A moist and chewy spiced pudding cake made from the delicious persimmon fruit. A perfect fall and winter dessert.
Have you ever made something for the first time and it turned out better than expected? Well, that’s exactly what happened to me with this recipe and it became an instant favorite. This pudding cake is super moist and chewy, similar to an English toffee pudding cake. There are only 4 tablespoons of butter in this 13 x 9 inch cake, yet it’s rich and dense like a brownie. The persimmon fruit is a very mild tasting fruit, especially when it’s baked, so I added some cinnamon and brown sugar to make it more flavorful. I’ve already bought another case of fruit so I can make the cake again as soon as possible, and it’s been such a hit, my family has also requested it for our Christmas dinner.
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The persimmon is a fall season fruit. I used the Hachiya type vs the Fuyu kind for this particular recipe. The Hachiya is the larger of the two and has a softer pulp texture when fully ripe. But, you have to be patient with this fruit as it can only be eaten when it’s completely ripe and soft all around. Make sure it’s soft around the stem area as well, as that tends to be the last part to ripen. If it’s not completely ripe, the fruit will have a very unpleasant, chalky, and astringent taste. Once ready to be eaten, the pulp will be soft and watery, almost like applesauce. The taste will be very sweet and mild in flavor, similar to pumpkin.
You have to enjoy this fruit fresh if you are not familiar with it. That’s my favourite way to eat and really experience this exotic fruit. Simply take off the stem, break it in half and scoop out the soft and deliciously sweet flesh with a spoon. There will be clear seed casings in the fruit which are edible, but if there are hard black seeds formed, they should be removed before eating.
This pudding cake is a perfect fall and/or winter dessert. There is just something about the scent of cinnamon and brown sugar in the house that brings me a warm, cozy, and comforting feeling. As I get ready for the holiday season, I will be enjoying this dessert with friends and family and I hope you do too.
Persimmon Pudding Cake
A dense, moist, and chewy spiced pudding cake made from the delicious persimmon fruit.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 55 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 min
- Yield: 18-24
- Category: dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 cups (500ml) Hachiya persimmon pulp (about 3 large or 4 medium fruits)
- 4 tbsp (60ml) melted unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (200g) lightly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar (see notes*)
- 1 tsp (5ml) vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp (15ml) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (2.5ml) salt
- 1 tsp (5ml) ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (125g) chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 13 x 9 inch glass baking pan.
- Using a handheld blender or stand blender, pulse the persimmon pulp to break part the seed casings and measure out 2 cups. Do not over purée.
- Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the fruit pulp, butter, eggs, sugars and vanilla. Slowly add to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold in walnuts.
- Spread onto prepared baking pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Check at 20-30 minutes. If the edges are browning too quickly, reduce the oven temp to 325F and continue baking until done. Enjoy with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
*Most readers love this recipe as is. Though I have received feedback from a few readers that have reduced the amount of granulated sugar by half (or even omitted it altogether) because they found the cake too sweet. So depending on how sweet your persimmons are and your taste preference, feel free to adjust the amount of granulated sugar accordingly.
Keywords: persimmon pudding cake recipe, persimmon cake recipe, best persimmon pudding cake, easy persimmon cake
Nov 16/18 – this post was updated with new photos and a video.
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I love persimmons! Is there any way this can be made gluten free? Thank you!
Yes, I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 baking flour. Enjoy and have a happy new year!
Hi there, I am about to bake this cake and there is a discrepancy in the measurements. You say 2 cups (250g). 2 cups are 500g. So what do I use 2 cups or 250g which is 1 cup??
Hi Lilo,
The weight of 1 cup of flour is 125 grams, and 2 cups would be 250 grams.
So use 2 cups if you are measuring by dry measuring cups, and 250 grams if using a weight scale.
The liquid measure of 1 cup is 250ml but the weight will vary. For example 1 cup of sugar is 200 grams vs 1 cup of flour which is 125 grams since sugar is heavier. I hope that helps and please feel free to email me back if you have any further questions. Enjoy and merry Christmas!
I baked this recipe earlier today for my family and it was a huge success!
★★★★★
Made this yesterday evening, followed the recipe as written and it turned out super delicious, hubby loved it. I was wondering, once these fruits go out of season, what could i replace them with to make it again? Got any suggestions? Thanks for the recipe, absolutely awesome!!
Hi Adela,
You’re very welcome and thank you for your kind words.Funny you should ask, I was actually thinking about making this recipe with mangoes because it has a similar consistency when pureed. You can also freeze persimmon pulp for later use. I hope that helps and feel free to email me back if you have any other questions:)
I made for the first time, loved how it turn out!
Recipe very well explained ❤️❤️I’m don’t bake.
I added 1/2 cup of dried berries & 1/2 cup of walnuts,
loved the results!
Made this yesterday. My family can’t stop eating it. Great recipe and helpful information on working with persimmons!
★★★★★
Thank you for your kind words Mary. I’m thrilled you and your family enjoyed it so much:)
Its awesome! I’ve waited all the year to have persimmons again to bake this wonderfull cake. It’s my boyfriends fav cake. Thank you for ur fantastic recipe!
