Bill's Favorite Persimmon Pudding
A baked version of the old-fashioned steamed pudding. Bill Kreck’s all time favorite dessert, and a Christmas Eve tradition in the Kreck household.
Ingredients:
3 large ripe persimmons, pureed
2-teaspoons baking soda
½ cup butter
1 ½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1-teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons brandy
¼ cup milk
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (unsifted)
¼ teaspoon salt
1-teaspoon cinnamon
1-cup raisins
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 2 ½ -3-quart, covered casserole pan. (Or, for a more cake-like version, use an uncoverd pan or mold.) Scoop meat from persimmons; discard peal, seeds and stems. Whirl in blender. Stir in soda and set aside. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, brandy, and persimmon puree. Sift flour with cinnamon and salt into creamed mixture and stir well. Add raisins and nuts.
Bake in a 2½ -3-quart, covered casserole pan set in a larger pan of boiling water. Center of cake will be more pudding-like than edges. (If using uncovered pan this will not be true - however cake will be extremely moist.) Serve either warm or cool, topped with whipped cream, ice cream or hard sauce. Serves about 8
Hard Sauce: In a small bowl, beat 1/3 cup softened butter until smooth. Slowly add 1 cup sifted powered sugar and 3 tablespoons brandy. Beat until thoroughly blended. Cover and chill until needed.
