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Narsai David Food & Wine Report: Persimmon Pudding With Cumberland Rum Butter

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — This year I'm going to make a persimmon pudding for Thanksgiving Dinner. While persimmon may not be as American as apple pie, there is a variety of them grown on the East Coast of the U.S.

It's native to America, small, firm and really quite astringent. Historically it's been used for making puddings, so who knows maybe it's patriotic after all.

KCBS' Narsai David Food & Wine Report:

Persimmon Pudding With Cumberland Rum Butter


 

You can use a Hachiya or Fuyu Persimmon, but just make sure it's ripe. You don't even have to peel it. Just as long as you cut up the stem end and make sure it's not one of those persimmons that have seeds in it (there's a chocolate variety that contains seeds). Pureed seeds are no fun. Here's the recipe below:

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients:

1 cup persimmon puree
½ cup milk
1 TBS salad oil
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup nuts
½ cup raisins
1 cup sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup flour

Mix persimmon puree, milk, oil, vanilla, nuts raisins and sugar. Stir cinnamon and baking soda into flour, and then add to mixture and blend in. Scrape into buttered pudding mold. (Or use a buttered 203 quart stainless or Pyrex bowl.) Place into a pan with one inch of water and bake for one hour. Serve warm with a dollop of Cumberland Rum Butter.

This recipe yields about 3 ½ cups of batter. It can be divided into 3-12oz casseroles. Bake on a sheet pan at 350 for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This does not need placing in a pan of water. It will also make 12 cupcakes. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Cumberland Rum Butter

Ingredients:

½ cup brown sugar
½ cup butter (1 stick)
1 tsp nutmeg
2 TBS dark rum
1 TBS cream sherry

Cream together brown sugar, butter and nutmeg and slowly add the rum and cream sherry. Whip until very fluffy.

Note: If it starts to separate, keep on whipping with an electric mixer until it fluffs up like a butter cream frosting.


 

Narsai David is the KCBS Food and Wine Editor. He has been a successful restaurateur, chef, TV host, and columnist in the Bay Area spanning four decades. You can hear him Saturdays at 10:53am, 12:53pm and 4:53pm, and at 2:53am Sunday on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS San Francisco and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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