spice-a-licious persimmon cake.

ah, persimmons. i remember when i was younger, my parents took the kids to a persimmon farm and we were given some shears and a bucket and we got our own persimmons by the pound. i've alwyas loved this wintery fruit, it was a good substitute chicos, my favorite childhood fruit from the phillipines. so, i was excited to try out this persimmon cake i saw on a blog i was meandering through.

first step, i assembled my cast of characters for the play. i had all the ingredients including some over-ripe persimmons i got from my mom the other day. needless to say, i was excited to get started. :D

i decided to tweak the recipe a little and add some rum to the glaze. whoo-hoo for cooking with alcohol! it's probably cuz i'm such a light weight...i can't drink alcohol at all else i'll turn into a red tomato. damn my asian genes!! :( ps, i actually had to go through all six persimmons to get thin enough slices i was happy with.

next, i decided to put the ends and pieces in the blender (because i have no food processor), along with the rest of the wet ingredients. figured i'd put a puree in the cake mix to make it more persimmon-y.

after the blending part, i added the dry ingredients to the wet and poured that sucker on the syrup and persimmons on the cake pan. i got a little nervous about the outcome tho because the batter ended up being too much (hence the extra cupcakies on the side). And for good measure, i put it on a cookie sheet for any spillage. and boy, was i glad i did!

so after i did an allie-yoop, and topsy-turvied the cake, i was rewarded with a caramel top and a cake that was slowly deflating. i tasted the side cupcakes sortly after and it was a little moist, reminiscent of bread pudding. and spicy....lots of nutmeg and cloves spicy. i was a little worried about that part since i'm not too fond of overly clovey, nutmeggy stuff. After letting it cool down for a bit, i took a slice and tasted it.

-it was a tad too much clove

-because the persimmons burned a little during the cooking, it had a slight bitter aftertaste.

the ending result is more akin to a mexican bread pudding than a cake (must be the extra pulp in the batter). *sigh* if i do decide to try this again, i'd probably do without the pulp and reduce the clove and nutmeg by about half. or better yet, do without the spices and make the base from a regular upside-down cake. ah, well....onto the next experiment!

EDIT:
after tasting it an hour later, the consistency is still the same but the flavor is *much* better. definitely not one of those cakes you eat right out of the oven (well, at least for me anyway). and i've been thinking what the taste of baked, glazed persimmons reminds me of and now i got it: it taste like glazed sweet potatoes. i definitely prefer these fruit raw. :)

 
Upside-Down Persimmon Spice Cake
(from Vanilla Garlic)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 persimmons, peeled and sliced thinly
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and spices in a bowl and set aside.

2. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and sprinkle in 6 tablespoons of the sugar and cook, stirring until it comes to a boil. Pour into a 8x2-inch circular pan. Place the persimmon slices inside in a circular or sunburst pattern.

3. Using a stand mixer beat butter on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add the rest of the sugar and beat for another 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for 30 seconds each and being sure to scrape down the sides and bottom. Add the vanilla extract and mix in for 30 seconds. Reduce speed to low and add 1/2 the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated, Add the milk and mix in. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Pour batter over persimmons and level the top.

4. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until cake is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Remove it from the oven and run a kinfe around the sides. Carefully turn the cake out onto a plate. If some of the persimmon slices stick to the pan scrape them out and place them on the cake. Serve.