-good. I looked harder and found the right recipe, tucked into the back of a cookbook, shut away in a drawer. The kids and I have been enjoying persimmon cake for breakfast ever since.

Persimmon Cake

Mix:

2 cups of sugar (or 1 1/2 cups of honey or agave)

3 very ripe persimmons with the peel (I had about 2 cups including the liquid and dumped it all in)

3 Tablespoons oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

Add:

3 cups of flour

1 Tablespoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Mix thoroughly. Stir in:

2 cups of raisins

2 cups of walnuts (optional)

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. I got two full-sized loaves of bread from this recipe. My Grandma usually makes five smaller loaves. I would guess that the smaller loaves don't take as long to cook, but I haven't tested that myself.