Friday, November 1, 2013

Persimmon Gingerbread Muffins with Caramel Drizzle

My neighbor has a beautiful Persimmon tree that is full of cute little "pumpkin" fruits this time of year.  I had never actually eaten a persimmon before but I was intrigued.  So when the fruits were ripe Miss Jen generously brought over a few for us to try.  I was excited to eat one of these beauties and since it is time again to bake with my #Twelve Loaves ladies, I thought that this would be the perfect Fall Treat! (I mean bread...) I don't know if this recipe truly qualifies as a muffin, really it is probably more like a cupcake, but I'm going to go with muffin since it does have "bread" in it's name after all!

This recipe was adapted from the Gingerbread recipe in one of my favorite cookbook's, Lion House Recipes.  Seriously this book is awesome, I use it all the time...

For November the #Twelve Loaves group is baking with Spices! Every month is a new theme and we make yeast or quick breads.  Look for the Linky below to share your November Spice Bread! The temperatures are dropping and it is my favorite time of year to bake especially with different spices! Here is what the #Twelve Loaves ladies are baking!

Print Recipe

Persimmon Gingerbread Muffins with Caramel Drizzle

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup molasses
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 persimmon
1 cup water, divided
1 bag caramels, or your favorite caramel sauce


Preheat oven to 350˚ F.  Peel and core the persimmon.  


Finely dice or pulse in a food processor.  


The persimmon should yield a generous 1/2 cup.


In a small saucepan combine the diced persimmon (generous 1/2 cup) and 1/2 cup of water.


Bring to a boil.


Reduce the heat and simmer about 15 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid cream the butter and sugar.



Add the beaten egg and molasses and beat well.


In a separate bowl sift together the salt, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.


Heat the remaining 1/2 cup of water to a boil.  Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture in two additions.



Add the persimmon from the saucepan and the hot 1/2 cup of water and beat until smooth.



Line 2 muffin pans with paper liners and spray each with non-stick cooking spray.  Using a large scoop transfer the batter to each of the cup.


Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 5 minutes.  Then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.


Drizzle with melted caramels or your favorite caramel sauce.

(To melt the caramels unwrap the caramels and melt with 1-2 Tbsp of water over medium heat until melted and stirs easily.  Drizzle over the muffins with a spoon.)






If you’d like to add your bread to the collection with the Linky Tool this month, 
here’s what you need to do!

1. When you post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your blog post; this helps us to get more members as well as share everyone's posts. Please make sure that your bread is inspired by the theme!

2. Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be a bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.

3. Have your Twelve Loaves bread that you baked this November, 2013, and posted on your blog by November 30, 2013.

#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess. #TwelveLoaves runs so smoothly thanks to the help of the lovely Paula from Vintage Kitchen Notes and Renee from Magnolia Days.

Comments (22)

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I bet the persimmon keeps this extra moist...it looks rich and delicious!
1 reply · active 594 weeks ago
They were absolutely fabulous, and you are right, superbly moist!
The idea to use persimmon is really great. Your recipe is unique.
1 reply · active 594 weeks ago
Thank you darlin'! I was excited to try it, glad it worked. You never know when you try new things :)
Krista, what wonderful muffins! SO full of spice and flavor...plus the caramel drizzle just puts these over the top!!! YUM!
1 reply · active 594 weeks ago
Thank you darlin'! I loved the muffins but I do have to say the caramel was pretty amazing... :)
I would like to try baking with persimmons and wish my nieghbors had a tree like yours do!! I'll have to make do with some from Whole Foods I guess. I bet this was a delicious fall muffin.
1 reply · active 594 weeks ago
It was great! Completely blown away by the fruit, I'd never worked with it before. I'd love to know what you make!
I grew up with persimmon trees all around but never had them in a baked good. I really need to try this and reminisce about those old neighbors and the fruits they shared.
1 reply · active 594 weeks ago
Did you really! That's fabulous. I had never seen them until we moved here. My son thinks they are funny. He calls it the pumpkin tree. lol. I'm glad I could bring back good memories!
Lora @cakeduchess's avatar

Lora @cakeduchess · 595 weeks ago

SO nice to have a persimmon tree at your neighbor's. I haven't had a persimmon since last year and am looking forward to finding some at the fruit market. Love your muffins and their perfect drizzle, Krista. Thank you for being a part of our #TwelveLoaves baking group!
1 reply · active 594 weeks ago
Miss Lora, I'm honored to bake with you! Especially when I am on the ball and post on time lol. Thank you for hosting such an amazing event every month :)
Great muffins Krista! The persimmons around here seem to be bright red and I'm never quite sure what to do with them. Like you, I've been "intrigued." =) Love the drizzle.
1 reply · active 594 weeks ago
Thank you Miss Karen! I know they have different varieties, I'd be curious to see if the flavor varies with the color. For this recipe I don't think it would matter too much, but you have my interest to explore this fruit further :)
I'm so excited to see a recipe with persimmons! I've only eaten them sliced. Nothing creative like this. I can imagine that they make a great pair with gingerbread!
1 reply · active 594 weeks ago
Needless to say, they didn't last very long!
Fuyu persimmons are my favorite!
1 reply · active 594 weeks ago
Yeah! That's great, I hope you like this recipe then :)
I completely love ginger but have never cooked or baked with persimmon before. Your muffins look delicious and the caramel drizzle? YUM!
1 reply · active 594 weeks ago
Well the muffins were great on their own, but they looked so sad... I don't know if it was just my sweet tooth talking or what, but caramel seemed like the perfect finish :)
Persimmons are puzzling, as in "what do you do with one?" puzzling. Your gingerbread muffin solution sounds tempting, especially with caramel drizzled over the top.
1 reply · active 592 weeks ago
Thank you! I hope you give this recipe a try. They were incredibly moist and the spices were amazing!

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