Sunset Magazine's Fuyu Persimmon Bundt Cake

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Persimmon Bundt Cake
Sunset Magazine's Fuyu Persimmon Bundt Cake

Persimmon Bundt Cake
Containing fuyu persimmons, walnuts, golden raisins and lots of spices, my co-worker called it "Fall on a plate"

This is a Sunset Magazine recipe classic. (For those outside the Western U.S. states, Sunset Magazine is a gardening, lifestyle, cooking, home, and travel mag for those "living in the west." It's not pretentious and has some really good tips for West Coast gardeners who get all confused when looking at a pack of seeds and read "plant after first frost." What frost?) You can find a bunch of yummy recipes on their website!

And one of the perks of working in the library? I have a backlog and index to Sunset! I found a bunch more persimmon recipes from the 1970's and 80's! This recipe is from the Oct 1978 issue of Sunset. The article "Spicy cake flecked with persimmon" says the crisp (fuyu) persimmon is gaining in popularity! The Crisp Persimmon Cake recipe was submitted by E.F. of Palo Alto, CA.

The recipe for the Fuyu Bundt Cake is on the California Fuyu Grower's Association (CaliFuyu) website (I want to become their spokesperson and promote the delicious fuyu!) Get this super easy recipe here (Updated 10/2015 - I heard the link is dead so I inserted the recipe below).

Persimmon Bundt Cake
3 cups chopped fuyu persimmons (see this post for the difference between the fuyu and hachiya persimmons). The recipe says to add 2 teaspoons baking soda to the fruit and set aside. I've never seen this method before...does it help the baking soda dissolve? Anyone know?

Persimmon Bundt Cake Persimmon Bundt Cake
Mega spices: 1 t ground cloves (this is very powerful and you could cut this a bit if you want), 1 t cinnamon, 1/2 t nutmeg...with 2 cups flour, 1 t baking powder, 1 t salt. I used 1 c walnuts and 3/4 c golden raisins.

Persimmon Bundt Cake Persimmon Bundt Cake
The batter also include 1 stick butter, 1 2/3 c sugar, 2 eggs, 2 t lemon juice and 2 t vanilla.

Persimmon Bundt Cake
I thought the finished cake looked a little, well, plague-y. I thought about dusting it with powdered sugar but then I saw my bottle of maple syrup and made a glaze of powdered sugar (about 1 cup) and maple syrup.

Persimmon Bundt Cake
Fuyu Persimmon Bundt Cake

Fuyu Persimmon Bundt Cake Recipe
Adapted from Sunset Magazine. Also appears in Cake Simple by Christie Matheson

Ingredients: 
3 cups firm Fuyu persimmons (about 3 persimmons), chopped (NOT Hachiya persimmons)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup or 1 stick or 4 ounces butter, softened
1 2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup raisins

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare 12-cup Bundt pan by spraying it with baking spray or greasing and flouring the pan. (My favorite Bundt pans are Nordic Ware and my favorite baking spray is Bak-Klene brand)
3. Fruit: In a medium bowl, mix the chopped fuyu persimmons with 2 teaspoons baking soda. Set aside.
4. Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
5. Using a mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.
6. With the mixer on slow speed, add the fruit mixture into the batter. 
7. On slow speed, add the flour mixture and mix just until blended. It's okay if it's not fully blended as you'll fold the last ingredients next. 
8. Fold in the walnuts and raisins. The batter will be thick.
9. Pour batter into Bundt pan. Smooth the top.
10. Bake for 55-60 minutes until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
11. Cool in the Bundt pan for 15 minutes then invert onto cooling rack and let cool. 
Pin It!

31 comments:

Steph said... [Reply to comment]

Wow, that looks delicious with the chunks of persimmons inside the spiced bundt cake. I love how the batter looks.. could you please teach me how to incorporate flour into wet ingredients and make it look mixed without being overmixed?

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Plague-y....haha! Your posts are delicious and funny. This cake looks yummy!

Audrey said... [Reply to comment]

I've never baked with persimmons (not sure I've ever even tasted one!) but this would be a great way to try them. (I always think they're gorgeous!)

RecipeGirl said... [Reply to comment]

This is a very fallish sort of cake. I love it. Persimmons are something that I haven't yet experimented with! Love your site :)

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

Perfect, perfect timing on this post - I found some decent fuyus at Costco (way out here in CT), but I can't find my old photocopy of this recipe anywhere! Back issues of Sunset - what a great job you have. Thanks for posting!

