Persimmon season is the best season! This scrumptious Persimmon Chocolate Loaf Cake recipe takes just 15 minutes to throw together and satiates all chocolate cravings. This chocolate cake has sweet persimmons mixed in and is topped with a luscious, rich dark chocolate ganache. It's simple and beautiful to serve for any occasion.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 5 nonstick loaf pan with parchment paper so that excess paper is hanging off the side to allow for easy removal.
In a medium bowl, sift the all purpose flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together.
Peel the skin off of one ripened fuyu persimmon and dice it, it should be about 1 cup. Take 2 tablespoons of the dry ingredients and toss it with the diced persimmons.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in one egg at a time, beating well after addition. Pour the vanilla extract and whisk until fully combined. At this point, add in about a third of the dry ingredients and combine, and then a third of the milk and stir. Continue adding the dry and milk in thirds and mix just until combined. Gently fold in the coated diced persimmons.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan and tap it against a hard surface a few times. Bake at 350°F for 60 minutes, or until inserting a toothpick into the center comes out clean. While the loaf bakes, make the chocolate ganache. Allow the loaf to set in the pan for 15 minutes. Gently lift the loaf out of the pan and leave it to cool on a rack.
Chocolate Ganache
In a small pot, bring the heavy cream to boil and remove it from heat just as it does.
Add the chocolate into a large heatproof bowl. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate and gently stir to combine until all the chocolate has melted. The chocolate should be completely smooth and emulsified with the heavy cream.
Allow the ganache to cool and set for a minimum of an hour. When the loaf cake is ready to frost, whip the ganache until it's a thick and fluffy frosting. Spread it on the top of the fully cooled loaf cake.
Thinly slice a persimmon and crush a few pistachios to decorate the ganache.
Notes
Ensure all the ingredients are at room temperature before making this recipe.
A carbon steel 9" x 5" nonstick loaf pan was used to test this recipe. The type of loaf pan used may affect bake times, so look for the specified cues to ensure the cake loaf is done baking.
Dutch process cocoa powder isn't acidic, so it requires baking powder. If subbing the dutch process for regular cocoa powder, use the same amount but swap out the baking powder for 1 teaspoon of baking soda.