Anyone who knows me knows that putting together a Thanksgiving menu is my idea of a solid Friday night. I mean yes, there is usually a glass of wine involved to really get in that holiday spirit, but besides that it’s pretty much just me and my growing mountain of cookbooks. I know, I lead a very exciting life. This year I wanted to try a few different things in addition to the standard fare that the Thanksgiving feast is known for, starting with this persimmon cake.
Last year, I made three different kinds of desserts to go along with my mother’s beloved pumpkin and pecan pies because I’m an overachiever and can get a little tired of Thanksgiving savory flavors. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll munch down a turkey leg with the best of them, but cooking the same dishes every year can get a little bland so to speak. One of the desserts that I whipped up was a version of the magician Thomas Keller’s apple kuchen that he serves at the magnificent French Laundry.
This year I wanted to make it more my own and decided the easiest way to do that would be to nix the hot cream sauce and switch out the apples for a more festive persimmon. The results were fabulously delicious and if how quickly it got eaten is any sign, then I believe it was quite beloved as well.
Ingredient List:
- 1 1/2 cups flour + extra for dusting
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 6 tbsp room temp butter + extra for pan
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated if you can swing it)
- 2 ripe persimmons
- powdered sugar (for dusting)
Kitchen Tools: some kind of electric mixer (stand or hand), whisk, springform pan
Prep Work:
Preheat oven to 350*F. Peel and thinly slice persimmons. Coat inside of springform pan with butter and dust with flour.
Combine flour, salt, nutmeg and baking powder in a mixing bowl and whisk to even everything out. In a stand mixer or with your hand mixer, cream butter, sugar, and egg with the paddle attachment until mixture is light and just starting to get fluffy. Slowly beat in the dry mixture 1/2 cup at a time and add in the milk. Mix until ingredients are just combined.
Pour batter into buttered and floured springform pan.
Baking:
Bake for about 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool for 15-20 minutes then sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional). Serve and enjoy!