You’re welcome Shireen, and thank you for your kind words. Have a lovely day:)
Silly question: How do I get persimmon pulp? Do I grate them? Juice them? Just blend them up? Do I need to cook them first? Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Thanks!
It’s not a silly question at all. Scoop out the flesh of a ripe persimmon and using a handheld or stand blender, pulse it to break up the seed casings. You don’t want to over puree it, just enough to break it up. Feel free to email me back if you have any further questions. Enjoy and have a great weekend:)
I made this recipe today and it was fantastic!!! Loved loved loved it!!! Thank you so much for sharing it. I made just one change to the recipe. I skipped the white sugar and I used 1 cup of turbinado sugar rather than the brown sugar (that’s what I had in my pantry). My husband who has a very sweet tooth thought that I could reduce the sugar a tad more. Next time, I will try just 3/4 cup of sugar. The persimmons were super sweet. This recipe is definitely a keeper!!
I love persimmons and this is the very first time I bake with them.
★★★★★
Hi Cherine,
You’re welcome and thank you for your kind words. I had another reader who also told me she reduced the sugar. I’m going try that next time to see the difference. Enjoy and have a lovely day:)
I was questioning on reducing the sugar by a quarter-will let you know.
Please do! I always appreciate feedback:)
I think the amount of baking powder was too much. I felt as though I had stirred it thoroughly but I could still taste it. And it wasn’t as dense as I thought it would be. Maybe 1 tsp. of baking powder would be best. I’ll have to try again. Thanks for the recipe though.
Hi Vanessa, Thank you for your feedback and I’m sorry it didn’t turn out the way you wanted. I’ve made this recipe twice with consistent results, but you never know. Everyone has different techniques and uses different brands of ingredients. So, I would be interested in knowing how the recipe works for you with just 1 tsp of baking powder. Please let me know when you make it again and have a lovely day:)
I’ve only seen the fuyu type in my area. Any suggestions of how to use them? I always eat them when they’re very firm, do I just wait until they soften like yours? Thanks!
Hi Crystal, I haven’t made this recipe using Fuyu persimmons, but yes, I would suggest waiting until they soften and purée well, so the pulp has the same consistency. Thank you for your question and let me know how it turns out. Have a lovely day:)
I adore persimmons, despite that here I eat them almost all year round, but In Russia they are sold usually during winter; and every time I eat it I think about cold winter))
Lovely recipe, Lily! Have a great week!
You are lucky to be able to enjoy them all year round. Thanks for the visit, hugs:)
wow this sounds so delicious! YUM!
Thanks and nice to meet you:)
Yummy! This looks so good!
Thanks Sarah, hugs:)
This looks like a perfect addition with, or even an alternative to, the pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner, or other Autumn meals! I really like the way they look! Everything looks so elegant yet inviting!
Thank you so much Dave. Enjoy the rest of the weekend:)
This looks so moist and yummm
Thanks SKD 🙂
I have never even thought of using persimmon in a cake. Sounds great!
Thanks Martina X:)
I baked with persimmon for the first time this autumn, I’m definitely going to do it more often (although mine took forever to ripen enough, it was like torture!), I’m going to have to try this one once I get my hands on some more. I’m definitely a persimmon convert (or kaki has my market called them)
Hey Michelle, a trick I learned from my mom on how to quickly ripen persimmons is to place the fruit in a plastic bag with an apple, the ethylene gas from the apple will help ripen the persimmons quicker, it seems to work:)
Ooh I will try that next time! Thanks for the tip 🙂
My favorite dessert at Fiesta Friday this week. Thanks
Thanks Tracey X:)
I love the look of this, even though I’ve never even tried a persimmon!
Thanks Claudia:)
Lily, I have never tried persimmon. I will have to experiment! Thank you for describing the flavor. I know I will like it!
You’re welcome Julie and have a great weekend:)
I too have a persimmon cake which surprised me at how good it is (made also with garam masala so doubly surprised). I am ready however to try a new recipe. I’m sure yours will be excellent.
Thanks Hilda, is your recipe posted? I would like to try it:)
Simply gorgeous! Just love persimmons and photographing them! 😀
Thanks Julianna, hugs:)
Hi! I just bought a few persimmon at the supermarket! Looks good! This will be my first time trying them! 🙂
Wonderful, let me know what you think, happy FF and have a great weekend:)
Thanks Lily u have a great weekend too !!)))
This looks lovely. I have just been cooking with persimmon myself, I love it’s deliciously sweet, smooth flavor and this looks a nice way to try it.
Thanks Caroline, its one of my favourite fruits.
I love those happy accidents! And I also love persimmons but have never baked with them. What a great idea, Lily! Thanks for sharing at FF! 😀
Thanks Tracy and happy FF to you too:)
Looks wonderfully delicious Lily!! I have never had persimmon, I thought it was a tomato at first haha 🙂
Tee hee that’s funny, thanks Arlene, hugs:)
Yum Lily, this looks FANTASTIC!
Thanks Jess, hugs:)
We’ve been enjoying persimmons this season and this cake looks heavenly!
Thanks Anjana, I think it has been a good season for persimmons because I have been seeing them on sale by the case every where. Thanks for visiting:)