Persimmon Cake

This is often called ‘Persimmon Bread’.  It does resemble a ‘banana bread’ in that it’s baked in a loaf tin, and there isn’t any luscious, creamy frosting on top, but this recipe seems more like a cake.  It is very sweet, plus I also added a lovely brown sugar and walnut streusel on top.  This cake is perfect to bake and eat at this time of year. Apart from using the beautiful Persimmons that are in season, it also has spices that seem to be associated with Autumn. Cinnamon and nutmeg, paired with dates, walnuts and brown sugar.  This cake reminds me of carrot cake, and if you wanted to, you could easily substitute the streusel with a cream cheese frosting. 

This recipe makes two loaves or one 8″ square cake tin.  You could also make wonderful breakfast muffins. 

Persimmon Cake

• 435g S.R. Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 500g sugar
• 250ml melted butter
• 4 large eggs
• 125ml Rum
• 500ml Persimmon Puree (about 3 persimmons)
• 115g walnuts, (or pecans) chopped roughly
• 100g almonds, chopped
• 150g sultanas
• 175g dates, pitted and chopped

Streusel

• 300g soft brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 50ml melted butter
• 100g chopped walnuts or pecan nuts

1. Butter 2 loaf tins, or 8″ square cake tin.  Dust with flour, tap out excess and then line the bottoms with baking paper.  Preheat oven to 180ºC.
2. Wash the persimmon and peel them as best you can. (They don’t have to be skinless).  Ensure there are no pips, and then blend pulp in a food processor to make the puree.
3. Sift  flour into the bow of an electric mixer.  Add salt, nutmeg and sugar.
4. Add the nuts, sultanas and dates and stir, coating everything well with the flour.
5. With the motor running, add the melted butter, eggs, Rum, and the persimmon puree.  Mix until all ingredients are combined.  Pour mixture into cake tins. 
6. Make the streusel by mixing all ingredients and ensuring the melted butter is distributed throughout.  Sprinkle evenly over top of cake mixture.
7. Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 1 hour.  Check cake with a skewer, it will probably need another half hour.  Cover top of cake loosely with kitchen foil to avoid burning brown sugar and continue baking cake for another 30 min.  Remove from oven when an inserted skewer comes out clean. 

   You can turn this cake into a rich dessert by serving it with a generous dollop of mascarpone.  Eat it as breakfast with Greek yoghurt, or eat it simply as is for morning or afternoon tea!

Torta di Cachi

• • 435g di Farina autolievitante
  • 1 1/2 cucchiaio di sale
  • 1 cucchiaino di noce moscata
  • 500g di zucchero
  • 250ml di burro fuso
  • 4 grandi uova
  • 125ml Rum
  • 500ml puree di cachi
  • 115g noci, (o pecan) tagliati grossolanamente
  • 100g di mandorle tritate
  • 150g uva sultanina
  • 175g di datteri, denocciolati e tagliati
  • STREUSEL
  • 300g di zucchero di canna morbido
  • 2 cucchiai di farina
  • 1 cucchiaio di cannella
  • 50ml di burro fuso
  • 100g di noci tritate o noci di pecan
    

1. Imburrare ed infarinare due stampi rettangolare, o un stampo per torte quadrata 20cm.  Foderare i fondi con carta da forno.  Preriscaldate il forno a 180 ºC.
2. Setacciate la farina nella ciotola della planetaria e aggiungere il sale, noce moscata e zucchero.
3. Aggiungere i noci, uvetta e datteri e mescolare, coprendo tutto bene con la farina. Lavate i cachi, ritagliate il picciolo ed eliminate la buccia.  Frullare la polpa.
4. Con il motore in funzione, aggiungere il burro fuso, uova, rum, e la purea di cachi.  Mescolare fino a quando tutti gli ingredienti sono combinati.  Versate il composto nelle tortiere.
5. Fate il streusel mescolando tutti gli ingredienti, assicurando che il burro fuso è distribuito bene.  Mettetela uniformemente sopra la parte superiore della torta
6. Mettere in forno preriscaldato e cuocere per 1 ora.  Controllare la torta con uno spiedo, probabilmente avrà bisogno di un’altra mezz’ora.  Copra la parte superiore della torta con la carta alluminio di cucina per evitare che lo zucchero si brucia e continuare con la cottura della torta per altri 30 minuti.  Rimuova dal forno quando uno spiedo inserito esce pulito.

È possibile trasformare questa torta in un dessert ricco servendolo con mascarpone, o mangiarla per la colazione con yogurt greco!