Chia Persimmon Pudding (Vegan)

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I had never eaten a persimmon before living in Italy.  I probably couldn't have even picked it out from a line up of fruit.  But if you asked me, of course I would want to try a persimmon!  I had heard good things about them, especially the elusive "persimmon pudding."  

I used to go the market several times a week for my fruit and vegetables, one of my favorite weekly errands.  It was a large market, the ground floor of the Mercato Centrale if you’ve been there, with lots of vendors, but there was this dear old man that always had the best tomatoes and lettuce.  He would say "Ciao, bella," shake my hand, and always round the price down for me.  He also had this habit of sneaking in a fruit or vegetable that I hadn't ordered.  Whether that was a sweet gesture or a marketing strategy, I may never know.  One day, after getting my usual tomatoes, I arrived home to find this strange object that looked curiously like an orange tomato, but was most definitely not.  So....squishy and lacking that earthy, pungent, tomato vine smell.  After a little research, I found I had in my possession a kaki!  Okay, now what is a kaki?  

After a little more research, I found that kaki is what the Italians call persimmons. Sweet, mysterious persimmons.  Now...how to eat it?  I quickly realized they are like jelly on the inside when ripe, and it's only the skin that holds it together.  If that skin breaks, you have a real mess if you weren't prepared with a bowl or your mouth beneath it.  I ate that first one in hurry, before it all dripped from my hands onto the floor. 

From then on I bought them in packs and beautiful things happened, including various versions of persimmon pudding.  Below is a raw and vegan version of the Persimmon Pudding.  Makes for a great dessert, snack, or breakfast!  Kaki on.  

Recipe adapted from Blissful Basil.

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*Note: Make the Chia Pudding the day before you want to eat the pudding, as it takes at least 8 hours to set up.  

Chia Persimmon Pudding

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Chia Pudding Layer

• 2 cups / 474g unsweetened coconut milk or milk of choice

• generous 1/2 cup / 90g chia seeds

• 3 Tbsp / 60g maple syrup or honey

• 2 tsp / 9g vanilla extract

• 1/2 tsp / 1g cinnamon

• pinch of cardamom

For the Persimmon Pudding Layer

• 3 ripe persimmons

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

You’ll need 4 small (about 12 oz), clear glasses or bowls.

Make the Chia Pudding

1. In a medium bowl whisk together milk, chia seeds, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamom.  

2. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.  

Make the Persimmon Pudding

1. Remove the stems from the persimmons and place in a food processor or blender.  Add the cinnamon and blend until smooth.  

2. Spoon about scant 1/4 cup Persimmon Pudding into the bottom of each glass.  Top with a scant 1/4 cup Chia Pudding.  Repeat layers until both puddings are gone.  Should make three layers of each, or 6 layers total in each glass. Top with additional cinnamon, if desired.

Jenny's Notes:

• You'll want your persimmons to be very ripe and very soft all the way through; they should be bursting when you try to remove the stems.

• Persimmons are a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C, and high in fiber.  

vegan, raw, no bake, chia pudding, persimmon pudding, dairy free, gluten free, refined sugar free

dessert, pudding

American

Yield: 4

Author: Jennyblogs

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Chia Persimmon Pudding (Vegan)

Layers of spiced coconut milk chia pudding and juicy persimmons are a simple, vegan, dairy-free, gluten, raw, etc. dessert, breakfast, or snack.

Prep time: 15 Mininactive time: 8 HourTotal time: 8 H & 15 M

Ingredients:

For the Chia Pudding Layer

• 2 cups / 474g unsweetened coconut milk or milk of choice
• generous 1/2 cup / 90g chia seeds
• 3 Tbsp / 60g maple syrup or honey
• 2 tsp / 9g vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp / 1g cinnamon
• pinch of cardamom

For the Persimmon Pudding Layer

• 3 ripe persimmons
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

Make the Chia Pudding

1. *Note: Make the Chia Pudding the day before you want to eat the pudding, as it takes at least 8 hours to set up. 
2. In a medium bowl whisk together milk, chia seeds, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamom.
3. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.

