Nancy Reagan's Persimmon Pudding & Brandy Sauce
I first saw this recipe in the LA Times as a yearning young cook, about age 14. Though it took many many hours of concentration and anxious steaming (who'd ever steamed a dessert?) the results were fantastic. Needless to say, I omitted the brandy.
Pudding:
1 cup sugar1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup persimmon pulp (3 to 4 very ripe persimmons)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons brandy
1 cup seedless raisins
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
2 eggs, slightly beaten
To make pudding: stir together butter and sugar. Resift flour with salt and cinnamon and add to butter and sugar mixture. Add persimmon pulp, soda dissolved in warm water, brandy and vanilla. Add eggs, mixing thoroughly, but lightly. Add raisins and nuts, stirring until mixed. Put in buttered steam-type covered mold and steam 2-1/2 hours. Flame at table with brandy and serve with sauce.
Brandy Whipped Cream Sauce:
1 egg
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
dash salt
1 tablespoon brandy flavoring
1 cup whipping cream
To make sauce: Beat egg until light and fluffy. Beat in butter, powdered sugar, salt and brandy flavoring. Beat cream until stiff. Gently fold into first mixture. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Stir before spooning onto pudding.