Persimmons are the definition of gooey. Gooey, sweet, orange, and made to be swirled into pudding. This tasty, spoon-ready dessert showcases their natural jelly-like goodness amidst creamy vanilla bean pudding and crunchy graham crumbles. So much to love all in one bowl!
What is graham? Graham seems to be synonymous with graham crackers, which seem to be synonymous with honey. But graham is really just a type of flour. It’s a wheat flour with all of the wheat kernel components (bran, germ, and endosperm) still present. So it’s like whole whole wheat flour, which means it has lots of fiber too! These graham crumbles will remind you of that crunchy, sweet-cinnamon cracker treat, but leave the bees be.
When I used to eat graham crackers, it was always a mess of crumbs. So I just skipped the cracker stage altogether and made graham crumbles. Because creamy pudding is better with a crumbly contrast.
I’m leaving the sweetening option to you for the graham crumbles. Any liquid sweetener will provide the necessary sugar and stickiness. I made a batch with coconut nectar and a batch with maple syrup, and both were perfect. So what’ll it be for you: Agave? Maple syrup? Coconut nectar? Brown rice syrup? Bee-Free Honee?
Vanilla Persimmon Swirl Pudding with Graham Crumbles
Serves 1
Pudding
1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
3 tbsps cornstarch
1/4 cup organic cane sugar (or sweetener of choice)
1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
Graham Crumbles
1/4 cup graham flour
1 1/2 tbsps liquid sweetener of choice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
And 1 super ripe hachiya persimmon
- For the crumbles, mix together the graham flour, cinnamon, and liquid sweetener until clumpy. Spread the mixture out on lined pan, and bake for 12-15 minutes at 350F. They will be soft when you take them out, but quite crunchy as they cool.
- For the pudding, whisk the cornstarch into 1/4 cup of the non-dairy milk.
- Combine the rest of the non-dairy milk, sugar, and vanilla bean powder (if you’re using extract, wait till the end to add it) in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil, whisking frequently.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium. Add the cornstarch mixture. It will thicken very quickly, so whisk, whisk, whisk!
- Cook for 5-6 minutes until the pudding is nice and thick.
- Remove from the heat. Whisk in the vanilla extract if using.
- Allow it to cool for 5 minutes
- Cut the persimmon in half and scoop out the sweet pulp. It should be gooey and a little chunky.
- Spoon the pudding into a bowl and swirl in the persimmon. Crumble on the graham bits now and enjoy it warm. Or refrigerate the swirled pudding for 4-6 hours, then crumble on the graham bits for a cold dessert.
