I don’t consider myself a baking sort of cook. My loose style is more suited to the stovetop, but when I find a simple cake with a moist crumb that turns out well without a lot of fuss, I’m eager to make it over and over. This is one such cake. The original calls for Hachiya persimmons (normally used for baking), but you can easily substitute Fuyus.  Just let them sit on the counter or in the fridge until they’ve matured to an ultra-soft consistency, then cut out the stem and scoop the gelatinous flesh out with a spoon. The fruit skin will look shrunken and bright lava orange when they’re ready.

Serves 10

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups fresh persimmon pulp (scooped from ripe persimmon fruit)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 ¾ cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¾ cup walnuts, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• ½ teaspoon orange zest
• Confectioner’s sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 ° F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake layer pan.
2. Place persimmon pulp into a small bowl with baking soda and mix until well blended. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the persimmon mix (which will have jelled) and mix together briefly.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together in a bowl, breaking up any lumps. On low speed, slowly add the flour mix to the persimmon mix, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl, once or twice. Fold in nuts and citrus zests. Batter will be thick.
5. Spoon batter into prepared pan, spread out evenly and smooth the surface. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out on the rack to cool fully. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.