persimmon bread pudding, bourbon creme anglaise


persimmon bread pudding with walnuts and raisins
kentucky bourbon creme anglaise


persimmon tree & view of cabrillo beach from alice’s home

“I’ve got persimmons coming out my ears!” After work, Sally and I went over to Alice’s to help her with her “persimmon situation.”  If we didn’t harvest the fruit, the birds surely would.

hachiya persimmons

Unlike the fuyu persimmon variety, the hachiya must be fully ripe to eat. An unripe hachiya is very tannic and has an astringent chalky taste. The fuyu, with the shape reminiscent of a tomato, can be eaten when it is still hard, like an apple. Just cut it up and enjoy.

The hachiya is another story. To tell the difference between the two at the market, remember that the fuyu is tomato-shaped and the hachiya is heart-shaped (h = heart = don’t eat when hard). So, the hachiya must be ripe, or it is really inedible. When it is ripe, the gooey flesh is a bit slippery, kind of like okra, and can be off-putting to some. But not us! We love this fruit with its more complex apricoty flavor, intense orange color, and mysterious texture. And I personally don’t mind a tiny bit of astringency, reminds me of a well-structured cabernet sauvignon…

persimmon bread pudding


Squeeze the pulp from the fruit. The slightly less jello-y pieces are OK too, as long as they are very very soft. If in doubt, taste, if  it is too tannic do not use it.

Whisk 1 1/2 c. milk with 3/4 c. brown sugar, 3 eggs, 1 t. vanilla, 1/4 t. salt. Add 1/2 c. raisins and 1/2 c. chopped walnuts. Mix in about 1 1/2 c. persimmon pulp and very very soft fruit. Add one baguette that has been torn into bite sized pieces and let the bread absorb the liquid.

Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan. Dot the top with butter and bake at 375° until puffed and cooked through, about 40 minutes. Let cool about 20 minutes before serving.

kentucky bourbon creme anglaise

In a medium saucepan heat 1 c. milk and 1 c. of cream together, stir occasionally and do not boil. Meanwhile, beat 5 egg yolks with 1/2 c. of sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow. Very slowly, so as not to cook the egg, add the warm milk/cream to the egg/sugar while continuing to stir.

Transfer the mixture into a clean sauce pan. Heat and stir until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat, add 1 -2 T. of Kentucky Bourbon.

Ladle sauce into a shallow bowl, place warm bread pudding on top.
This was a big local & seasonal hit!

And we still have more persimmons.
Sally, Alice, and I would appreciate any persimmon recipes you can share…ASAP!

21 thoughts on “persimmon bread pudding, bourbon creme anglaise”

  1. Persimmons have just appeared in the markets here – now at least I can see if they’re ripe! I think you could put bourbon creme anglaise on sawdust and I’d eat it!

  2. Thank you for sharing some tidbits about persimmons. I’m starting to notice recipes about them and don’t know how they taste or how to use them. I’ve saved this to file, as I know I’m going to need to refer to it. They look like a beautiful, complex fruit. Looking fwd to finding some in my mkts and giving them a try!

  3. I love bread pudding. Add persimmons to the mix and it’s a heavenly combination. I’ve always eaten persimmons fresh but I’d love to make something like this. Thanks for the inspiration! 🙂

  4. I love this! I just made a persimmon flan for my twitter #FlanFridays event… I’m not crazy about the fruit on its own, but it’s so great to work with in desserts! I love the creme in this, too! Nice.

  5. this looks so delicious! i’ve been craving bread pudding and anxious to try persimmon, ding ding we have a winner. will share this with others as well!

  6. I have a friend with a persimmon tree who used to give me lots and lots of these beautiful fruits and I never knew what to do with them other than eating them raw. I love your bread pudding idea, especially with that bourbon creme anglaise.

  7. I am a little late but just read this today 1.11.11…! it was fun to pick the fruit the birds almost got them all, I still have my “persimmon pudding” the two hour to fix recipe… frozen waiting to serve to my brother George when he and Patricia arrive from France..We are all done and the Persimmons are gone but I can still taste that pudding , Yummmy!

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