This chocolate persimmon bundt cake was originally inspired by this Persimmon Chai Bread (which is hands down the best chai loaf I've ever had -- gluten-free, vegan, refined sugar-free or not!).
Baking with persimmons is always a pleasure and a treat for me (so jealous of those who can enjoy this amazing fruit all year-round).
Adding persimmon into a chocolate bundt cake makes for an incredibly moist and lush cake with a great consistency -- something incredibly important in a gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free cake.
The cake was a real hit with everyone over the years, down to even visiting 9 and 10 year old neighbors suspicious of anything "vegan" or "gluten-free" -- I call that a successful cake ;)
Chocolate Drizzle Option for this Chocolate Bunt Cake
Originally, when I shared this recipe on the blog some years ago I drizzled it with my favorite chocolate sauce and poured the rest down the center, which made for a delicious molten chocolate filling.
I've since updated it with just a simple layer of sprinkled coconut milk powder and love it as a lighter option (recipe and photos have been updated to that, since that's how I make this cake most often these days). But know that the chocolate sauce (link above) is in your arsenal for those times you're feeling like something something a little bit richer and even more "chocolatey".
A Few Quick Tips on Baking with Persimmons
Something I realized after sharing that initial persimmon chai bread recipe is that a lot of people either don't know what a persimmon is or seem to feel intimidated using it in a recipe. For those unfamiliar with baking with persimmons, let me initiate you into the magic that this fruit is... And if you're already a persimmons expert, feel free to skip down to the recipe now ;) .
Persimmons look like this:
Well that's one variety, anyways (Hachiya). I've used Hachiya and Fuyu persimmons (most common in grocery stores here) in the past for the recipe here. Both kinds work just fine.
In terms of baking, a good persimmon (read: a very, very ripe and somewhat squishy persimmon) is like a custard on the inside. One thing you should know right off the bat is that some persimmon types are astringent (like Hachiya), meaning you can only eat them when they're fully ripe and even over-ripe (soft and squishy and with a deeper shade of orange). Note: never attempt to eat an unripe astringent persimmon lest your mouth shall pucker-up forever! It's really quite an unpleasant experience. If the variety you've got on hand is astringent and you want them to ripen faster, keep the persimmons out of the fridge in a sealed container.
If on the other hand you're using non-astringent persimmons (like Fuyu), though they are edible and delicious even when not fully ripe, for baking this type of a cake I recommend letting them ripen as much as possible so that they become softer and more custardy on the inside.
Persimmons are usually in season in the fall in colder climates (can never wait long enough for persimmon season!), so look out for them in October and November (or all year round in many Asian fruit-stands and supermarkets).
A Few Other Uses for Persimmons
- You can eat them fresh (incredibly flavorful and delicious)
- Blend them into a custard (even more delicious. It'll surprise you how custardy these things get when blended!)
- Add them to a smoothie (for thick and delicious smoothies) use them in baking as an ultra sweet fruit topping or add-in (like in delicious persimmon tarts, pies, etc.)
- Or use the puree inside baked goods for enhanced flavor, moisture, texture, and consistency (they can act as a great egg substitute in many baked goods too). When used inside baked goods like breads and cakes, you often won't be able to detect the persimmon flavor {like in this chocolate bundt cake}, so it's added in more for the benefits I just mentioned. You can certainly play up the persimmon flavor by pairing it with things like chai spices (so cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc.) or other fruit (like apples, pears, and citrus).
There -- now you're an expert on using persimmons in baking :). Now let's make this cake!
Chocolate Persimmon Bundt Cake
An incredibly moist and lush gluten-free vegan chocolate bundt cake with a great consistency. Drizzled with chocolate sauce takes it to the next level!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 9" bundt cake
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Cake Wet Ingredients:
- 415 gr ripe persimmons, de-stemmed (365 gr after stems removed) and quartered*
- 3 small ripe bananas (just under 300 gr when peeled)
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- ¾ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Cake Dry Ingredients:
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- ½ cup potato starch**
- 1 tsp guar gum
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder (gluten-free)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ⅛ tsp salt
Topping:
- 1-2 tbsp non-dairy coconut milk powder for dusting***
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Oil a 9" bundt cake pan and set aside.
- Place all wet ingredients into a blender and blend into a smooth and uniform mixture. Transfer into a large mixing bowl. Note: persimmon tends to gel up very easily once blended, so if you leave your mixture to sit in the blender for a bit and it gels up, simply re-blend for a few seconds and the mixture will liquefy again.
- Add dry cake ingredients and mix with a hand mixer (or spatula) until everything is combined and uniform.
- Pour into your prepared pan and bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes (or until a skewer inserted down the center comes out dry. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack.
- Once cooled, dust the cake with some of the coconut milk powder using a sieve. And enjoy!
Notes
*That's about 2 medium-sized persimmons.
