Instead of (or in addition to) pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, serve something unexpected: persimmon pie with a sweet pecan streusel topping. I created this recipe and blog post as an entry in the Florida Crystals® Pure Joy Recipe Challenge. Be sure to follow Florida Crystals® on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
It’s almost Thanksgiving and it’s also persimmon season. So why isn’t persimmon more of a Thanksgiving food? While pumpkins and apples get all the Thanksgiving love, persimmons are just as much in season at this time of year. Sadly, these sunset-hued fall fruits are underrated and misunderstood despite their versatility. With a mild honeyed sweetness, persimmons work well in salads, baked goods and the common Fuyu persimmon can even be eaten out of hand like an apple.
Yes, the first thing you need to know about persimmons is that there are two varieties. The tomato-shaped Fuyu persimmon can be eaten while firm, so you can slice it or chop it for use in salads, salsas or fold it into cakes and quick breads. The acorn-shaped Hachiya is terribly astringent until it is completely soft and ripe. Once the flesh is meltingly tender though, you can eat it it straight with a spoon or puree it for use in baking.
I was excited to see a whole article on persimmons, complete with recipes, in the latest issue of Bake from Scratch. One sentence in the article really intrigued me: “Try substituting Hachiya persimmon for pumpkin purée in your next recipe that calls for it.” I don’t know about you, but my favorite recipe that calls for pumpkin purée is pumpkin pie. So, does that mean you could make persimmon pie?
Yes, you can and, in fact, I did. But unlike pumpkin purée which is readily available in stores, you will have to make the persimmon purée yourself. First, find some Hachiya persimmons at the store and bring them home to ripen – because they likely will be very firm. (One trick: place the unripe persimmons in a paper bag with an apple. The apple releases ethylene gas which will cause the persimmons to ripen faster.) Once the persimmons are squishy and and squeezable, after a few days, remove the flesh by cutting off the top of the persimmon and scooping it out with a spoon. Then purée the flesh in a blender to make it smooth and not stringy.
(I used four Hachiya persimmons and ended up with around 2 1/2 cups of persimmon puree. I actually cooked the puree on the stove a bit to reduce it to two cups and deepen the flavor.)
Once I had the persimmon puree, it was easy to create the persimmon pie. I just followed my favorite pumpkin pie recipe with a few modifications. While pumpkin pie is heavy on the ginger, persimmons pair especially well with cinnamon and nutmeg, so I limited myself to those spices. And as with my pumpkin pie, I sweetened the persimmon pie with both brown and granulated sugars.
I used Florida Crystals® Organic Brown Raw Cane Sugar, with its bold molasses and caramel flavors, and Florida Crystals® Organic Raw Cane Sugar, which also has a hint of golden molasses, to enhance the warm, honeyed taste of the persimmon. Plus, I thought: this is a Thanksgiving recipe – shouldn’t it feature sugar grown here in the United States? Every stalk of sugarcane that Florida Crystals® mills to make its sugars is raised on American soil. You can find Florida Crystals® sugars at your local grocery store – I find mine at Target – or online.
While this pie would be excellent garnished simply with a few whole pecans, as I do with my pumpkin pie, I decided to be a little more indulgent and top it with a sweet, crunchy pecan-studded streusel to add texture. There are few desserts that are not made better with a sprinkling of streusel in my view! While it does add an extra step, you can always prepare the streusel in advance and store it in the freezer until needed.
Have you ever tried a persimmon? Do you think persimmon pie has a place at the Thanksgiving feast?
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. (2 sticks) cold, unsalted European-style butter, cut into cubes plus plus 1 TB butter, melted
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 TB Florida Crystals® Organic Raw Cane Sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup ice water
- 1 TB red wine vinegar
- 6 TB all-purpose flour
- 2 TB Florida Crystals® Organic Raw Cane Sugar
- 2 TB Florida Crystals® Organic Brown Raw Cane Sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- Pinch nutmeg
- Pinch salt
- 4 TB butter, softened
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup Florida Crystals® Organic Brown Raw Cane Sugar
- 1/3 cup Florida Crystals® Organic Raw Cane Sugar
- 2 cups persimmon puree
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- :Pinch salt
- 3/4 cup half-and-half
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- To make the crust, combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Add the chilled butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Combine the vinegar and ice water and add six to eight tablespoons of the mixture to the ingredients in the food processor. Pulse several times until combined. Pinch a bit of the dough and if it holds together, you do not need to add more liquid. If it is still dry, add more of the liquid, one-half tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough to a bowl or a well-floured board.
- Knead the dough until it forms a ball. Divide the dough into two and wrap each half well in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator to relax for at least a half-hour but preferably overnight.
- Make the streusel: combine the flour, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and pinch together with your fingers until the mixture resembles damp sand. Add the pecans and stir with a fork.
- Freeze until needed.
- Make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a handheld mixer, beat together the eggs and sugar on medium speed for several minutes until the color is noticeably lighter.
- Stir in persimmon puree and spices and beat until combined. Add the half-and-half and cream and beat again until combined. Set aside.
- Remove one of the balls of dough from the refrigerator. (Save the other ball of dough for another pie or quiche.) If your dough was chilled for longer than thirty minutes, allow to soften for five to ten minutes before rolling it out. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate with melted butter.
- Liberally dust a pastry board or mat and your rolling pin with flour. Prior to rolling out the dough, strike it with your rolling pin to flatten. Roll the dough out, rotating it and turning it frequently and adding more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking, until it is the size of your pie plate and between ¼ and ⅛ of an inch thick.
- Carefully center the pie dough in the plate and press it into the bottom and sides. Tuck any excess dough under and make a crimped crust by pinching with your fingers or decorate the crust using the tines of fork.
- Chill the crust for at least thirty minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 and place a rack in the bottom third of the oven.
- Pour persimmon filling into chilled crust. Carefully transfer to the oven. Bake until filling is partially set and no longer liquid, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Crumble streusel over the top of the filling. Reduce oven heat to 350. Return pie to oven and bake until puffed and set, another 25-30 minutes.
- Place pie on a wire rack and cool completely before serving. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Full disclosure: I received Florida Crystals® products free of charge to facilitate my participation in the Florida Crystals® Pure Joy Recipe Challenge. I did not receive any compensation. All opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.