Make the Persimmon Pudding

1. You’ll need 4 small (about 12 oz), clear glasses or bowls.
2. Remove the stems from the persimmons and place in a food processor or blender. Add the cinnamon and blend until smooth.
3. Spoon about scant 1/4 cup Persimmon Pudding into the bottom of each glass. Top with a scant 1/4 cup Chia Pudding. Repeat layers until both puddings are gone. Should make three layers of each, or 6 layers total in each glass. Top with additional cinnamon, if desired.

Notes:

You'll want your persimmons to be very ripe and very soft all the way through; they should be bursting when you try to remove the stems.

Calories

266.73

Fat (grams)

9.61

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.90

Carbs (grams)

43.72

Fiber (grams)

12.46

Net carbs

35.76

Sugar (grams)

25.11

Protein (grams)

4.73

Sodium (milligrams)

12.43

Cholesterol (grams)

0.00

Nutritional information is approximate.

https://jennyblogs.com/blog/2017/5/10/chia-persimmon-pudding-vegan

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Enjoy your Kaki Pudding!

Homemade Marzipan

Marzipan!  That weird almond dessert that no one seems to really talk about in America, but people rave about in Europe.  It really should catch on in the US, because:

1. It tastes like almonds and is delicious

2. It's easy to make

3. It's fun to work with and versatile

 It can be used as filling or toppings of baked goods, and it can also be colored and molded into shapes or rolled out and used to cover cakes in a fondant fashion.   Fondant has it's place, but I would rather eat a marzipan covered cake any day over a fondant cake.  

You may have seen almond paste sold in stores, and although almond paste and marzipan are made from the same ingredients, they are not usually equal.  This depends on what part of the world you call home.  In many European countries the terms marzipan and almond paste are interchangeable, in other parts, such as the US, they are different products.  If they are different, for example in the US, marzipan is smoother, sweeter, made with egg whites and sometimes rose water, whereas almond pasted is less sweet and has a coarser texture.  When I first started dabbling in marzipan, I used almond paste as a base to make marzipan, but now I prefer to make it from scratch.

"Marzipan fruits"by jovike is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

It's so simple, as you can see for yourself!

This post may contains affiliate links. If you buy something using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Recipe adapted from La Cuochina Sopraffina

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Marzipan

Makes about 280g of marzipan, or about 10 oz. 

Ingredients:

• 125g / 1 1/3 cup almond flour or almonds

• 125g / 1 cup powdered sugar

• 1 egg white (about 30g)

• 6 drops almond extract

• 3 drops rose water, optional

Directions:

1. If using whole almonds, place in a food processor and process until finely ground.   

2. Process almond flour, powdered sugar, egg white, almond extract, and rose water until a thick dough forms.  If the consistency is too thin, add more powdered sugar.  

3. Turn marzipan out onto a surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar, knead for a few seconds.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed, or freeze.  

Jenny's Notes:

• This recipe is very simple to adjust to the amount you need, especially if you scale/weigh your ingredients.  As you may have noticed, the almond flour to powdered sugar is a 1:1 ratio.  

• If you are worried about eating or serving raw egg whites, be sure to buy pasteurized egg whites from the store.   

marzipan, almond paste, European sweets, marzipan fruit, fondant, gluten-free, dairy-free, raw

Yield: 10

Author: Jennyblogs

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Homemade Marzipan

Marzipan is a versatile and tasty European almond sweet, often paired with chocolate, molded into fruit shapes, or used to cover cakes in place of fondant. Gluten and dairy free.

Prep time: 10 MCook time: Total time: 10 M

Ingredients:

• 125g / 1 1/3 cup almond flour or almonds
• 125g / 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg white (about 30g)
• 6 drops almond extract
• 3 drops rose water, optional

Instructions:

1. If using whole almonds, place in a food processor and process until finely ground.
2. Process almond flour, powdered sugar, egg white, almond extract, and rose water until a thick dough forms. If the consistency is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
3. Turn marzipan out onto a surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar, knead for a few seconds. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed, or freeze.

