Since I’ve discovered persimmons, I have been scouring Pinterest and other food sites for recipes featuring them. I’ve learned that the persimmon is an under-appreciated fruit, which is understandable, given my own history with them. I found a few interesting recipes, mostly for cookies and breads, which I am sure will make their way into future posts since I plan to purchase more persimmons to purée and freeze for use during the next couple of months.

For today, I am sharing this recipe I developed, which combines the sweetness of the Hachiya persimmons and orange blossom honey with the pungency of cardamom, and the tanginess of crème fraîche into a lightly spiced frozen treat. I wanted to keep the persimmon flavor prominent and avoid the “eggy” taste that is present in custard-style ice creams, so I opted to make this in the Philadelphia-style, that is, ice cream without eggs. I had originally planned to mix in some finely diced candied ginger to the ice cream, but, since I decided to add some crushed cardamom at the last minute, I mixed in some chopped Fuyu instead.

Enjoy!

Persimmon Cardamom Honey Ice Cream
Yields 1 quart

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup crème fraîche
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey (I used orange blossom honey)
1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds, crushed finely
1 cup whole milk
2 cups Hachiya persimmon, puréed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste)
1/2 cup Fuyu persimmon, cut into small cubes, for mixing in

Method:
Pour 1 cup of the cream into a medium saucepan and add the crème fraîche, sugar, honey, and cardamom seeds. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the crème fraîche, sugar, and honey are dissolved and the mixture is smooth.

Remove from heat and add the remaining cream, milk, persimmon purée, and the vanilla extract. Chill mixture for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Pour chilled mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add cubed persimmon mix-in during the last few minutes of churning to distribute evenly.

Store ice cream in an airtight container.

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