Persimmon Cardamom Cake
Published Dec. 12, 2025
- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 4Fuyu persimmons (about 1 pound), stemmed, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
- 1tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1cup/240 milliliters cold heavy cream
- ½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter
- 1teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1¼teaspoons ground cardamom, divided
- 1cup/200 grams plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
- 2large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon coconut or almond extract
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt, such as Diamond Crystal, or ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1½ cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
For the Persimmons
For the Cake
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
480 calories; 24 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 67 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 29 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 394 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the persimmons: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. On a small rimmed sheet pan lined with parchment paper, toss the persimmons with the sugar and lemon juice and spread in an even layer. Bake until the juices have mostly dissipated and become sticky, about 30 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly; keep the oven on.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk the heavy cream by hand or with an electric mixer until billowy soft peaks form. When you turn the whisk right side up, the cream should flop over the top of the whisk like a Santa hat.
- Step 3
In a saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter and cook, stirring, until blondish brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Lightly brush a 9-inch round cake pan with some of the butter, then press parchment paper into the bottom and sides of the pan, crushing the paper around the edges.
- Step 4
Transfer the melted butter to a large bowl and stir in the cinnamon and 1 teaspoon cardamom. Add 1 cup/200 grams sugar and whisk to combine. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking until smooth. Finally, whisk in the coconut extract and salt.
- Step 5
Add half of the whipped cream to the egg mixture. (Refrigerate the remaining cream until ready to serve.) Switching to a flexible spatula, fold in the whipped cream by scooping the egg mixture from the bottom up, while turning the mixing bowl with each scoop, to gently incorporate the cream (it’s OK if there are streaks).
- Step 6
Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda directly into the bowl. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just incorporated.
- Step 7
Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and top with the cooled persimmons, gently placing them in an even layer. In a small dish, stir together the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and ¼ teaspoon cardamom and sprinkle over the fruit.
- Step 8
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out totally clean, about 1 hour. Cool completely in the pan. Serve with the remaining whipped cream.
Private Notes
Comments
@Liz Yes, they should be ripe! For the best persimmon flavor. They should be as delicious as you want them to be in the cake. Ripe Fuyu persimmons (the squat ones) can still be firm, making them easier to cut into wedges and keep their shape in a cake versus, say, Hachiya persimmons (the heart-shaped ones), which need to be very ripe and soft to the touch otherwise they can be astringent to eat. So Fuyu are preferred in this recipe, but Hachiya work, too, if those are all you have. Enjoy! Eric
Hi, great question. You can totally whip 1/2 cup cream first for the cake, then later whip the remaining 1/2 cup for serving, but I'm just not the type of guy who wants to whip cream twice in the same recipe! For what it's worth, I always whip my cream/schlag in advance (for dinner parties, etc.), and keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I've never had it fallen or taken on fridge flavors, but to each their own. I liked the question! Thanks, Eric
Should the persimmons be really ripe? Soft to the touch. The recipe doesn't say and if they aren't ripe they usually taste terrible.
This cake absolutely dazzled my friends. I made a few changes to make it gluten-free: instead of swapping in GF flour, I used King Arthur GF yellow cake mix. I also cut way back on the sugar, using the same amount of cake mix in place of the dry ingredients since the mix already contains sugar. The result was incredible! Honestly the best cake I’ve ever made. Almost like a coffee cake, with the persimmons and cardamom giving it a wonderfully unique and delicious flavor.
I used cardamom from the pods for maximum flavor. A slight pain but so worth it. This is an AMAZING case — thanks!!!!!!
This is simply one of the best cake recipes. It’s not fussy and so forgiving. All of my persimmons had gone super soft so I just baked the pulp. I also incorporated some raw pulp into the batter. Used 2 cup white and 1/2 cup whole wheat. Batter came out moist and delicious. Thank you Eric. You are one of my favorite food writers. I’m currently trying to hoard any remaining persimmons in stores so I can freeze them and continue to bake this until they’re in season again!