I had lunch with friends last week in Alexandria. What a treat! Little did we know, Kathy was bringing gifts for all of us….a big bag of fresh persimmons from the tree in her front yard. I learned a few things about persimmons. There are generally two different kinds, the Fuyu and the Hachiya. It seems I was only acquainted with the Hachiya, the heart-shaped persimmon with a distinctly bitter aftertaste that I had in St. Lucia. But the Fuyu that Kathy brought…flat bottomed and firm, did not have the bitterness and can be eaten at a less ripe state than the Hachiya. And they are delicious cooked. So I set out to show off this beautiful autumn fruit in a classic, yet easy, French Tart.

French Persimmon Tart

1 sheet puff pastry
4-5 ripe persimmons
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Glaze:
3 tablespoons apricot jam
1 1/2 tablespoons peach brandy

Parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Slice the persimmons, vertically, into 1/8″ slices

Cut parchment paper to fit a cookie sheet. Roll the puff pastry into a rectangular shape on the parchment paper.  I normally would use a wine bottle “rolling pin” but realized I had purchased a boat-size mini rolling pin from Pampered Chef years ago. It was just buried in my utensil drawer. Best to roll it out on parchment paper that you can just place right into the pan.

Place the parchment paper with pastry onto a cookie sheet. Roll the edges of the dough to form a “crust.”

Layer the persimmon slices on the dough, diagonally from corner to corner. Sprinkle the sugar on top, add diced chunks of butter and dust with nutmeg.

Place it the preheated oven for 20 minutes. While the tart is baking, make the glaze. Warm the Apricot Jam in a small pan. Add the Peach branding. Strain through a metal strainer.

Brush the glaze over the tart, cut into serving slices and serve warm or “saloon temperature.” If you have ice cream or whipped cream on board, be sure to add a spoonful!

Great to serve to guests, French Persimmon Tart is a delicious autumn treat that may people have not yet discovered.

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French Persimmon Tart

A elegant dish to serve in the fall when persimmons are ripe.

Author: GalleyPirate

Ingredients

• Parchment paper
• 1 sheet Puff Pastry
• 4-5 Ripe Fuyu Persimmons
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 1/4 tsp Grated nutmeg

Glaze

• 3 tbsp Apricot jam
• 1 1/2 tbsp Peach brandy

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 F. Slice the persimmons, vertically, into 1/8" slices.
• Cut parchment paper to fit a cookie sheet. Roll the puff pastry out into a rectangular shape on the parchment paper. Place the parchment paper with pastry onto a cookie sheet. Roll the edges of the dough to form a "crust."
• Layer the persimmon slices on the dough, diagonally from corner to corner. Sprinkle the sugar on top, add diced chunks of butter and dust with nutmeg.
• Place it the preheated oven for 20 minutes. While the tart is baking, make the glaze. Warm the Apricot Jam in a small pan. Add the Peach branding. Strain through a metal strainer.
• Brush the glaze over the tart, cut into serving slices and serve alone or with ice cream, custard or whipped cream.

Notes