Brown Sugar Spiced Persimmon Bread

Spiced persimmon bread is made with brown sugar, and warm, cozy spices. It’s easy to make and no mixer is necessary! You have wet ingredients in one bowl and dry ingredients in another bowl. Combine the two, bake, and you have a delicious persimmon bread. Enjoy a slice for breakfast, dessert or as an afternoon snack!

Want some more quick bread recipes? You’ll love my Cardamom Banana Bread, Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Zucchini Bread, or Brown Butter Cinnamon Rye Banana Bread!

Hachiya vs Fuyu Persimmons

Hachiya persimmons are acorn-shaped and bright, red-orange. They’re only in season between October and February, but the pulp is freezable so you can bake with them throughout the year.

Hachiyas contain tannins which makes them highly astringent and inedible if they’re eaten before they’re completely ripe. If you eat an unripe Hachiya, it’ll make your mouth feel dry when you bite into it.

The flesh of a ripe Hachiya is very soft and squishy which makes it perfect for baking cookies, muffins or bread. They’re also delicious to eat fresh (I literally had one with my breakfast this morning and it was so sweet!). Hachiyas have a stronger persimmon flavor and are much sweeter than the Fuyu persimmons.

Fuyu persimmons are round and squat and resemble a tomato in shape. They’re in season from early October to late December, and turn a deep orange color when they’re full ripe. Unlike Hachiya, you can eat Fuyu persimmons when they’re still firm or wait until they soften up. They can be eaten raw, roasted or even dehydrated into persimmon chips.

How To Know When Hachiya Persimmons Are Ripe?

Hachiya persimmons look perfect when they’re not ripe. Their skin is smooth, and their texture is firm. They become less appealing when they’re ripe and ready to eat. The skin mottles and they get super soft and squishy. Just remember this – when they look good, they taste awful and when they look awful, they taste good.

To ripen a Hachiya persimmon, set it out on the counter, stem-side down, for a few days or until they’re squishy and ripe. They’re more of a light-orange when they’re not ripe turn a reddish-orange color when they’re ripe.

What to Do with Hachiya Persimmons

Make persimmon bread, obviously! Hachiyas also make great cookies or muffins. You can add them smoothies, make preserves or jam, pudding or sorbet. Try swapping persimmons in recipes that call for pumpkin puree. Add it to oatmeal or mix the puree into yogurt. Or just cut one in half and scoop the flesh out with a spoon and eat it fresh!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Hachiya persimmons: Hachiya persimmons are great for baking. You’ll need about 2-3 ripe persimmons to make 1 cup.
• Brown sugar: I usually use dark brown sugar because the flavor is a bit deeper than light brown sugar. I’ve also used light brown sugar with great results. You can reduce the amount of sugar to 1/2 cup if you prefer a less sweet bread.
• Butter: I used unsalted butter.
• Cinnamon, ginger, allspice: Warm, fall spices that go so well with persimmon.
• Walnuts: Nuts add a nice little crunch to the bread. Pecans would be delicious as well.

Step by Step Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
• Line an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pan with parchment paper or grease it with butter or cooking spray.
• Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove. Set it aside to cool a bit. You don’t want to add hot butter to eggs because it will curdle the eggs and create scrambled eggs. You don’t want scrambled eggs in your persimmon bread!
• Remove the stem from the persimmon and cut it in half.
• Using a spoon, scoop the pulp out and put into a large bowl. Mash the persimmon pulp with a fork to break it down. You can also puree the pulp in a food processor or blender which I don’t usually do because I don’t want to wash extra dishes.

• In the bowl with the persimmon pulp, add the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs and mix well.

• Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, and spices) to a medium mixing bowl and whisk together. Make sure all the dry ingredients are well combined, so you don’t end up with pockets of baking soda or salt in the bread.
• Add the flour mixture to the persimmon mixture and mix until just combined. Don’t overmix the batter otherwise the bread will be very dense and tough.

• Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
• Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. 
• Remove the bread from the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Expert Tips

• Make sure it’s ripe – Hachiya persimmons have an astringent and unpleasing taste when they’re not ripe. When they’re ripe, they’ll be super soft and squishy, and they’ll look rather unappealing.
• Freeze the pulp – Hachiya persimmons are only available October through February. If you’d like to make this recipe year-round, or you have an abundance of persimmons, you can freeze the pulp. Let the persimmon fully ripen, scoop out the pulp, and freeze it in a freezer safe zip top bag.
• Don’t overmix the batter – Overmixing develops too much gluten which results in a tough bread. Mix until the ingredients are just combined, and you’ll be good to go!
• Grease the pan. Spray the pan with cooking spray or use butter, oil or even parchment paper so the bread easily comes out of the pan.

Recipe Variations

• Adding chocolate chips or chopped up chocolate squares. Try dark or milk chocolate.
• Try other types of nuts like pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts or omit the nuts
• Add dried fruit like cranberries, raisins, or dates.
• Change up the spices. Use different spices, like cloves or nutmeg.
• Double it up! Make two loaves, or three, or four!

How to Serve

• Have a slice with a cup of tea or coffee.
• Spread some of my apple jalapeño chutney on a slice!
• With a mug of warm glögg.
• Spread butter on a slice and drizzle with honey.

How to Store

Allow the bread to cool completely before storing. Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap or aluminum foil to prevent it from drying out. Store the persimmon bread on the counter at room temperature for 1-2 days, or store in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

To freeze, wrap the loaf in plastic wrap or slice the loaf and wrap each slice individually in plastic wrap, and store in a freezer safe container or zip top bag for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat it, thaw it out at room temperature overnight.

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