Armagnac Pots de Creme With Poached Persimmons

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Boozy and lightly spiced with cinnamon, Armagnac Pots de Creme with brandy and spicy poached persimmons are a cozy and show-stopping dessert.

When I came up with Armagnac Pots De Creme with Poached Persimmons I was in desperate need of a silky custard fix…no shocker there. But something about the holiday season makes me crave Eggnog Creme Brulee and Caramelized White Chocolate Pumpkin Pie.

Thanksgiving is only a week away! All I can think about is food. Okay, so some things really do stay the same no matter the season. But I’ve been especially excited to make Fall and Winter themed treats that showcase seasonal ingredients like persimmons. I put on a special wedding cake tasting the other day, so I had dozens of leftover egg yolks. Extra egg yolks are the perfect excuse to make rich concoctions like Curd, Pastry Cream, French Buttercream, and Custards galore. And custards like these Armagnac persimmon pots de creme are all about simple flavors working in harmony.

Persimmons

Persimmons are officially in season. There are two varieties, Fuyu and Hachiya.

Fuyu persimmons are shaped like tomatoes. They are stout and round with a deep orange color inside and out. These are the less astringent of the two varietals. This varietal should be eaten when crisp.

These firm fruits make a great poaching fruit, as they are mild in flavor and sweet with honey notes. They also have subtle notes of apricot and mango flavor. They absorb the flavors of the poaching liquid to add a delicate, fruity, enhancement to the pots de creme.

Hachiya is the acorn shaped and astringent varietal of persimmons. These must be eaten when ripe, as they have high levels of tannins. The Hachiyas are ready only when they’ve reached a very soft, almost liquified stage. I found these persimmons to taste similar to the Fuyu once they ripened sufficiently.

Armagnac

Armagnac is a type of French brandy that is produced in the Gascony region of France. This Brandy is made from white wine grapes, just like Cognac, but it is distilled only once. Armagnac brandy is robust with flavors of dried fruit like apricot and fig, along with warm baking spices and pepper. The longer it ages it takes on caramel notes. It is a lovely brandy to use when poaching Fall and Winter fruits like Armagnac Persimmons.

The following Armagnac Pots De Creme With Poached Persimmons dessert is creamy, gently spiced with cinnamon and infused with vanilla bean. It is velvety and rich without seeming too heavy. The addition of the poached persimmons on top add a delicate balance of tender fruit and light spice.

This brings me to the difference between pot de Creme and Creme brûlée. Creme brûlée has crackly caramelized sugar on top of the custard while pot de creme does not. Note that I added a touch of brûlée around the persimmons for texture on a couple of the custards to show you the difference. A fun aspect of the following recipe is you can go either way.

Poached Persimmons

The first step to making the Armagnac Pots De Creme with poached persimmons is to poach the persimmons.

Use a heavy bottom medium sized sauce pot. Place Armagnac brandy, orange juice, sugar, water, and the spices into a saucepan set over medium heat.

While the mixture heats peel and slice the Fuyu persimmons.

One the mixture reaches a low boil reduce the heat to low. Place the persimmons in the poaching liquid and let them poach for 30 minutes, until the persimmons are tender.

Then remove the persimmons from the poaching liquid using a slotted spoon. Set them into a dish. Cover and chill for later.

Return the poaching liquid to a boil on medium heat. Allow it to reduce to a syrup. This could take up to 20 minutes. Then you can bottle up and save persimmon infused syrup for cocktails or as a final glaze on the pots de creme.

Armagnac Pots de Creme

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Place 6 ramekins in a roasting pan. Set a kettle of water to boil for the water bath.

To make the custard, first add cream and half of milk to a saucepan Set over medium low heat. Add a pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt or salt of choice. I use pink sea salt when I want only mild salt flavor, and where the other ingredients in the dessert should sing.

Split the vanilla bean and Scrape the beans into the saucepan, and also add the pod. Bring to barely a simmer and allow it to heat at the lowest heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with sugar and maple syrup for a couple of minutes. while the cream and vanilla steeps. Then add the remaining cold milk and cinnamon and whisk until incorporated.

Then remove the cream mixture from the heat and turn off the stove. Remove the vanilla bean. While whisking the egg yolks, temper in the cream. Do this in a slow and steady stream while constantly whisking the eggs.

Then add in the Armagnac at the very end.

Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve. Then pour it evenly into the ramekins. Pull the middle rack of the oven out enough to set the whole pan in the rack of your oven.

Take the boiling water and slowly fill the roasting pan halfway. Be careful to pour against the side of the dish so you don’t get any into the pot de creme. Then simply push the oven rack back in. This method helps from sloshing the hot water into the ramekins or getting any on yourself.

Bake the pot de creme for 25-30 minutes. They will jiggle slightly in the middle. Allow them to sit in the water bath for a few minutes before removing them. The ramekin are extremely hot, as is the water. Use tongs and be careful not to touch anything directly. Set them ramekins on a cooling rack for 15 minutes.

Then chill for at least an hour.

Adding The Persimmons

I have given you the option of leaving these as pot de creme or switching them up into creme brûlée. Read on for how to do both.

Once you are ready to serve the custard, simply arrange slices of the poached persimmons on top of the custard. If you opt to leave these as pot de creme, brush on extra poaching glaze and serve with a bit of whipped cream.

Or, if you desire more of a Creme brûlée, feel free to sprinkle with sugar and place on a baking sheet and then under the broiler for 5-10 minutes, rotating halfway. Watch carefully! The persimmons will caramelize at a different pace than the uncovered custard. Alternatively, and the method I prefer, is to use a culinary torch to carefully caramelize the sugar.

Decorate with some pomegranate seeds or sugared cranberries to make the Armagnac persimmon dessert even more festive.

Have a happy and safe holiday season! If you love this Armagnac Pots De Creme With Poached Persimmons recipe, please share it! And join me on Instagram for more free recipes.

XO,

Sarita

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