**Tapioca or arrowroot starch would work too.
***Keep an eye out on the ingredients in the coconut milk powder, as some contain dairy as an additive.
Anna Kilmurray says
Hello! I am planning to make this tomorrow for my partner´s birthday. We want the cake to be vegan, but GF is not important to us. I´m not sure if I can sub some of the more unusual ingredients if we are not worried about GF? It would be helpful to know as I´m not sure where I can find potato starch or these flours. Any help gratefully received!
Audrey says
Hi Anna. I haven't tried, but I know I have readers mention that regular flour works just fine as a substitute. So can just give that a try. Otherwise, those flours can be found in most grocery stores, often in the "natural aisle", etc. or just in the baking section.
Karen says
I was tasked with making a gf / vegan holiday dessert - so came across this and with lots or persimmons to spare and folks who love chocolate - I dove in.
It was so simple and turned out lovely - I had no trouble with baketime.
I used the weighted persimmon and regular bananas (I don’t know what a cavendish banana is!?)
I also decided to make the chocolate sauce for extra chocolatey factor! I used a yummy cacao for the sauce - pukka - cacao maca majesty with ashwagandha - it made a nice complex drizzle!
I am comfortable in the kitchen but definitely not super experienced in gf / vegan cooking.
Audrey says
Hi Karen, thanks so much for the lovely feedback and for describing how you went about it. So glad you enjoyed it. And that chocolate sauce sounds amazing!
Margaret says
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I'm hesitant to make this mostly because I have no idea what the texture or the inside of the cake looks like. In the future, it would be really helpful if you could also show photos of the cake once you've cut into it. That usually is very helpful in seeing the texture of the cake and then I can decide whether that's something I want to make.
Audrey says
Hi Margaret. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I recently updated this oldie recipe with new photos, so hope that helps. I agree about inside shots whenever possible -- I aim for that with most of my recipes these days to give a clearer idea of what to expect. Hope you get to try this one out sometime :)
Kathy Fenton says
I am having the same problem, this cake is NOT cooking AT ALL, it's like a pudding, not a bundt cake. I used the ingredients listed. It's been in the oven for 2 HOURS, and I just tested it again, and the toothpick came out WET. I do have a photo of the.. this, but I don't see a way to attach it. The thing is all collapsed and concave. So much for a Christmas dessert. At least I have time to do something else. But what a sinful waste of my awesome ingredients, my money, and something so much more precious.. my TIME and effort. I was so excited! ugh! To whomever tries the cupcake idea, good luck. I purposely kept a tiny amount of batter aside (like, 3-4 tbsp) and 1/2 filled only one of 12 cupcake tins, and baked it, just to see. It STILL was not baked after 45 MINUTES, this dinky amount of batter in a typical cupcake pan. It was still totally gooey and like pudding inside. I sure wish I could've given an awesome review, but I cannot. >:-(
Audrey says
Hi Kathy, I’m sorry the cake didn’t work out for you. After reading how upset you were I decided that before answering I better give the recipe a try again to make sure there truly is nothing wrong with it, since it’s an old blog recipe and it’s been a while since I made it last. I managed to get everything I needed a few days ago (I live remotely, so getting certain ingredients takes time and a long drive into the nearest large town), baked the cake exactly as per directions and it turned out just fine. I baked it in a friend’s oven and it took 10 mins longer than it does in my usual oven, but the cake turned out lovely and was delicious.
I’m really not sure why it didn’t work for you. It’s hard to predict remotely why someone’s cake may have failed without having been there for the process, as I have no idea about each person's baking setup and experience. It’s always possible that something in the ingredient quantities went wrong, for example, or a substitution was made that alters the recipe, etc.
Here are a few things I can think of that may have been the culprit, assuming the recipe was followed as is:
- Maybe the persimmons used were much larger than mine, so I weighed them this time around to give a more precise quantity — rather than saying “2 medium persimmons (or 4 small ones)” I put the weight of them into the recipe now in case there’s a size variance around the world. Maybe the bananas were larger too, but unfortunately I forgot to weigh them :o I'll weigh them next time I have some to indicate the precise quantity I used in the recipe. I used what's considered standard medium persimmons and small bananas here, but it seems that's not precise enough perhaps, so hopefully adding weights will help.
- Another thing I can think of is potentially incorrect oven temperature. I.e. either it may have been set incorrectly, or the oven temperature can sometimes be off. I always test my ovens with a simple oven thermometer to make sure I know how to adjust the temp correctly as often they can be off, which can make a huge difference in gluten-free baking. Some older ovens can fluctuate wildly throughout the baking process as well, which would lead to a likely baking flop.
- One final thought: are you baking at a high altitude by chance? Because baked recipes need to be adjusted specifically for high altitude for them to work.
If I had to guess, it was probably too much persimmon. Or an inadequate ingredient substitution.
