Banana, Persimmon and Coconut Cake

Persimmon season has begun, and it is delightful to use these bright orange color tasty fruits in different ways. I most often use them fresh, on their own, or as a part of fruit salad, but this time I wanted to use them as an ingredient in a cake.

As I had a coconut-banana cake in mind, I thought these flavors and aroma could work well with the ripe fruit. To make things even more interesting, I’ve decided to substitute part of the white flour with millet flour and desiccated coconut, for an added nutty flavor and more interesting texture. 

The result was a tasty, light and moist cake, with lots of flavors and wonderful aroma, with the cubes of fruit adding a nice fresh burst of flavor and color in it. The cake is fairly low fat, and moderately sweet, and can be served any time of the day. Try it and enjoy.

 

Notes:

* If you can’t find millet flour, any other wholegrain flour can be used instead.

* Make sure the persimmon you use is very ripe and juicy, as unripe persimmon can be quite astringent.

 

Makes: 16

Prep time: 20 minutes

Baking time: 40 minutes

 

Ingredients:

1-2 large very ripe persimmon

2 ripe large bananas, mashed (1 cup)

2 L eggs

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

½ cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

Dash salt

½ cup unsweetened desiccated coconut

½ cup millet flour (see notes)

1 cup white flour

1 Tbs baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

For the topping:

¼ cup coconut flakes

 

1. Preheat the oven to 360F (180C). Line an 8×8” (20×20 cm) pan with baking paper.
2. Peel the persimmon and cut into medium cubes (measure 3/4 cup).
3. Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add the eggs and whisk together. Whisk in the brown and white sugar, and sour cream.
4. Whisk in the desiccated coconut, millet flour, white flour, baking powder and salt, and mix to a smooth batter. Add the persimmon cubes and mix with a spatula.
5. Transfer the batter into the pan, and scatter the coconut flakes on top.
6. Bake for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake center comes out clean. Leave in the pan for 5 minutes.
7. Holding the baking paper, transfer the cake onto a rack, to cool to room temperature before cutting.

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