Daisy's World: Persimmon Honey Ice Cream with Candied Pecans

I went persimmon picking a couple of weeks ago.  Rounded up a nice big bag of mushy Hachiya persimmons.  Granted, they were about thumb-size instead of the monstrous apple-sized ones at the grocery store, but these were free, so I'll take them.  I did some research online about these orange fruits, since I had never eaten them.  Astringent, it said.  What is astringent?  I'll tell you.  Astringent is when you get a large, lovely Hachiya persimmon at the store (because they're out of Fuyu), and you wait until it's mostly soft, but not a pile of goo, and you cut it into cubes, and put a cube in your mouth, and it instantly sucks up every drop of saliva in your entire mouth and gives you the worst case of dry mouth you've ever had.  That's astringent.  So use a Fuyu for the mix-in.  Your mouth will thank you.

Persimmon Honey Ice Cream with Candied Pecans
Adapted from Daisy's World blog

1½ cups heavy cream
½ cup crème fraîche
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup honey
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup whole milk
2 cups Hachiya persimmon, puréed
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ cup Fuyu persimmon, cut into small cubes, for mixing in

½ cup chopped candied pecans, for mixing in

Pour the cream into a medium saucepan and add the crème fraîche, sugar, honey, and cinnamon. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the crème fraîche, sugar, and honey are dissolved and the mixture is smooth.

Remove from heat and add the milk, persimmon purée, vanilla bean paste, and lemon juice. Chill mixture for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Pour chilled mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add cubed persimmon and pecans during the last few minutes of churning to distribute evenly.

Store ice cream in an airtight container.

Makes 1 quart