A Date With A Persimmon

Persimmons for $1.49 a kilo? Amazingly, yes. I got these from the Victoria Street farmers' market yesterday, with visions of making... something persimmony. I read again Milliemirepoix on persimmon with cinnamon, and agree that two words that sound so alike must equal culinary magic. Persimmons are an "Arabian nights" kind of fruit in my mind, and I couldn't help thinking they would also be a good match for dates. And so they are. Persimmon and date spice cake -- how exotic does that sound? Exotic enough for me to interrupt my preserving projects and jump right into baking mode.

This recipe started with a Google search and a link to Andrea Meyer's blog. I used her recipe for inspiration, but twisted it around my own beaters, so to speak.

Another star in the fruit world. How simple and matter of fact; how beautiful. I made 2 cups of persimmon pulp by peeling and chopping 6 medium persimmons, adding a splash of water, and bringing to a boil. I then added 1 cup of chopped dates (no stones please), turned the heat off, and let them mingle for an hour as they cooled down and the dates absorbed some of the persimmon juice. So now the stage is set.

Even the compost was inspiring today!

HOW TO:
Prepare a big cake tin by either lining with baking paper, or buttering and flouring.
Set your oven to 160 degrees C -- or 325-ish F. This is a long slow bake.

Cream together until smooth-ish and fluffy

• 225 gm soft butter
• 350 gm sugar (2 cups -- yes, I know, but this is a massive cake).

Add and beat in thoroughly:

• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• the cooled persimmon and date mixture

Sift together into a separate bowl:

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 2 scant tsp baking soda

Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture, quickly and confidently, and stop just as they are combined. No frenzied beating please.

Put the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake until done. After an hour, open the oven door and slip a bamboo skewer (or something long and sharp -- I'm sure my mother used a knitting needle) into the cake. If it's got gooey cake mix on it when you pull it out, it needs more cooking. Check every five minutes or so until the skewer comes out with a few brave crumbs clinging onto it. It's ready. This one took an hour and 20 minutes. But it was well worth the wait. The house was fragrant with spice and subtle sweetness. And out of the oven came the biggest cake I've seen in a long time.

Terrible photo, I know, but it shows the grandeur of a big tall cake, studded with bits of date and persimmon, moist and crumby, the spices and fruit very compatible.

A drizzle of maple yogurt, and it was fit for a king. Or queen. It is her birthday afterall.

Happy Birthday to the Queen.