It’s Autumn time here in Australia so it’s time to look at the wonderful fruit that is in season and ready to be devoured! What beautiful creation of mother nature have I chosen? Well… pucker up and purse those lips for the ever so perfect PERSIMMON!
There are so many benefits bursting from this orange beauty so why wouldn’t you want to enjoy something that tastes amazing and is doing your body some good? Make sure you enjoy their sweet and delicate flavour when they are nice and ripe otherwise they can have quite an astringent taste.
You can enjoy them in salads, in smoothies or just on their own however, today I have decided to mix them with one of my favourite ingredients… CHOCOLATE!
Why should I be eating Persimmons?
There are numerous reasons as to why you should be introducing this amazing fruit into your Autumn diet. Here are just a few reasons:
- Persimmons have one of the highest ascorbic acid (vitamin c) levels with a single persimmon having approximately 80% of the daily requirement of that beneficial nutrient.
- Persimmons are a great source of fibre.
- They have a fantastic level of antioxidants which helps keep inflammation down. Not only are they high in Vitamin C but they are also abundant in vitamin A, beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene and cryptoxanthins. Not only can these vitamins helps with your immunity and inflammation, they have wonderful anti-aging effects.
- Persimmons are a great source of potassium.
- Persimmons also provide copper, an essential element in creating creating new red blood cells.
If that isn’t enough to get you running to your local fruit market then I don’t know what will! Actually… I know what will… my… drumroll… Raw Persimmon Tart.
Ingredients – Chocolate Crust
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup macadamia nut flour (or another flour of your choice)
- 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
- 3 1/2 tbsp. cacao powder
- 1/2 cup raw almond and chia butter
- 1/4 cup date paste (soak dates for 24 hours then mush together with a fork)
- 2 tbsp. purified water
- 1 tbsp. vanilla paste
- Pinch Himalayan Sea Salt
Ingredients – Chocolate Cream
- 1 cup fresh meat of young thai coconut
- 1 cup cashews
- 1/2 cup fresh coconut water or purified water
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup rice malt syrup or maple syrup
- 5 tbsp. raw cacao powder or carob powder
Ingredients – Coconut Nectar Soaked Persimmons
- 2 ripe persimmons
- 1/2 cup coconut nectar / maple syrup or rice malt syrup
- Pinch of cinnamon
- Pinch of Himalayan sea salt
Method – Crust
- Soak your dates overnight. Drain after around 24 hours and mush together with a fork to create a date paste.
- Add all ingredients to your Vitamix Wet Container and lock the lid into place.
- Turn onto variable speed 1 and then immediately up to variable speed 10 and override to HIGH speed.
- Use your tamper effectively to push ingredients down to the blade.
- Line a tart pan with plastic wrap or coconut oil.
- Press the dough into the tart part evenly.
- Dehydrate for 2 hours on HIGH (65 degrees Celsius) and then remove the crust from the pan and dehydrate the crust for another 6-8 hours.
Method – Chocolate Cream
- Place all ingredients into your Vitamix Wet Container and secure the lid.
- Turn your machine onto variable speed 1 and then quickly turn up to speed 10 and override to HIGH speed.
- Use your tamper effectively to push the ingredients down to the blade.
- Stop blending once it has reached your desired consistency.
Method – Coconut Nectar Soaked Persimmons
- Slice the persimmons into your desired shape.
- Pour the coconut nectar over the slices along with the cinnamon and salt and let them soak for 5 hours.
- You may dehydrate them as well if you so desire. The ones in this recipe have been dehydrated on HIGH for about 1-2 hours.
Time to assemble!
- Once your crust has set, spoon the chocolate cream into the crust evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 8 hours or overnight.
- Arrange your soaked persimmon slices on top of the cream and garnish with some ground almonds / pistachios or coconut. I have chosen some fresh AUSTRALIAN GROWN blueberries and some desiccated coconut.
This tart beautifully rich and can be made sweeter if you so desire. It’s best eaten straight away however, it can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge… but why bother? Eat is straight away!