Creamy and rich, these Roasted Persimmon and Ginger Custards get their golden color from nutrient-rich yolks and gooey, ripe persimmon pulp. Seasonal and loaded with farm-fresh ingredients, they are the perfect, delicately sweet treat to celebrate the upcoming holiday season.
½cupripe Hachiya persimmon pulpfrom 2 medium persimmons.
¼cupfresh minced ginger
1fine sea salt
1fresh whole nutmeg
4egg yolksat room temperature
4medium Fuyu persimmonsquartered, cored, peeled and cut into small pieces
1tablespoonsalted butter
Instructions
Add water to a double boiler (or a heat-safe bowl fitted over a small pot of water) and heat until simmering. Add heavy cream and allow to gradually warm. Whisk in honey, Hachiya pulp, minced ginger, and salt. Continue to heat for about 4 mins until very hot but not at a simmer. Remove from heat and cover. Allow cream mixture to steep for 30 mins.
While cream is steeping, heat oven to 325 F, and then heat a tea kettle with water.
Strain cream mixture with a fine mesh strainer, leaving behind all fibrous bits. Return cream mixture to double boiler and heat through. In a clean bowl, whisk egg yolks until combined. Take a ½ cup of the heated cream mixture and slowly pour it into the yolk bowl while lightly whisking at the same time. This tempers the yolks. Slowly add remaining heated cream mixture in the same way; stir with the whisk instead of whipping to avoid unnecessary frothy air bubbles. Once cream and yolk are incorporated, use a microplane to grate some fresh nutmeg into the mixture. About a pinch (⅛ to 1/16 of a teaspoon) of fresh nutmeg. Then give it a quick stir.
3. Evenly distribute the mixture among ramekins and arrange in a baking pan. Pull middle rack out and place pan onto it. Prepare hot water bath by slowly pouring hot water from the kettle into the baking pan, careful to avoid the ramekins, until it reaches about ⅔rds of the way up. Be careful of the oven heating elements when pouring the water into the pan. Push the rack in carefully and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the edges are set but it’s slightly wobbly in the middle. Remove from oven and allow the custards to cool.
Add all of the Fuyu persimmon pieces to a Silpat lined roasting pan (you can pickup a Silpat mat here), and pour melted butter over. Stir to coat. Roast until soft and fragrant, 15 to 20 mins. Turn the boiler to high, and then broil until bits are crispy and golden brown. Keep an eye on the broiler, as it happens fast.
Spoon warm roasted fruit on top of each ramekin and serve immediately.
Notes
The custards can be made up to two days in advance, and stored in the fridge with plastic wrap. I recommend roasting the Fuyu persimmons right before serving, so that the topping is warm.