I’m attaching a few quick photos of the cake I just baked (I’ll also update the photos in the post above in the next few days since this gave me an excuse to re-shoot and update the dated pics above).
Deana says
I'd like to try this out but I'm worried about the banana amount. When they are smashed, is it like 1/3 cup or more? 3 bananas sounds like a lot. I can't imagine using Chiquita bananas for baking since they have such a strong flavor. So I imagine you are talking about the regular Cavendish banana...
Deana says
I just made, cooled, and tried this bread. The results were very interesting! I went with my gut and used 2 average sized Cavendish bananas instead of 3. I used fuyu persimmons (the ones that look like flat pumpkins) and that ended up amounting to 2 large ones and 2 small ones (I weighted it so it would be fairly close to the weight you stated). I used a bunt pan as well. The bread was ready to come out at 42 minutes. I tasted the raw batter before putting it in and it only tasted like bananas! That made me worry but I waited for the cooked version to make my final verdict. Luckily the finished product tasted very different from the raw batter haha. My mom tasted the bread and had no idea it had bananas until I told her. The texture is lovely, just like in your pictures. I think I will try adding a chocolate glaze tomorrow because I want to see if I can appease my sweet-toothed lovelies with this. The persimmon comes out gently in the final product, and the sweetness is very light.
Audrey says
Hi Deana, thanks so much for sharing. So happy it worked out well for you in the end. Believe it or not, I actually only just saw your previous comment earlier today and went to weigh some bananas -- came back later in the afternoon to see your updated comment now :)
I weighed 3 small ripe bananas at just under 300gr (when peeled). And yes, I used Cavendish. The final bread is not very banana-y though, as you discovered. They mainly add a lot of moisture and texture to the bread, and some sweetness.
Enjoy it! :) I love it with the chocolate topping as well.
Elisa says
Ok, I just placed it on the oven, I got really scared when I fliped the mixing bowl and it came out as a whole pudding!
Let's hope this works out, we will know in 1h15min :)
Audrey says
Hi Elisa, sorry for not getting back sooner. Ripe persimmons can be very jello-like, that's for sure. Hope you enjoyed the cake :)
Elisa says
It might have been because of the different persimmon I used (in brazil the most common type is more round and red than the one you use, I actually only stumbled across this "chocolate persimmon" yesterday), but it was a total flop. Didn't bake at all, even thought I used the proper amount of baking soda. It was not the measures, cuz I converted them properly. :c Mom says it tasted good, but I was too stressed to taste. I will stick to the unbaked goodies, they use to work out for me haha
Again, thank you for sharing, and always keep up surprising us with unconventional ingredients! <3
Toni says
I'm having a hard time with this cake. It's been baking for over 2 hours, and still isn't cooked inside. I'm guessing that I put in too much banana or something. Any ideas?
Audrey says
Hi Toni,
Too much liquid, a small & tall pan, or an incorrect oven temp come to mind, but it's hard to say without knowing exactly what you used. Did you modify anything in the ingredients or the measurements? Also, do you know if your oven holds its temperature correctly? 2 hours is definitely way longer than it should take...
Evan says
Hi Genny,
I'm planning on making this cake for a party on Friday but I will need to bake it on Thursday to accommodate other preparation. Will it be good served a day later, at room temperature?
Evan
Audrey says
Hi Evan,
Yes, it will keep well. I'd store it in the fridge overnight though just to keep more of the moisture in. But it's fine to leave out at room temperature too. It kept nice and moist for days for me, so I know it'll be just fine.
You may want to hold off on pouring the chocolate topping on until before the party for a fresher look, though even after a few days frosted it was just as tasty for me. The chocolate glaze on its own shouldn't be stored in the fridge though, as it will harden. So keep that at room temp and you'll just need to give it a stir and pour over the cake before serving. Up to you though--it'll be fine either way. I just think it looks pretty when just glazed :).
Enjoy it!
Evan says
Thanks so much for the quick and thorough reply! i will let you know how it turns out.
Audrey says
You're welcome, Evan. Happy baking! I'd love to hear how it turns out for sure.
Genny says
If I made this into cupcakes, how many would you say it would make? How long would you bake in a 9 inch pan? thanks. I don't have a bundt pan but would love to make this recipe! :)
Audrey says
Hi Genny. I'd guess maybe 16-20 cupcakes. I also think it's a little larger than a 9" pan, so I would split it up into two and make a 2 layer cake (or halve the recipe for a single 9"). Either way will work great -- it's quite a sturdy recipe and doesn't have to be made in a bundt pan. In a 9" pan, I would test for doneness at the 50 minute mark. Happy baking! I'd love to hear what you end up making. Cupcakes or a regular cake sound lovely!
Laura@Baking in Pyjamas says
How dark and enticing, it looks wonderful! Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!