Persimmon Bars

Alas, December has hit with a vengeance and my still-remaining collection of GRAVY posts has been relegated to a back burner - so to speak. They ARE there and WILL be posted, just maybe not as soon as I planned.

I've had other things to entertain me though. My dear cousin in California just sent us this HUGE package of avocados and persimmons and while the avocados are ripening VERY slowly in my cool garage, the persimmons have all decided to ripen at once and I was left wondering what exactly to do with them.

I love persimmons, but they are a peculiar and often misunderstood fruit. The Hachiya persimmons (like the ones in my garage) are large, heart shaped and need to be eaten ONLY after they've ripened to a super-soft, jello- or-custard-like consistency. No, it might not sound appetizing at first, but they really are delicious. I sometimes freeze the ripe ones and they're especially delicious straight out of the freezer - like eating sorbet!

The squatty, Fuyu persimmons can be eaten when firm (like a ripe pear) and dark orange in color, I especially like them cut up in fruit or green salads.

Since all 16 persimmons decided to ripen at once, I decided to put some of the fruit into a bar-cookie recipe, more specifically for an entry in the Earth Balance/Whole Foods Holiday Bake-Off contest.

My recipe is here: (Persimmon Bars) but I'll also post the whole recipe here on my blog, in case you're too lazy to click on the link. They're modeled after lemon bars, but the mellow, sweet persimmon filling makes them into something quite different.

PERSIMMON BARS

CRUST (following):
* 1 2/3 cup(s) of wheat or white pastry flour
* 2 tbsp. of wheatgerm OR chickpea flour
* 2/3 cup(s) of powdered sugar
* 4 tbsp. of cornstarch
* 1 cup(s) of chilled Earth Balance Baking Sticks

PERSIMMON CUSTARD FILLING (following):
* 1 1/4 cup(s) of water
* 3 tbsp. of agar agar flakes
* 1/2 cup(s) of sugar
* 1 1/2 cup(s) of very soft, ripe Hachiya persimmon pulp (4 large, soft persimmons)
* 1 tbsp. of lemon juice
* 4 tbsp. of arrowroot powder (OR cornstarch, though it will be more cloudy)
* 3 tbsp. of soymilk

* 1/4 cup(s) of powdered sugar for topping

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Grease a 9 X 13 pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. MAKE CRUST:
3. Put the flour, wheat germ, powdered sugar and cornstarch in food processor. Add Earth Balance margarine in spoonfuls and "pulse" (turn it on and off) each time, 8 to 10 seconds, and then, if needed, after all the margarine is added, pulse again until mixture resembles coarse meal.
4. Spoon the crust mixture into the baking pan and press firmly into an even layer with slightly raised sides to hold in the filling.
5. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes and then bake for 40 min.
6. Remove from oven. Let cool. While it is cooling, make the custard filling.
7. MAKE FILLING:
8. Soak the agar-agar flakes in the water for 15 minutes. While it is soaking, put persimmon pulp in food processor and blend until smooth. Mix the arrowroot and lemon juice into persimmon pulp and blend well to dissolve arrowroot.

9. Put agar-agar mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil about 10 minutes until completely dissolved. Add sugar and boil about two or three more minutes.
10. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the arrow root and persimmon mixture, then add the soy milk. Whisk constantly over med-low heat until the mixture thickens. About 5 minutes.
11. Pour cooked mixture into prepared crust. Let it cool about 20 minutes, then refrigerate for 2 - 3 hours or until set up and only slightly jiggly. Sift powdered sugar over the top. Cut into bars and serve.