Spice Cake with Honeyed Persimmons and Cream Cheese Frosting
Has there ever been a cake that’s taken up more of my brain capacity?
Persimmons grow rampant even in the densest of Tokyo. I am genuinely shocked by the sheer number of trees, often blooming quite contently amongst concrete, instead of green. Branches are LUSH with plump, ripe fruit, but as free-picking is frowned upon, many simply fall and rot.
Having come from Australia where persimmons are rare, I am totally taken by this strange, foreign fruit. The leaves are starting to shed now, leaving little orange bulbs adorning the branches like round Christmas lights.
Flavour wise, the fuyu is admittedly not my favourite. As discussed re pears I prefer crunch and acid, and persimmon are all soft set honey in taut flesh. But given the seasonality and vast availability I am fixated on finding their shining beacon in baking. A tarte tatin or upside-down cake is the obvious choice - but right now, I want layer cakes with multiple textures, flavours and components.
My first (uncreative) thought was that honey pairs with honey, plus I wanted to include some warming, Autumn spices. Liz Prueitt of Tartine’s (@lizprueitt_tartine) cake happened to combine the two - which I baked as per the recipe but FORGOT THE FRESH GINGER.
This omission was unfortunately markedly obvious, perhaps even more so than I feared. The cake needed a kick, but besides that blunder it ended up being quite a beautiful bake.
The edges were a little dark, and thus fearing the dry I doused both in a honey vanilla earl grey soak. To make up for the ginger, a sprinkling of powder over the icing seemed to help bring the heat.
My persimmon filling proved tricky after roasting them with honey and too heavy-a-hand of spices. The result: A sloppy mess with jarring, intact skins, and ‘Fall’ flavour (Nutmeg! Cinnamon! Clove! Ginger!) far too potent.
Round two, JUST honey and a sprinkling of salt, with HALF of the oven time as previous. The result? Definitely better, maybe LACKING caramelisation - and in future I would reintroduce some spices.
My buttercream was delicious, and only made on a whim, even rushed, without a recipe to guide. I whipped butter, then honey, then cream cheese and salt to produce a surprisingly luscious result.
Final thoughts? Not bad; ginger and persimmon definitely work, as does honey, though honey alone is not enough. I’m still fascinated enough by the fruit to find its baking purpose, but the all-consuming kaki thoughts have at least quietened, a little.
My rough recipe below.
CAKE:
1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 well-packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup strong black tea
1/2 cup greek yoghurt
1 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius and line two cake tins with oil and baking paper. Combine the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls. Quickly whisk the wet into the dry, transfer to cake tins and bake for one hour or until inserted knife comes out clean.
SOAK:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup strong black tea
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Bring all ingredients to the boil then remove from the heat. Douse warm cake with the mixture.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
200g cream cheese
100g unsalted butter
100g honey
Salt, to taste
Powdered ginger, to garnish
Cream butter for 3-4 minutes. Add honey to combine. Add cream cheese and continue to mix until smooth. Salt to taste.