Persimmon & Pomegranate Bread

I will admit that I have never cooked with persimmons until today. I have had them in salads but that's about my extent of my knowledge and use. Shame on me! Now that they are in season- I'm going to try to use them more often. I have also been wanting to add pomegranates to a bread/muffin for a while now to see if the crunch with make up for not using nuts (my boss is allergic). And I will say that the combo of these two winter fruits make quite a tasty treat! Now I want to try persimmon ice cream with pomegranate syrup. On the to-do list! 

Persimmon & Pomegranate Bread

Fridge:

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 eggs 

1 cup pomegranate seeds*

2 cups ripe persimmon, puréed 

Pantry:

3 cups ap flour

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg 

1/4 cup canola oil

Canola oil spray 

Tools:

Bread baking tray 

Electric hand mixer 

Spatula 

Measuring cups/spoons 

2 medium bowls 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray your bread tray with canola oil. 

In one bowl add flour, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well. 

In the other bowl, add the persimmon puree, eggs, vanilla extract, melted butter and canola oil. Use your electric hand mixer to blend well. 

Pour 1/2 the dry bowl into the wet bowl. Mix with electric mixer until combined. Then add the rest of the dry ingredients to the bowl. Mix well again. Using the spatula, hand mix in the pomegranate seeds. 

Pour the batter into the greased baking tray. Place into the oven and bake for 55 to 1 hour 10 minutes. The top should be a medium brown and a toothpick should come out clean when pricked into the center. 

*A great way to get pomegranate seeds out of a pomegranate is to cut the pomegranate into four pieces on a plate, the juice can stain boards. Put a colander into a large bowl and fill it with water. Put the four pieces into water and pull the seeds out. The white pith of the pomegranate floats and is easier to remove this way as it separates from the seeds. Once the seeds are out and you have removed the pith, you can lift the seeds out with the colander- takes all of five minutes!