This Ginger Persimmon Bread Recipe is packed with soul-warming spices. Whether you serve this quick bread as part of a Christmas breakfast or as an afternoon snack, it will become one of your favorite persimmon recipes!
The fall and winter months are an invitation to bake. Are you with me?
Comforting and cozy treats, delicious aromas of warming spices making their way through the house, the oven heating the kitchen . . .
I love quick breads, which are really dessert breads -- cakes, if you will. 😉 There's no yeast or kneading involved -- you can throw this recipe together and get it in the oven inside of 30 minutes.
Ginger Persimmon Bread is full of the quintessential flavors of fall. It's like gingerbread with the sweet flavor of persimmon running through it.
The Ingredients
- Fuyu persimmons - Persimmon season is approximately October through January. During that time, you should be able to find them in almost all major grocery stores and at Farmers Markets. They should be on the firm side with a deep orange color.
- brown sugar - The slight maple-y flavor is delicious with the ginger and brown sugar helps create a softer texture. Both of these things are subtly, so white sugar is okay, too.
- olive oil - I love using olive oil in baked goods, as it creates super moist products.
- eggs
- pure vanilla extract
- fresh ginger - Fresh ginger adds a bit of a kick to the flavor.
- crystalized ginger - This will add delightful tiny chewy, sweet bites of ginger. You can likely find crystalized ginger in the baking section of grocery stores. Or you can get it here.
- ground cinnamon, ground cloves and ground ginger - These are all warming spices that greatly enhance the overall flavor profile.
- all-purpose flour - See gluten-free option below.
- baking soda - If you don’t bake regularly, it’s a good idea to check to be sure your baking soda is still good. To do so, pour a couple of tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice over about ¼ teaspoon of the baking soda. If it starts to fizz, it’s still good.
- Kosher salt - I bake (and cook) with Kosher salt because I like its larger flake size and it usually doesn't contain additives. (If you use table salt, use half the amount.)
Substitutions
- Crystalized ginger. If you don't have crystalized ginger, you can substitute it with golden raisins and an additional ½ teaspoon of ground ginger.
Can you make Gluten-Free Persimmon Bread?
Yes, you can substitute the flour in the recipe for Cup4Cup All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour. Please note that although still delicious, the texture of gluten-free persimmon bread might be slightly different than the one with regular all-purpose flour.
Recipe Tips
- Don't substitute the Fuyu persimmons with the Hachiya variety. You will not be able to grate them as they'll be way too soft when they're ripe.
- Be sure not to skip the step of adding the baking soda directly to the grated persimmons. It will help thicken the liquid derived from grating the fruit.
- Generally, baking times will vary from pan to pan, oven to oven, etc. It's more about how the bread looks and feels, than how long it bakes. It should be golden, beginning to crack, and if you touch it, it should feel sponge-like.
How to Make it
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease an approximately 12-inch loaf pan with a light coating of olive oil. (It's easiest to do this with a spray, pastry brush -- or dab the oil on a paper towel to spread it around.) Set aside.
- Slice the stem ends off of the persimmons (just a ½-inch or so), then use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to peel them. Use either a hand held grater or a food processor with the grater attachment, to grate them. (You will need 1½ cups.)
- Now add the grated persimmon to a bowl and add the baking soda. Mix to blend and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar with the olive oil and mix to blend. Add the eggs and egg yolk and mix again. Once it's smooth, stir in the fresh ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, ground ginger, and salt. Fold in the flour and mix just until it's fully incorporated.
- Then fold in the grated persimmon and crystallized ginger.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake in the 350°F preheated oven until it's golden brown, set, and beginning to crack on top, about 50 minutes.
- Let it cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Storing Persimmon Bread
Persimmon Bread and be made the day before you want to serve it. Cover it lightly with foil overnight, at room temperature and it'll be ideal the next morning.
- Room temperature. In a tightly sealed container, Persimmon Bread can be kept at room temperature for about two days.
- Refrigerator. Wrapped tightly, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Freezer. Wrapped tightly, you can store it for about a month in the freezer.
More Amazing Quick Bread Recipes
- Butternut Squash Bread
- Almond Butter Bread
- Chocolate Breakfast Bread
- Macadamia Honey Bread
- Glazed Pineapple Guava Bread
- Zucchini Avocado Bread Recipe
This is one of my favorite persimmon recipes so I hope you'll try it to share with your family and friends. Maybe even make an extra loaf or two for gifts.
I hope you love every last crumb!
Ginger Persimmon Bread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1½ cups grated Fuyu persimmons (about 1 pound persimmons)
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1½ cups brown sugar
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1½ tablespoons fresh ginger pulp
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
Instructions
- Set oven and prepare pan. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease an approximately 12-inch loaf pan with a light coating of olive oil. (It's easiest to do this with a spray, pastry brush -- or dab the oil on a paper towel to spread it around.) Set aside.
- Prepare persimmons. Slice the stem ends off of the persimmons (just a ½-inch or so), then use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to peel them. Use either a hand held grater or a food processor with the grater attachment, to grate them. (You will need 1½ cups.) Now add 1½ cups of the grated persimmon to a bowl and add the baking soda. Mix to blend and set aside. (The baking soda will help thicken the liquid derived from grating the fruit.)
- Make batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar with the olive oil and mix to blend. Then add the eggs and egg yolk and mix again. Once it's smooth, stir in the fresh ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, ground ginger, and salt. Fold in the flour and mix just until it's fully incorporated. Then fold in the grated persimmon and crystallized ginger.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake in the 350°F preheated oven until it's golden brown, set, and beginning to crack on top, about 50 minutes.
- Let it cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before serving.
