Recipes and Cooking Desserts & Baking Cakes Spice Cake Persimmon Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 5.0 (1) 1 Review Go for the gold with this vibrant, cream cheese-frosted cake. By Ellen Gray Ellen Gray Ellen Gray has been working in professional kitchens for over 40 years. Her experience as a restaurateur, baking instructor and recipe developer spans NY's metropolitan tri-state area. Ellen's roster of pie patrons include members of the Broadway and television community. When not in her kitchen, the award-winning pastry chef and food writer enjoys running half marathons. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Published on November 17, 2022 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Kelsey Hansen Prep Time: 15 mins Total Time: 1 hrs 50 mins Servings: 12 Jump to Nutrition Facts Jump to recipe This cream cheese-frosted spice cake is an autumnal classic that celebrates fall fruit even more with the addition of persimmons. Their mild honeylike sweetness flavors the batter along with cinnamon and turmeric, and dried coins curl like leaves atop the cake. Either a yellow or spice cake mix works for this homey loaf. The yellow yields a more vibrant color; the spice mix lends a deeper flavor. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups dried sliced persimmons (3.4 oz.) 1 15.25 oz box yellow cake mix 2 tbsp candied ginger, finely chopped 1 tsp ground turmeric 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground cardamom 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 3 eggs 1/4 cup chopped pecans 4 oz cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tsp vanilla Directions Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Place persimmon slices in a bowl and cover with 2 cups boiling water. Let stand 30 minutes; drain, reserving the liquid. Chop four of the soaked persimmon slices; set aside. For puree,* transfer remaining slices to a small food processor. Process until smooth, adding reserved liquid as needed. You should have 2/3 cup. Tip If fresh Hachiya persimmons are available, use 2/3 cup fresh persimmon pulp for the puree. To make the pulp, cut 2 or 3 persimmons in half; scoop out pulp, discarding skin and seeds. Mash until smooth. (Or sub 2/3 cup mashed sweet potatoes.) Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl combine cake mix, candied ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Add 3/4 cup water, the eggs, and persimmon puree until well combined and smooth, 2 minutes. Fold in pecans and chopped persimmons. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until a skewer inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Remove from pan; let cool completely For frosting, in a medium bowl beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth. Transfer cooled cake to a serving platter. Frost top of cake. If you like, top with additional dried persimmon slices. Cover and chill leftover cake up to 3 days. Serves 12. Spice Cake Variation Substitute a spice cake mix for the yellow cake mix and omit the turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Prepare as directed. Rate it Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 298 Calories 11g Fat 46g Carbs 4g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 12 Calories 297.6 % Daily Value * Total Fat 11.2g 14% Saturated Fat 5.5g 27% Cholesterol 66.2mg 22% Sodium 336.5mg 15% Total Carbohydrate 46.4g 17% Dietary Fiber 1.9g 7% Total Sugars 29.9g Protein 3.9g Vitamin D 0.2mcg 1% Vitamin C 2.2mg 11% Calcium 99.1mg 8% Iron 1.3mg 7% Potassium 112.6mg 2% Fatty acids, total trans 0.2g Vitamin D 10.2IU Alanine 0.2g Arginine 0.2g Ash 1.8g Aspartic acid 0.3g Caffeine 0mg Carotene, alpha 0.1mcg Choline, total 45.2mg Copper, Cu 0.1mg Cystine 0.1g Energy 1244.7kJ Fluoride, F 0.5mcg Folate, total 33.9mcg Glutamic acid 0.9g Glycine 0.1g Histidine 0.1g Isoleucine 0.2g Leucine 0.3g Lysine 0.3g Methionine 0.1g Magnesium, Mg 12.6mg Manganese, Mn 0.4mg Niacin 0.9mg Phosphorus, P 158.4mg Pantothenic acid 0.4mg Phenylalanine 0.2g Phytosterols 1.4mg Proline 0.3g Retinol 80.4mcg Selenium, Se 6.2mcg Serine 0.3g Starch 0.2g Theobromine 0mg Threonine 0.2g Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.9mg Tryptophan 0.1g Tyrosine 0.2g Valine 0.2g Vitamin A, IU 754.3IU Vitamin A, RAE 104.5mcg Vitamin B-12 0.2mcg Vitamin B-6 0.1mg Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 2.5mcg Water 40.9g Zinc, Zn 0.5mg *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.