This rich, classic dessert brings together two native North American foods: American persimmon and black walnut.
Want to gather your own black walnuts? My black walnut guide covers finding, cleaning, curing, and cracking them.
American Persimmon Pudding with Black Walnut
A rich classic dish made with American persimmons and black walntus, two native North American foods!
Servings: 10
Calories: 235kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups persimmon pulp Wild american persimmon or imported persimmon from grocery store
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon or to taste
- Pinch salt
- ¼ cup chopped black walnuts Optional: sub black walnuts for raisins, hickory nuts, etc
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the persimmon pulp, brown sugar, eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Do not overmix. If using additions, gently fold them in at this stage.
- Grease a 9-inch baking dish or pie dish with butter or non-stick spray. Pour the batter into the prepared dish and spread it evenly. (If using black walnuts, don’t add them on top)
- Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until a crust forms on the top. The center should remain slightly wobbly but not runny.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool before serving. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled. Reheat leftovers in the microwave, if desired.
Notes
This rich recipe is an amazing way to highlight both American persimmon and black walnut.
You can get black walnuts by foraging for them (with the tips in my article here) OR have them shipped directly to you through Hammons Pantry.
You may want to top the pudding with black walnuts on top, but I wouldn’t recommend that as directly roasted black walnuts can develop bitter flavors!
Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream for an extra-decadent dessert.