Notes:

This recipe is very simple to adjust to the amount you need, especially if you scale/weigh your ingredients. As you may have noticed, the almond flour to powdered sugar is a 1:1 ratio. If you are worried about eating or serving raw egg whites, be sure to buy pasteurized egg whites from the store.

Calories

131.15

Fat (grams)

7.44

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.57

Carbs (grams)

14.21

Fiber (grams)

1.86

Net carbs

12.35

Sugar (grams)

11.43

Protein (grams)

3.51

Sodium (milligrams)

6.80

Cholesterol (grams)

0.00

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 10 servings.

https://jennyblogs.com/blog/2017/5/3/homemade-marzipan

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White Russian Tart

Mmmmm I love me a White Russian.  Or a Black Russian.  Or you can just give me the Kahlua.  But you know what I love more?  This tart.  Not to mention it is raw, gluten-free, refined-sugar free, and somehow delicious.  Nah I'm just kidding, there a lot of really delicious healthier desserts and foods out there, but the ones that aren't so much tend to get the attention and give the above labels a bad rap. 

When I'm experimenting and trying new recipes in the "healthy" department (as defined by trying to limit refined-sugars or flours, using a vegetable or bean or something that doesn't normally go in that there fudge brownie) I look for the 3 different categories of reactions from my tasters.  I tend to like some very strange things so I can't always judge by whether I like it or not...  Unsweetened cocoa powder by the spoonful, anyone??

1. The category of "This is honest deliciousness."  When people ask for a recipe or have no idea that there are chickpeas or spinach powder hidden in what they're eating.  Something a normal or even picky eater would eat. 
2. The category of "It's good for a healthy dessert!"  So it's palatable and they're not gagging, but most would still take a slice of cheesecake over it.  
3. The category of "I would rather just eat a salad."  If I'm tempted to remedy the taste by adding cups and cups of maple syrup, then when that isn't strong enough, real sugar, it's probably beyond saving.  I know it's bad if I don't even like it.  No worries, those recipes won't come anywhere near this blog. 

This tart is a solid category 1.  Even my mom and brother approved this, and they keep me pretty honest when it comes to healthy desserts. 

I bounce back and forth between decadent desserts and healthier desserts.  I have a love and respect for both, and each have their place and time.  Some days it's honey, nuts, and coconut oil, and other days it's sugar, heavy whipping cream, and butter.  Variety is the spice of life.  Today, it's dates, avocado, and mascarpone.

White Russian Tart

Serves 8-12

Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups almonds
• 2 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
• 8-10 dates
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Chocolate Vodka Cream

• 1/4 cup coconut oil (virgin, unrefined)
• 1 Tbsp finely ground coffee beans
• 1 large ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
• 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vodka
• 1 tsp rum or Kahlua (of course the Kahlua option adds sugar)
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup

Mascarpone Cream

• 8 oz mascarpone cheese
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Make the Crust

In a food processor, combine almonds and coconut and pulse until small crumbles.  Add dates, vanilla, cocoa powder, and salt.  Process until well combined. 

Press into the bottom of a 8 or 9 inch spring-form pan or pie plate.

Make the Chocolate Vodka Cream

Heat coconut oil in small pan over low heat until liquefied.  Combine the melted coconut oil, coffee, avocado, cocoa powder, vodka, rum or Kahlua, and maple syrup in a food processor until smooth.  Stop and scrape down sides and bottom occasionally.  Spread over crust and place in freezer for about 30 minutes.

Make the Mascarpone Cream

Shortly before taking tart out of the freezer, combine mascarpone, maple syrup, and vanilla in a small bowl.  Take the tart out of the freezer and spread mascarpone mixture over it.  Place in fridge for about 2 hours before serving.   

Jenny's Notes:

This tart is not very sweet and really lets the mascarpone shine through.  However, if you or your guests prefer things a little on the sweeter side, feel free to add more maple syrup in either of the creams. 

Also, I like to use black cocoa powder in this recipe.  Sounds ghastly, but it's the stuff of Oreos.  (I didn't know the flavor of Oreo was supposed to be chocolate until I was an adult, but they get their unique flavor from black cocoa.)  If you can get your hands on it, it's really great.  I usually order it from Amazon. 

Adapted from The Clean Dish