NOTES
NUTRITION
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Healthy World Cuisine
Persimmons is one of our favorite fruits and gingerbread is our favorite holiday treat! You know we are all about the moist and spiced delight. Great bread to make extra to freeze and have for last minute guests around the holiday.
Valentina
Yes! So good to have things at the ready for guests. Enjoy! 🙂 ~Valentina
Beth
This bread is in the oven and smells wonderful. What is the science behind baking soda thickening liquid? I can't find any information on it.
Valentina
Hi Beth. So happy you're making this bread. While the science of baking is far from my culinary expertise 😉 -- years ago, a pastry chef I worked with in a restaurant told me that specifically with persimmons, baking soda reacts because they're slightly acidic. It creates carbon dioxide, which helps the juices either thicken or less likely to become too liquidy while sitting. Hope this helps, and I hope you love the bread! Happy holiday season. 🙂 ~Valentina
Sue Goldish
I haven't sliced it yet, but cut down the recipe to 8 servings. I used 2 whole eggs, and instead of the extra egg white, I added some ground chia seed, to make up for my probably overripe persimmons, so more liquidy. It worked well to thicken it. I made it gluten free, using primarily chickpea flour and a bit of buckwheat, what I had on hand! It cracked quite a bit but looks good. I added some dried cranberries too.
Seems to be a great recipe, and very versatile. I might try millet flour next time. I prefer a denser whole grains bread though.
Valentina
Hi Sue, I'm so happy you like the recipe and that it worked well with your changes. The addition of the cranberries sounds delicious, and very cool that the ground chia seeds worked as a thickener for your overripe persimmons. Great idea. Happy holiday season. Warmly, Valentina
Nilmini
My neighbor dropped off a bunch of fresh persimmons from their tree. I never had persimmons and didn't know what to do with them. I decided to give this recipe a shot, and I'm so glad I did. The bread turned out wonderfully — it was fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness.
Due to a lack of some spices, I substituted 1 1/2 teaspoons of allspice for the ground cloves and ground ginger, and I skipped the crystallized ginger altogether. These changes didn't seem to detract from the delicious end result at all. Also, because my partner is gluten-intolerant, I used Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour instead of regular flour.
I would highly recommend this recipe to anyone, especially if you're new to persimmons or need to make it gluten-free. It's a keeper, and I'll definitely be baking this again!
Valentina
Hi Nilmini, Thanks so much for this review! The use of allspice is great, and I'm so happy you loved the bread. Persimmons are everywhere right now and I love it. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. 🙂 ~Valentina
Marissa
I'm loving the warm flavors in this bread, Valentina! And the texture looks perfect. I bet it smells incredible coming out of the oven too!
2pots2cook
I had some persimmon trials few years back but didn't even get close to this beauty!
Ann Watson
if I'm out of olive oil, will something else work? I have avocado, sunflower, canola, coconut, and culinary algae oil.
valentina
Hi Ann. Out of these choices, I'd go with the Canola. I hope you love it. Happy holidays! 🙂 ~Valentina
Ally V
This is a wonderful recipe. I usually make the James Beard Persimmon Bread to use up persimmons, which is much more of a dense fruit cake. This recipe has a light spongy crumb with a good spice ratio. So moist. And very easy to make. No mixers or electric beaters required (although I did use the stand mixer to get the brown sugar and oil started...but that was just me being extra).
I made them as mini and full size cupcakes because I thought I might bring them to a pot luck, but we ended up eating them all. Recipe yielded 24 minis + 12 regular size cupcakes filled half to 1/3 of the way...the baking soda made them rise and dome very nicely. My mom particularly loves them toasted with some butter.
It feels like this would also take additions (chopped dried fruit, nuts, etc.) really well, so long as you don't overload the batter so that the sponge can't rise.
Thank you so much for this recipe. It is now going to be a standard part of my regular fall/winter baking.
valentina
Hi Ally, Thank you so much for sharing. I'm so happy you loved this recipe! And I appreciate the info about the muffins -- as will other readers. Yes, it would be lovely with dried fruits, nuts, etc. I especially love it with my morning coffee. Happy holiday season to you. 🙂 ~Valentina
C.Sheneman
This is the most amazing recipe ever. I’ve made loaves and muffins. I’ve frozen them, taken them on road trips, shared them with friends and family, becoming, I’m sure, everyone’s best friend, at least for a *few* minutes. This is the only persimmon recipe I’ve made, and now we’re trying to buy persimmon trees. Thanks for an amazing recipe.
valentina
Hi there, Thank you so very much for this lovely note! I so happy to hear you love this recipe, and that they've been shared the bread and muffins with many, and that they've traveled far and wide. 😉 So fun you're going to get a persimmon tree! I know someone with one, but would love to have my own. You'll be finding all sorts of new ways to use them and have many best friends! Hope you have a great week ahead. 😀 Warmly, Valentina
Celine Rickards
VERY GOOD! A friend gave me some Fuyu persimmons and I didn’t know what to do with them. I don’t really care too much for eating them out of hand, so I went looking for a recipe and found this site! I made the gingerbread yesterday because I had all the ingredients. I used a 10” Caphalon non-stick loaf pan, sprayed it with Pam for baking (contains flour), I replaced 2-3 TB of All purpose flour with whole wheat flour (just to add a little more fiber). I’m at 3200’ elevation, so it took a full hour to bake. It had plenty of room in the pan. The gingerbread is perfectly moist and delicious and my husband loves it! Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I’m going to try the pork tenderloin recipe as well.
valentina
Hi Celine, Thanks so much for writing me. I'm so happy you and your husband loved this recipe! You made my day! 🙂 It's one of my favorites for persimmons this time of year. The touch of wheat flour is a great idea and, so great you had all of the other ingredients at the ready. Happy holiday season. Warmly, Valentina