Pawpaw Pudding

When it comes to pawpaw, accept no substitutes. Trust us; we tried. We went to a bunch of experts — scholars who specialize in fruit, plus chefs and cookbook authors who know all about the proud culinary history of Appalachia — and we asked them, “If a home cook doesn’t happen to have any pawpaw, what combination of other fruits and vegetables might work well as a replacement?” We picked up passing nods to sweet potatoes, bananas, papayas, avocados, really ripe mangoes. But in the end everyone came back with variations on “Forget it, there’s nothing like a pawpaw.”

The weird, goopy-textured, tropical-ish fruit whose name sounds like a punch line on “Hee Haw” can be found scattered all over the country, but recipes (for cakes, pies, puddings) abound largely in West Virginia and nearby states like Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. If you happen to secure some pawpaw, best to get out of its way, as is the case with this pudding. Pawpaw is a holiday guest who responds well to minimal interference.

Ingredients

• ½ cup/1 stick/113 grams butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus more for baking dish
• 2 cups/400 grams sugar
• 1 ½ cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups /1 pound/454 grams pawpaw pulp, thawed if frozen (see note)
• 1 ½ cups/355 milliliters whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

    292 calories; 9 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 47 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 34 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 69 milligrams cholesterol; 111 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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12 servings

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together eggs and pawpaw pulp until smooth. Whisk in milk and vanilla. Whisk in melted butter. Pour into sugar mixture and stir only until combined.
4. Pour batter into prepared dish. Bake 50 minutes or until just set in the center. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack before cutting. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

• Frozen pawpaw pulp can be bought online from integrationacres.com and earthy.com.

1 hour 15 minutes