You see, this cake is supposed to be crooked. I’ve actually made this cake before and The Jackster promptly asked me if I had messed up because it was all tilted. I appreciate the confidence, Mom!
I quite like this cake. It’s fun and pretty and full of whimsy and class (black, white, and pink is just a classy color combo, don’t ya think?).
And I think this is my best piping job so far, if I do say so myself.
Congratulations Jes on your graduation!
When I was little, The Jackster gave me this book called The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon. It’s a Korean folk tale about a tiger who wanted to eat an ox but got distracted by a crying baby. The baby’s mother gave him a piece of dried persimmon which made him stop crying. So, naturally the tiger thought that the dried persimmon was some amazing fearsome beast. Hilarity ensues.
But anyways…I was a big fan of the book and since then, persimmons have always been a real treat, right up there with Fruit Roll-ups (still love ‘em!) or carob covered rice cakes (no joke, the Jackster would buy me those when I was little and I thought they were just about the greatest things ever).
So imagine my excitement when I walked into the store the other day and there they were! By the case. Piles and piles of shiny, gleaming, orange persimmons just sitting there. Naturally I decided that I should grab as many of these delectable treats as I could. So I bought a case. Fourteen ripe persimmons for me to do as I pleased. Which then posed a slight problem. What was I supposed to do with fourteen persimmons? We ended up eating a few and then I took a bunch and made this delightful coffee cake. It’s light, slightly sweet, and the persimmon flavor really shines through.
Persimmon Coffee Cake
adapted from Jessica’s Dinner Party
Combine the flour, sugar, and 4 Tbsp of the butter in a large bowl until it forms a loose crumble.
Take 1/2 cup of that mixture and put it in a small bowl. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the nutmeg to the small bowl and stir and set aside. This is your topping.
In the large bowl, add the baking powder and the baking soda to the remaining crumble mixture. Then add the eggs and persimmon puree until fully combined. I used fuyu persimmons that were really really ripe. You basically just cut open the persimmon and scrape out the fruit. Mine were so soft that I didn’t have to do much more than gently mash them with a fork.
The batter becomes quite a lively orange color. Pour the batter into a well greased 9″x9″ pan.
Sprinkles the crumb topping evenly over the batter and bake in at 375ยบ for 30-35 minutes.
