These persimmon pancakes are a tasty way to use persimmons from your backyard tree. When they’re ripe in the fall, mix up a batch of pancakes for breakfast. Get ready for some yum!
Originally published November 2018; this post has been updated.
Persimmons are really the unsung hero of fruits. Persimmon trees are beautiful in the fall, their bare branches adorned with bright orange fruit.
But if we’re going to be honest with each other, persimmons can be a hard sell. They’re not familiar to many people, making them seem like a weird fruit. And it can be hard to know when they’re ripe. But persist!
Persimmon Pancakes
These easy persimmon pancakes are a tasty breakfast with the added nutritional punch of fresh persimmons.
Ingredients
Flour — When I bake with all-purpose flour I opt for the unbleached version. Bleached flour is very white, but it’s also treated with bleaching agents that I don’t really need in my food.
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Brown sugar — Adds a little molasses flavor to these pancakes. Use light or brown sugar, as you like.
Eggs — Fresh eggs, store bought, use what you have readily available.
Milk — Use whatever type you typically keep on hand. You can certainly use nut milk if you prefer.
Oil — I typically use avocado oil in my kitchen, but vegetable oil works, too.
Persimmons — Use the pulp of fully ripe fruit. See below for more on how to prepare fresh persimmons for use in recipes.
Preparing Persimmon Pulp
Choose very ripe persimmons for these persimmon pancakes. Slice the stem from the top of each persimmon and use a spoon to scoop pulp into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a plastic blade, then pulse until the persimmon flesh is a fairly smooth consistency.
You can do this with the seeds intact, or remove the persimmon seeds before you process the pulp.
Making Persimmon Pancakes
Much like the recipe for easy pumpkin pancakes found here, making these persimmon pancakes is just a matter of gathering ingredients and mixing them up.
I start by measuring the dry ingredients into bowl, then add the wet ingredients. Stir just until combined.
You can cook these on a griddle — I have a stovetop cast iron griddle that I love — or make them in a frying pan. The benefit of a griddle is two-fold. First, you can cook more pancakes at one time, a valuable thing for family-sized pancake breakfasts. It’s also easier to flip these persimmon pancakes on a griddle — there’s no edge to get in the way, like there is with a frying pan.
Once the batter is ready, spoon it out onto a hot surface. Watch for small air bubbles to start to appear on the surface of the persimmon pancakes and a dullness around the edge near the cooking surface. These are both signals that the pancakes are ready to be flipped.
Freezing Persimmons
If you have persimmons aplenty and would like to save them to make persimmon pancakes throughout the year, pop them in the freezer. Yep, just as they are.
Put the whole, unpeeled persimmon right in the freezer. When you’re ready to use them, set them on a plate to thaw. They will be very mushy after having been frozen, perfect for making these persimmon pancakes!
★ Did you make these persimmon pancakes? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Persimmon Pancakes
Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except butter in a mixing bowl. Stir until combined.1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 egg, 3/4 cup milk, 2 tablespoons avocado oil, 3/4 cup persimmon, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Heat griddle or frying pan on medium heat. Drop the butter on the griddle and spread to coat the cooking surface.1 tablespoon butter
- Spoon about a quarter cup of pancake batter onto the griddle. Cook on each side for 1-2 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Serve with maple syrup or honey.
Notes
- Choose very ripe persimmons for these persimmon pancakes. Slice the stem from the top of each persimmon and use a spoon to scoop pulp into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a plastic blade, then pulse until the persimmon flesh is a fairly smooth consistency.
- You can do this with the seeds intact, or remove the persimmon seeds before you process the pulp.
- Watch for small air bubbles to start to appear on the surface of the persimmon pancakes and a dullness around the edge near the cooking surface. These are both signals that the pancakes are ready to be flipped.
Nutrition
I could not get these to cook all the way through and I tried several techniques. I tried consistent low heat on the griddle, but they were raw in the middle. I tried transferring them to an oven, but that just turned them into a hard and flat outside “crust” and still raw in the middle. I don’t know what else to try…
It’s hard for me to know why that is from way over here! Maybe try a new batch. Good luck!
Delicious recipe, thanks! I used up the last of out persimmon to make these pancakes. They only alteration I made was the addition of some vanilla extract.
Good idea! Glad you enjoyed them 🙂
I tried these today with purée from ripe Hachiya persimmons from my tree.
I used a food mill to obtain the purée as it leaves behind the skin, seeds, etc.
I added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.
The pancakes came out fairly dense and flat, but the flavor was good. Next time I will reduce the persimmon purée to 1/2 cup and whip the egg white separated from the yolk, then fold it into the batter. Hopefully that will produce a lighter pancake.