Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Persimmon spice muffin recipe

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Last week we had dinner with Michael's cousin-in-law Julia, who has a big Fuyu persimmon tree in her yard in Orange County. She gave us a bag of hard orange fruit to take home. I discovered the next day that no one in my house likes persimmons. Uh oh.

I left a bag of persimmons hanging from my front doorknob for Dorothy from Shockingly Delicious; she left a tiny loaf of banana bread in exchange. (I love the barter system.) But I kept back a few to experiment with. And I'm glad I did, because these persimmon spice muffins are really good.

Fuyu persimmons are most often eaten raw, peeled and sliced like apples. So I pulled out my trusty apple cake recipe and went to work. In addition to cinnamon, I put in nutmeg, ginger and cloves, and I threw in a little wheat germ for good measure. The result: a moist, spicy muffin that smells and tastes like fall.


Persimmon spice muffins (makes 2 dozen)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil (preferably canola or grapeseed)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 6 firm Fuyu persimmons
  • 1/2 cup wheat germ
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 24-cup muffin tin (or two 12-cup tins) with cooking spray, or line them with paper muffin liners.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda and salt into a bowl.

Put the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Turn it on and beat the contents until the mixture is lemon-yellow and light, about 4-5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing only until the flour mixture is incorporated.

Peel the persimmons. For this recipe you want the persimmons in very small pieces; the easiest thing is to cut them into chunks and whizz them in the food processor for a few seconds. If you don't want to get out the food processor, you can grate them by hand, but I think you'll find that frustrating and perhaps dangerous for your knuckles, as the pieces are relatively small to start with. As a last resort, chop finely with a large knife. Add the chopped persimmons and wheat germ to the batter, and stir to incorporate.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin tins. Bake about 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then take the muffins out and finish cooling them on a rack. Serve at room temperature.

18 comments:

Monet said...

What a great idea Erika! I am going to try these as soon as I can get my hand on some of those gorgeous persimmons. They are such a pretty fruit! Thank you for sharing. I hope that you are having a great Wednesday.

Unknown said...

Beautiful muffins!

Paula - bell'alimento said...

I have got to pick up some persimmons so many beautiful recipes floating around {this one included} xoxo

Jean at The Delightful Repast said...

Erika, I love both kinds of persimmons but most of the recipes I've developed are for the soft kind you puree. I'll definitely be making these!

Nancy said...

Erika,

I have never cooked with persimmons before and these muffins look like the perfect dish to start with - I love the color and texture!!

Sippity Sup said...

I buy (and forage) a lot of persimmons this time of year. We always eat them sliced and raw and love them that way. But every year I always think I need to cook something with them. But never do. This is so tempting. GREG

Damaris @Kitchen Corners said...

My husband makes the best persimmon cookies. I will have to try your muffins because persimmons RULE!

Kate @ Savour Fare said...

I love persimmons, but I like to bake with the hachiya variety. The fuyus are good in salads.

Rose Forever said...

This is such a great idea. I used to bake persimmons cookies and I never thought of making it in cupcakes. Thanks for the idea.

Melanie Giant said...

Looks simple but really indulging. I should better add this to my to-do-list this weekend. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

My Grandmother made the best apple pies ever, her secret was tenderizing the apple slices on the stove top with sugar and spices, then baking in the pie crust. Sounds like this can be done for the Fuyu persimmons as well in what ever recipe one is trying to use

Anonymous said...

I got persimmons in my CSA box and had no idea what to do with them, so I made these muffins. They were PHENOMENAL. I make a lot of muffins and these were some of the best I've ever made. I'm going to add some chopped walnuts for crunch next time I get persimmons.

Erika Kerekes said...

Anon - I'm so glad you liked them! I don't put nuts in my muffins because my kids' school is nut-free and I want to be able to slip them into lunchboxes, but yes, you should absolutely add nuts if you like them. Whoo hoo, your comment made my day!

Dorothy at Shockinglydelicious said...

So does this mean I don't get your persimmons this year? I have dibs on them, if you get extras.

Erika Kerekes said...

Dorothy - if I get some, you get some.

BonnieBanters said...

What a fantastic way to use persimmons! As I've mentioned before, I have an International Mkt. across the street from me and have been playing around with exotic fruits and vegetables. I love the idea of the persimmons in muffins (one of my favorite quick breads/desserts), especially with the nuttiness and texture of the wheat germ! Bookmarked this recipe!

Anonymous said...

Love the recipe, but I used unsweetened applesauce instead of all that oil, snd added walnuts. Delicious!!

Anonymous said...

I made these and did it with the cooking persimmons. Did half brown sugar and half regular sugar. They were delicious! Make sure you fill the muffin tins as they don't raise too much.

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