Oh bring us some ‘simmon puddin’
Oh bring us some ‘simmon puddin’
Oh bring us some ‘simmon puddin’
and bring it right now!
Now that I’ve discovered the incredible flavor that is wild persimmons,
That’s how I imagine that this Christmas carol would go if it had been written in the south. 
My mama and I made some plum (figgy) pudding a couple of years ago and it was such a fun, nostagic project that had plans to make it every Christmas from then on, but honestly, I wasn’t a huge fan of how it tasted. But this, y’all. Oh this. It turns out that European American settlers made this pudding all winter with the tiny squishy persimmons that grew wild (and that Native Americans had been gathering and eating all along) and, in my opinion, it’s SO MUCH more divine than the one they make across the pond. I tampered a teeny bit with a Saveur recipe and added some bourbon whipped cream, and well… I’d say it’s a holiday dessert MUST MAKE. Plus, although it takes a little time to cook, it is EEEEAAASSSY.
Note: If you don’t relish the job of foraging and then scooping out 2 cups worth of wild persimmon pulp, you can cheat and use store bought persimmons. I won’t tell.
- FOR THE PUDDING:
- Pulp from enough ripe persimmons to make 2 cups (about 5 hachiyas or Fuyu, OR about 3 pounds of wild very smushy ripe persimmons)
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 1⁄2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1⁄2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1⁄2 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- Pinch salt
- 1⁄4 cup heavy cream
- 4 tbsp. butter, melted
- FOR THE BOURBON WHIPPED CREAM
- 1 Cup whipping cream
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon bourbon
- Preheat your oven to 350°. Place a large roasting pan filled with water ½ way or other way to create a water bath into the oven to warm. (Using a water bath will keep the center of the pudding moist. You can also use a traditional plum pudding mold that is then steamed...google that if you want to know more!)
- After you've gotten the fleshy pulp from the persimmons (if you're using wild, you'll need to skin them and also strain the pulp for the large seeds) add it and sugar into a large bowl.
- Beat in the eggs.
- Add in the buttermilk and baking soda into a separate medium bowl, and stir. Add to pulp, and mix well.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt into the medium bowl (i like to reuse bowls when I can). Slowly add the flour mixture to the pulp, stirring until it's totally and thoroughly combined.
- Add heavy cream, and mix.
- Grease a 9'' X 13'' baking dish with a small amount of the melted butter
- Stir remaining butter into batter.
- Pour batter into dish.
- Place the baking dish into the water bath that's been warming in the oven, bake until dark brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour, 20 minutes. OR bake according to your traditional plum pudding mold directions.
- Set aside to cool. Serve with bourbon whipped cream. (recipe below)
- FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:
- In a COLD bowl and with a COLD whisk implement on your mixer (or your hand held emulsion blender) mix the cream, extract, bourbon, and sugar until frothy and until it has peaks. If you over mix it will turn into butter.
