Persimmon Cardamom Strudel recipe: when you can’t wait for your persimmons to ripen.

Sometimes a recipe just comes to you.

I dreamed this up last week. I was craving a sweet snack, so I defrosted some phyllo dough that night, grabbed some persimmons (already on the countertop) and persimmon jam (already in the fridge) along with a little cardamom sugar (already in the pantry), and whipped up a persimmon cardamom strudel.

The recipe roughly follows the apple strudel recipe from my blog, substituting sliced Fuyu persimmons instead of apples. You don’t have to wait for the persimmons to be bletted (really ripe) for this to work, unlike most recipes that use persimmon.

The original recipe calls for apricot jam, but I used homemade persimmon jam. If I had to, I would use apricot jam if you don’t have persimmon jam. Apricot jam is a somewhat flavorless option in the jam world, so it’s the only one I’d recommend that doesn’t mask the persimmon flavor.

I modified the recipe to have less brown sugar because the persimmons are already super sweet (so is the jam!) so they more than make up for the reduced sugar. I also left out the lemon juice as you don’t need to prevent the persimmon from browning.

I sprinkled cardamom sugar on top of the phyllo dough after the egg wash. I’ve been on a cardamom sugar kick (as you already know!) but this recipe still works great with either cardamom sugar or cinnamon sugar. It gives a crackly, sweet crunch to the top of the dough that pairs well with the warm, soft filling.

This version of my strudel felt so much more buttery than the apple version. The persimmon softens so well when it’s baked, and the persimmon jam is as rich as can be. Here’s the recipe…

Persimmon Cardamom Strudel Recipe

Ingredients