Easy Persimmon Bread Recipe with Spices (2024)

This spiced persimmon bread recipe uses two different types of persimmons. The pulp of Hachiya persimmons is mixed into the batter along with the warming spices cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. Thinly sliced Fuyu persimmons are arranged on top of the batter before sliding the bread into the oven for an extra punch of persimmons flavor.

This is a very easy quick bread recipe that's perfect for breakfast with your morning cup of coffee or this ginger lemon honey tea. Or save it for an afternoon snack, dessert, or as a holiday gift.

by Susan Pridmore

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Want to make this recipe perfectly the first time? I want to help with that. So, check out this Table of Contents to see which sections of this post will help you the most.

In persimmon season, maybe you walk by the piles of hachiya and fuyu persimmons wondering what to do with them. I did for years. They're so pretty and eye-catching, they're just begging to come home with us.

When they show up now in the late fall, sometime in late October or early November, I always grab a few. I need a little patience to let the hachiya variety ripen, but it's worth it as it can be used in many baking recipes like these spiced persimmon cookies and this bread.

🤷‍♀️ What is the difference between Hachiya persimmons and Fuyu persimmons?

In the United States, the two most common varieties of persimmon at our neighborhood market and local farmers' market are hachiya and fuyu. Both kinds of persimmons show up in the late fall.

Hachiya persimmons are oblong and acorn-shaped. They're slightly flattened at one end and pointed at the other end and are a bright autumn orange in color. When ripe, they are very soft and filled with a pulp that can made into jams, or mixed into cookie batters, cakes, and breads. This type of persimmon has an astringent quality. It can be eaten raw, for example with cheese and crackers, but is more often used cooked.

Fuyu persimmons are squat and round, with the same coloring as the hachiya variety. They are meant to be eaten when the fruit is firm and is easily sliced raw for snacking or tomake a persimmon salad. Fuyu are sweet persimmons and are considered to be non-astringent persimmons.

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

• Easy to make for any level of baker.
• The warming spices make this bread perfect around the holidays.
• This bread is beautifully moist from the persimmons, similar to pumpkin bread and banana bread.
• Enjoy it any time of day. It's great for breakfast, brunch, an afternoon snack or dessert.
• Makes a perfect holiday gift for family and friends.

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🎯 Why This Recipe Works

• Ripe Hachiya persimmon mixes wonderfully into batters and is perfect with warm spices that are so popular in the fall and winter.
• Adding thinly sliced Fuyu persimmon on top of the batter accents the persimmon flavors in the baked bread. And it tells everyone the fruit that's used for making the bread.

👩‍🍳 Tips for Success

• Weigh the flour to avoid using too much. This also gives you a consistent result every time you make this delicious bread.
• Whisking the dry ingredients together ensures a more even distribution of the baking soda and spices through the flour.
• Only use a Hachiya persimmon that is very ripe. It must be very soft to have a persimmon purée. Otherwise, there are three problems.
  • The persimmon will be too tart for the bread,
  • It will be impossible to scoop the persimmon fruit out of the skin,
  • The fruit won't mix into the batter very well.
• Fold the dry ingredients into the batter by hand. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon only long enough to combine the ingredients. The easiest way to do this is by adding the dry ingredients in thirds to the batter. This prevents overworking the flour. Overmixed flour results in a tougher baked good.
• If you choose to top the batter with slices of a Fuyu persimmon as shown, make sure the Fuyu slices are very thin. If they're thicker, the bread will cook unevenly.

💡Ideas for Possible Variations

• Add 1 cup of golden raisins or 1 cup of toasted and chopped walnuts or pecans.
• Add ⅓ cup of your favorite bourbon to the batter. I like doing this for gifts.

🏔️ Making This Recipe at High Altitude

• This is a moist bread, and when baked at 7000 feet, I didn't feel it needed additional moisture. But if you want to play it safe, add 1 - 2 tablespoons vanilla or plain yogurt to the batter.
• Use 1 teaspoon baking soda instead of the 1 ½ teaspoons called for in the recipe.

🧊 What's the best way to store this bread?

• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 - 7 days.
• Freeze in a freezer-safe container for at least 1 month. It will probably be fine frozen for a longer length of time, but I haven't done it myself. If you know you'll be freezing the bread, don't add the thinly sliced persimmon on top of the batter when you bake it.