Persimmon Bread

We had a huge amount of persimmon picked this past fall , and with a freezer still packed with their sweet pulp i search for ideas on what to make.

I'll share the pudding recipe in the next few weeks but today i picked a recipe from James Beard's cookbook "Beard on Bread", his amazing persimmon bread. I've made it once before, a while back and almost forgot about it! My kitchen smelled so good from the aroma of the sweet persimmons, the nutmeg and the brandy... if only i could figure out a way of eating that aroma...

Ingredients:
Adapted from "Beard on Bread" persimmon bread recipe

3 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of fresh ground nutmeg
2 1/2 cups of sugar
1 cup of melted unsalted butter and cooled to room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
2/3 cup of brandy, bourbon or whiskey
2 cups of persimmon puree
2 cups of pecans, toasted and chopped

2 cups of diced dried fruits( raisins, apricots, cranberries or dates)

Persimmon Puree

Butter 2 loaf pans and dust with flour.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Sift the first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Make a well in the center then stir in the butter, eggs, liquor, persimmon puree.
And then the nuts and dried fruits. Mix it well.

Pour into 2 prepared pans and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let persimmon bread rest 10 minutes before cutting it.