Dawn Leahy served this pudding at my aunt’s house in Fort Lauderdale, and I extend profuse thanks to her for sharing her recipe.

I served it myself this weekend, as the crown of an English Christmas dinner. Actually, persimmon pudding originates in North America, but I couldn’t resist Anglicizing it a bit with brandy butter. And it does inspire a distinctly Victorian mood, ethereally light out of the pan and steaming headily with brandy and spices. The spice here is Chinese five-spice powder, traditionally composed of cinnamon, cassia, cloves, anise, and ginger–but bottled blends often omit the cassia and include nutmeg, allspice, or pepper. It’s a delicious concoction that gives not so much sweetness, but warmth and depth to whatever you add it to–and I have a hard time trying not to throw a pinch into whatever I’m cooking these days.

I might add that this is pudding redemption for anyone who (like me) dreams annually of producing a resplendent Christmas pudding but misses the window for the long-tended, booze-fed variety that has to be started sometime in November.

Spiced Persimmon Pudding
2-4 ripe persimmons, flesh scooped out and puréed to equal 2 cups
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
1/4 cup good quality brandy
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 eggs
2/3 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and place an oven rack in the middle position.

Butter eight 1-cup capacity baby bundt pans.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, five-spice powder, and baking soda, and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, brandy, lemon juice, vanilla, and eggs, until well combined.

Add the persimmon pulp and raisins and mix again.

Add the flour mixture (I did this gradually), and stir until combined.

Divide your pudding batter among the bundt cups, and set into a large roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the roaster to come about halfway, or a little more, up the sides of the baking cups. Not enough to risk sloshing into the pan.

Bake about 15-20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of a pudding comes out clean.

Unmold and serve hot with a lump of brandy butter or whipped cream.

Serves 8.