Amaretto Persimmon Bundt Cake

baked goods, dessert, Gluten Free, nuts, persimmons, vegan Jan 11, 2010 0 Comments

O My Gosh- I have never eaten the batter of anything like I did this! Maybe it was all the liquor that had me licking the bowl clean!

The first time I had a Persimmon Bundt Cake was when my brother Chad (a P.E. teacher at an elementary school) was given one as a Holiday present by a student’s mom.
By the time I finished the cake there was still one more week left of Chad’s Winter Break- which meant I had to wait an entire week before getting the recipe from “The persimmon cake mom”!
During the first week back to school Chad brought me a bag of persimmons and a note that read: “Google Fuyu Bundt Cake”
Ah, yeah!
Thank you Mrs. Persimmon Mom!

The “Fuyu Persimmon Bundt Cake” recipe is everywhere on the internet, and was orignally published in Sunset Magazine in Oct 1978!
Wow, It’s been around for quite awhile- which is why I decided it definitely needed a facelift!

I changed the recipe around a bit to make it healthier and amaretto infused.

My version is Gluten Free and vegan.

I used Gluten Free Flour made from potatoes, which I find can taste a little too starchy. So I went extra heavy on the spices and liquor to cover the starchy taste.

Bob’s Red Mill is a fantastic brand that carries wonderful whole grains, oats, TVP, and all the baking ingredients you could possibley need.

Recipe somewhat adapted:

Preheat oven to 350
Grease and flour a bundt cake pan.

Combine and set aside:
3 cups of chopped Persimmons
2 t Baking soda
1/2 cup Amaretto Liquore (optional)

Beat until smooth
1/2 cup Earth Balance Butter
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs – Egg Replacers
2 t lemon juice
3 t vanilla
Mix into the persimmon mixture.

Sift
2 cups of Gluten Free Baking Flour (optional, can use regular flour)
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t ground cloves
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
Stir into the persimmon mixture

(chopped walnuts or raisins are a nice optional addition, 1 1/2 cups total)

Pour into prepared bundt pan.
Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 15 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack

I thought the Bundt looked a little, well, boring.
So I made a glaze to drizzle on top

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
Add Agave (or maple syrup) and Amaretto A LITTLE BIT at a time until you get the right consistency- not too runny or it’ll run right off your cake!

I like Big Bundts!

Erin’s Persimmon Caprese Salad

cheese, Gluten Free, herbs, persimmons, salad, vegetarian Dec 22, 2009 1 Comment

Erin? How should I start? We’ve been friends since elementary school and we’re now roomies.

She’s witty and sassy and most importantly has a true appreciation for healthy, local, organic food. Erin is sure to know how the cow in her bun was raised or if the cheese on her cracker came from a happy goat. When it comes to big farms, little farms, corporate and family farms Erin knows it all. If you are willing to listen, she’s sure to make any meat eater think twice before ordering a BigMac. The Truth.

While taking our stroll through San Francisco’s beautiful farmer’s market and seeing all the wonderful produce it was hard to decide on just one dish to make. Erin spotted the persimmons and knew she could whip up something creative with them.

Erin decided to put a twist on the tradition caprese salad (Italian salad of tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella) and added persimmons!

While at the market Erin stopped at Cowgirl Creamery, a store specializing in organic and local cheese, to grab the freshest mozzarella they had.

The sweet flavor of the fruit really mixes well with the tomatoes,

mozzarella and balsamic vinagar- well done ErBear!

Yields 6 servings

Ingredients

3 persimmons

2 beefsteak tomatoes- I hate the name 🙂

1 Ball of fresh mozzarella (buffalo if you can find it)

A handful of chopped fresh basil.

3 T olive oil

2 T Balsamic vinegar

2 cups of arugula

Slice the persimmons and tomatoes- discarding any extra watery seeds you’d like.

slice the mozzarella.

Toss well with the chopped basil, sea salt and fresh pepper.

Line a serving dish with the arugula.

Spoon the persimmons onto the arugula and drizzle with good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

emem good…