By Kit Greerty ’68
Ingredients:
- 1 cup pureed ripe persimmons (about 3, with skins removed)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 8 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons rum
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 generous teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup broken walnuts or pecans
- 1 cup raisins
Instructions:
- Fill a kettle that is large enough to hold a 2 quart pudding mold with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the mold.
- Let the water come to a boil over medium heat while you are mixing the pudding batter. The mold must have a lid or be snugly covered with foil while steaming (I use a 2 qt glass pyrex mixing bowl with a lid.) Put a rack or mason jar ring on the bottom under the mold to allow the water to circulate freely while the pudding is steaming.
- Grease the mold well with butter.
- Put the persimmon puree in a small bowl and stir in the baking soda. Set aside while mixing the other ingredients (the persimmon mixture will become quite stiff)
- Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, lemon juice, and rum. Mix well.
- Add the flour, cinnamon, and salt and stir to blend.
- Add the persimmon mixture. Beat until well mixed.
- Stir in the nuts and raisins.
- Spoon the batter into the mold, cover and steam for 2 hours.
- Remove from the kettle, and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Turn onto a plate to cool, or cool just a little and serve warm. Serve with unsweetened whipped cream.
Story:
At Christmastime, the persimmons in the Alhambra Valley look like bright orange ornaments. My neighbor, Dave Hanna brings me a big bag of his wonderful persimmons and I get busy making steamed pudding for our family and neighbors’ Christmas tables. It is my signature Christmas dessert. My husband, Tom, loves to light the pudding at the table before serving it with fresh whipped cream. This persimmon pudding is dark, moist and spicy. It can be made ahead and reheated; it can even be frozen.
Tagged:
ChristmasRelated recipes:
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Christmas in Trinidad would not be the same without this drink. As a Trinidadian American, I try to preserve some of the traditions that I grew up with. Sorrel is one of those recipes that show up every year at the dinner table during the holidays. I remember vividly my family picking the hibiscus fruit about a month before the Christmas season. We would put the flowers out to dry and store it for use throughout the holidays. My siblings and I would also indulge in eating the hibiscus flower. The taste is both tart and sweet. Dried hibiscus can be bought online or in an international grocery store. Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is also called Florida cranberry, red sorrel, or sorrel, although it is actually native to Central and West Africa and is grown around the world.
P.S. The Roselle Hibiscus flower is also used to make tea and jams. Yummy!!
