This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy. My parents in Idaho and my in-laws in California both have persimmon trees (even though according to every tree expert, persimmon trees don’t grow in Idaho, but Mom babied her two trees and this year there are probably 100 beautiful persimmons on their branches). We love persimmons but up until this persimmon bread recipe, we were just eating them fresh. Have you tried them yet? They kind of taste like sweet pumpkins/apples – super delicious! It’s no wonder many Russian and Ukrainian people are smitten with them. One of my readers, Janna A., generously shared this recipe with me last year but we didn’t have any persimmons at that point so I held on to the recipe until persimmons were back in season. I love this recipe as much as Vadim’s very popular banana bread. The verdict: this one’s a keeper (in a make again and again sort of way)! It’s soft and moist, and every slice is studded with walnuts and raisins.Thank you Janna for this treasure of a recipe!
Ingredients for Persimmon Bread:
2 large eggs, room temperature 1 cup granulated sugar 1 Tbsp real vanilla extract 3 cups fuyu persimmon pureed (a little over 1 1/2 lbs) (DO NOT USE Hachiya persimmons) 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted 2 tsp baking soda, sifted to make there aren’t lumps 1/4 tsp (generous pinch) of salt 2 tsp cinnamon 3 cups all-purpose flour *measured correctly 1 1/2 cups walnut pieces, toasted 1 cup raisins
*Watch our easy video tutorial on how to measure correctly
How to Make Persimmon Bread:
Prep: Preheat oven to 350˚F. Butter two bread loaf pans. Toast walnut pieces on a dry skillet until aromatic and lightly golden then cool to room temp.
Remove tops of persimmon with a butter knife (I’ve broken the tip off a good knife doing this before, so I only use a butter knife now). Cut into quarters and puree (I use this blendtec to do it super fast). I love pureeing stuff in my blender because there aren’t as many parts to wash as with a food processor and it’s super fast resulting in a perfect puree).
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 1 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp vanilla. Mix in 3 cups persimmon puree and the melted butter (p.s. I did this in my mixer but you can totally whisk by hand).
Add 2 tsp of sifted baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt and 2 tsp cinnamon and whisk to combine. Whisk in 3 cups flour until blended.
Fold in 1 1/2 cups walnuts and 1 cup raisins until evenly dispersed and divide the batter between buttered loaf pans. Bake for 45 – 50 min or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min then turn out onto wire rack to cool to room temp.
So moist, soft and yummy. It’s a perfect breakfast or anytime bread! If you can’t make it right now, make sure to pin this recipe for later. You’ll thank me later ;),
