English-Style Persimmon Pudding, Sliced Persimmon, Persimmon Puree, Vanilla Cream, Persimmon Crisps, Ginger Bread Crumbs, Marjoram, Molasses-Bourbon Sphere
I'm not too sure what the exact definition of an English pudding is, and I don't think there are many English people that could pin it down either. Pudding can refer to something sweet or savory; starchy or creamy; hot or cold; baked, steamed or boiled. I think its sort of a catch-all food term in Great Britain. But I'm using this prefix here to denote that this is more in line with a bread pudding or Christmas pudding than the type that Bill Cosby used to make us eat.
The "pudding" is a baked mixture of pureed persimmon, flour, sugar, eggs, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. And possibly some sort of leavening agent but I can't quite remember. The result is something much more moist and dense than a cake that still maintains some structural integrity. I sliced some of the ends and sides from the pudding and returned them to the oven to make the crisps which added some texture to the dish.
I combined almond milk, sugar and agar agar in a sauce pot and heated it to dissolve the solids. Once chilled and set into a gel I pureed it with vanilla bean paste and passed the mixture through a tamis creating the "cream". I also reserved some of the persimmon puree and mixed it with sugar. I used the ginger bread crumbs I had from some previous dishes as another textural element.
I made the spheres by mixing two batches of bourbon-molasses. One batch was watered down and mixed with sodium alginate. This was the bath for this specific process. The other batch was mixed with calcium lactate and not watered down. This would be the liquid in the sphere. The liquid was frozen into silicon molds and then dropped into the sodium alginate bath. The chemicals react as the ball thaws creating a gel-like membrane encasing the liquid behind it. The spheres are rinsed in a water bath and held in liquid til ready to use.
I finished off the dish with some very ripe persimmon slices and fresh marjoram leaves.
The "pudding" is a baked mixture of pureed persimmon, flour, sugar, eggs, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. And possibly some sort of leavening agent but I can't quite remember. The result is something much more moist and dense than a cake that still maintains some structural integrity. I sliced some of the ends and sides from the pudding and returned them to the oven to make the crisps which added some texture to the dish.
I combined almond milk, sugar and agar agar in a sauce pot and heated it to dissolve the solids. Once chilled and set into a gel I pureed it with vanilla bean paste and passed the mixture through a tamis creating the "cream". I also reserved some of the persimmon puree and mixed it with sugar. I used the ginger bread crumbs I had from some previous dishes as another textural element.
I made the spheres by mixing two batches of bourbon-molasses. One batch was watered down and mixed with sodium alginate. This was the bath for this specific process. The other batch was mixed with calcium lactate and not watered down. This would be the liquid in the sphere. The liquid was frozen into silicon molds and then dropped into the sodium alginate bath. The chemicals react as the ball thaws creating a gel-like membrane encasing the liquid behind it. The spheres are rinsed in a water bath and held in liquid til ready to use.
I finished off the dish with some very ripe persimmon slices and fresh marjoram leaves.