"Cake baking, like painting or ceramics, is an art honed with time. That's only part of why my latest recipe, a persimmon cake, feels like such a celebration of growth. Arriving at this moist, bouncy recipe was not easy. Along the way, there were many flops that came out too boring or too bland. There was the version with soggy persimmons and soggier cake. Another started with butter creamed with sugar, the classic way, but the crumb was tough and greasy."
"One difficult thing about baking with many fruits, and specifically persimmons, is that they're dense with juice, which can seep into the batter as it bakes and turn an otherwise light cake dense. Why don't you roast the fruit before baking with it? my colleague (and fabulous baker) Yewande Komolafe suggested, as I lamented to her about this recipe. Her advice turned out to be immensely useful:"
Persimmon cake development required repeated testing to overcome flavors that were bland or textures that were soggy, tough, or greasy. Ripe persimmons are dense with juice, which can seep into batter and weigh down cakes. Roasting wedged persimmons until moisture dissipates concentrates flavor and prevents sogginess. Creaming butter with sugar produced a tough, greasy crumb, while macerating fruit in syrup produced a topping rather than an integrated persimmon cake. Proper handling and moisture control unlock a moist, bouncy cake texture achievable from scratch.
Read at cooking.nytimes.com
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