Marian Gore, cookery bookseller and cook. Persimmon pudding, anyone?

The daughter of Marian L. Gore, a bookseller who specialized in tomes about food and wine and died at age 95, said her mother had been a “wonderful cook.”

Her mother’s “piece de resistance,” said Meredith Savery, was persimmon pudding. We couldn’t help but ask for the recipe.

Marian L. Gore’s Persimmon Pudding

There are many persimmon pudding recipes floating around, but they are all too fancy.  This is the simplest recipe I've seen and the best.

Beat one egg well in a bowl

Sift together and add 1 1/4 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Add mashed pulp of three large ripe persimmons, 3/4 cup milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir until mixed.

Bake 1 hour or a little more at 300 degrees

Serve warm or cold with cream.

—Valerie J. Nelson

Photo: Marian L. Gore in 1974 with early California cookbooks.
Credit: Los Angeles Times