Persimmon Bread With Walnuts and Dates
Persimmon Bread With Walnuts and Dates
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup (8.3 ounces) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 cup very ripe Hachiya persimmon puree (cut the persimmon in half, scoop out the fruit and puree it in a food processor)
- 1/3 cup orange juice (Don’t substitute with water or milk. The baking soda is activated by the acid in the orange juice)
- 1/2 cup Megjool dates, cut small
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Topping Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
Instructions
Cut out a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of an 9″ by 5″ loaf pan. Butter the bottom of the pan (it’s not necessary to do the sides) and lay the parchment at the bottom and butter the parchment.
Place flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves in a large bowl and mix together.
Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the persimmon puree and mix. Add the orange juice and mix. The batter will look curdled.*
Stir the wet and dry ingredients together by hand just until mixed. Fold in the dates and nuts. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons of sugar and tablespoon of chopped walnuts.
Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 70 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool ten minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on baking rack.
Note: Persimmon bread is much pickier than other quick breads. It wants to be made like a cake where you cream the butter and sugar and add the eggs one at a time verses mixing all the wet ingredients together at one time, then combining them with the dry. If you try to do it the usual way, it can turn out very dense like it didn’t rise at all.
Persimmon lesson:
Wait a few weeks if necessary until these Hachiya persimmons are very soft and use the pulp for baking muffins and bread.
Eat these fuyu persimmons (with skin on) like an apple or cut up in salads when they are only slightly soft so they are fully ripened and sweet but still crunchy.
