I got persimmons in a food swap 6 years ago. I had no idea what they were. I thought a fancy heirloom tomato. I had been putting in salads. Then I took a picture and posted on FB and found out it was a fruit.
I have a son with nut allergies so I am always looking for interesting desserts for him. I made a persimmons spice cake and it wasn't too bad. It isn't particularly sweet so I had to use maple syrup (just a bit) but the spice cake was yummy.
I went back to using in salads.