Persimmon Pudding

My dad has been making this traditional English pudding for as long as I can remember, and I have fond memories of the spicy aroma wafting through the house around the start of the holidays. This last year, my dad's little persimmon tree started to bear fruit, and we made this pudding as a steamed pudding for the first time. Excellent! Both ways are great, but the baked pudding is more like brownies while the steamed pudding is lighter and more moist.

 

Persimmon Pudding

 

Ingredients

1 cup ripe pulp

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nuts

pinch of salt

 

Procedure

Dissolve soda in pulp. Add sugar. Sift flour with baking powder. Add to pulp alternately with milk. Add butter, vanilla, nuts, and salt. Put into greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or it can be steamed for 1 1/2 hours.

 

Vanilla Sauce for Pudding

 

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

2 cups hot water

2 tablespoons butter

pinch of salt

About 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

nutmeg

 

Procedure

Stir corn starch into sugar thoroughly. Pour hot water into mixture slowly stirring constantly to keep from lumping. Add all other ingredients and bring to boil.

Grandma Peterson's Lemon Cake

This is my dad's mom's cake, but my mom has made this cake for us a zillion times. I love how it's a traditional lemon cake, but the sauce that goes on top definitely makes this cake amazing. The sauce seeps down into the top layer of the cake, enfusing it with a beautiful, sugary zing. I suppose you could frost it, but I've never seen the need to corrupt this cake with frosting. It offers a refreshing lemony flavor in a world bombarded by chocolate.

Ingredients

Cake
1 package Duncan Hines lemon cake
1 package small lemon Jell-o
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
2/3 cup oil


Sauce
2 lemons
2 cups powdered sugar

Procedure

1. Mix lemon cake, jello, eggs and water. Beat for 4 minutes.
2. Add oil. Beat 4 minutes.
3. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, juice and zest lemons, and beat in powdered sugar.
5. Poke hole in hot cake with a skewer or fork. Pour lemon sauce over warm cake and serve.