Maria said... [Reply to comment]

Oh I love persimmons and this bundt cake is gorgeous!! What a great dessert!

Snooky doodle said... [Reply to comment]

This cake look interesting. I ve never eaten perssimons since they re not that popular here. Wish to try them though.

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

ooooh i love persimmons! this cake looks great! i love the combinations of flavors!

Mary Ann said... [Reply to comment]

This looks really interesting! A couple months ago we tasted persimmons just for the heck of it and they were yummy. Hmmm. I love the maple glaze, it really finished the whole thing off.

Rachael Hutchings said... [Reply to comment]

Mmmmmm, I absolutely LOVE fuyu and have been going through fuyu withdrawals lately (they are in season right now in Japan) until I found one at my supermarket a couple of days ago and had a mini feast! I'm definitely going to have to try this recipe!

Esi said... [Reply to comment]

I love this persimmon kick!! I can't wait to go home this week and have some of my mom's persimmon bread.

Audrey said... [Reply to comment]

Mary, I'm just back to say that I left something for you on my blog...and, in the meantime, to ogle this cake again. Thanks for all your visits!

jesse said... [Reply to comment]

Whoaaa, that looks sinfully yummy!

betty geek said... [Reply to comment]

You are one of my favorite bloggers in the whole wide world! This bundt cake looks absolutely AMAZING! Thanks for sharing and your descriptive pics are lovely as usual. I love the deep brown color of the cake. I am going to get some coffee and have a slice!xoxo!

Coco Cake Land said... [Reply to comment]

beeeautiful!! i love how much you the fuyu persimmmon. aren't bundt cakes the cutest? their little ridges, the way a glaze drizzles down... and they have a comedy name too. :)

Monica H said... [Reply to comment]

your drizzled icing looks perfect!

Heather said... [Reply to comment]

yum! that looks good. i've been seeing persimmon everywhere lately. i've never worked with it. but i do love bundt cakes and this one looks beautiful :)

Pamela said... [Reply to comment]

Just stopping in to say that everything you've been making looks simply stunning!! Amazing baking you've been up to!

Damaris @Kitchen Corners said... [Reply to comment]

a tutorial on food photagraphy please oh and a slice of that cake would also be lovely.

Nancy/n.o.e said... [Reply to comment]

I'm an East Coaster born and bred (well, my parents were both from Ohio) but I'm an avid fan of Sunset's recipes. My copies of Favorite Recipes and Favorite Recipes II are well thumbed and splattered. My chocolate chip cookie recipe and my banana bread recipe are both Sunset - and I've never found better versions of either one! This bundt looks delicious (and not at all plague-y!)
Nancy

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Thank you for posting this recipe with pictures. I'm making 5 of these for Thanksgiving. Too many persimmons and not enough recipes.

Katie said... [Reply to comment]

Oh it looks wonderful, all the fruits and spices mmm. Fall on a plate indeed.

betty geek said... [Reply to comment]

Please check out my blog. There is an award waiting for you, darling. :)

Jaime said... [Reply to comment]

i love persimmons...what an interesting way to use them. i've never had them in baked goods, i like eating them fresh, sliced like apples!

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Dear Food Librarian,

Do you by any chance have access to actual back issues of Sunset? I'm trying to locate one that has my picture in it (from when I worked there). It would be probably second half of '89 or first half of '90. Any ideas on how to find out.

I like your blog and the idea of baking from scratch. I've been adopting some new recipes myself, for healthier eating. All the best!

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

do you have access to a Sunset recipe for the soft mounded-style choc chipo cookies that were so popular in the 70's? The dough was shaped with an ice cream sccop and refrigerated before baking, leaving soft, high, mounding cookies.

The Food Librarian said... [Reply to comment]

And if anyone wants to know if I found Jenn Calling Home in Sunset? Yes! I got really lucky and found it! :)

Le Bon Garcon said... [Reply to comment]

That looks great! I love Sunset Magazine, I love bundt cakes, and I love persimmons. Thanks for posting this.

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Looks great will try it in two days Am on a persimmon kick . My friends cat is sick w kidney disease and has been eating a concoction of persimmions and gelatin( cooked) all week Shes doing much better Guess who's planting a persimmon tree?

I cant believe the vitamins in that fruit.

ME

Carlyn Clark said... [Reply to comment]

Sadly, the link to the recipe is dead

The Food Librarian said... [Reply to comment]

@Carlyn Clark Hi Carlyn, I typed up the recipe and added it to the blog post. - mary Oct 2015

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