Poor prunes. The first thing we think of isn’t very flattering. So, who would think that prunes could make such a delicious snack cake?! Reminiscent of sticky toffee pudding, meets spice cake, this prune cake is moist, it’s easy, and it’s sinfully good.
When I first discovered The Pioneer Woman Cook’s blog– around October 2008, I was hooked. Little did I know that a couple of months later, I would start my own food blog. I think what I found so intriguing about Ree’s style of photographing step-by-step photos, is that she makes things look downright irresistible. At least, that’s the effect that Ree Drummond has on me. (She’s also funny and talented.) For that reason, when P-Dub posted “Grandma Iny’s Prune Cake“, I didn’t crinkle my nose and dismiss the idea that this cake could possibly be one of her Top Five favorites. Instead, I looked at her photo and read the ingredients:
Allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. It spells F-A-L-L. It also spells M-U-S-T M-A-K-E. Months went by, and I forgot all about this recipe. I was organizing my piles of printed recipes and I found a faded copy of this recipe that I had printed months ago– I paused, and decided that today was the day. I was going to make this right now!
Obviously, you need Prunes. I cup of them, which is about 18 prunes. I added water and softened them in the microwave, then drained them.
Mashing hot and softened prunes is sticky business. But, that’s what ya gotta do. Set them aside. Preheat the oven to 300F. No, not 350F. 300F. It’s not a mistake.
It’s time to fold in the mashed prunes. Don’t laugh. Prunes are good! I promise. Pour it into a buttered baking pan (I used a 9×13). Bake this for 35 minutes, the recipe says. I set my timer for 30 minutes. It’s how I make sure to not over bake cakes. I don’t like dry cakes. It’s good insurance. While the cake is baking, it’s important to get the icing ingredients ready. Hide your bathroom scale. Calm your pancreas down. We’re going on a sugar trip.
White sugar, buttermilk, corn syrup, vanilla and 1/2 stick of butter. Heaven. I’m 15 minutes from the cake being ready… you need to start the icing.
The easy part is dumping all the ingredients together, then bringing them to a boil. The directions say that you don’t want to get the icing to caramelize too much. Hmmm… I decided to use a candy thermometer. This was off to a rolling boil, and I was guessing/gauging what the right color should be. Ding! The cake is ready to come out of the oven…
At 30 minutes, the cake was “done”. It didn’t jiggle and the toothpick came out clean. The directions say to immediately pour the frosting over the cake. Do you see a potential problem? No? Look at the color…
On the lower left photo, I saw watery butter and the color was to light. This didn’t seem right. Guess what? I poured the frosting right back into the pot– I was in 9-1-1 mode.
Take Two. I returned the pot on high, and waited a minute or tow. It’s now a darker color, and reached 220F on the thermometer. You’re welcome. Now see how the icing was thicker? So, I lost some of it– and it soaked into the cake. I wasn’t too upset.
If you like sticky, gooey– come to Mama! The smell is amazing! It’s evil. It’s Pioneer Woman.
The icing is starting to cool– and harden. My pulse rate it going up. Ree says to serve it warm. I don’t want to argue with that.
The cake is oh-so-tender, and warm…and the fragrance of the spices. It’s intoxicating, I tell you!
Let’s see if this cake tastes good. OMG! It reminds me of Sticky Toffee Pudding. This so easy to make. 15 minutes of prep– 35-ish minutes of baking. This is perfect to serve as a brunch type treat. This is going to my office tomorrow. I cannot let this pan of goodness stay in my house. It will corrupt me. I will want to eat it all.
Are you ready to give prunes another chance? This is not for old people. This is for people who love the flavor of spice, all wrapped in warm and moist goodness. By the way, Ree says this cake does NOT have that, um, “effect” on you that prune juice will. It’s a good thing, otherwise I’d relive my childhood experience.
Enjoy! It’s good to indulge in desserts, once in a while! This one is a keeper. Trust me, nobody will guess that they are eating prunes!
Moist and delicious Prune Cake (it’s awesome)
Ingredients
CAKE:
- 1 cup prunes
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 1/2 cup flour sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
ICING:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon white corn syrup
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Cover prunes with water. Bring to a boil and cook until soft and mashable, about eight minutes. Remove from heat, drain water, and mash on a plate. Set aside.
- NOTE: I cooked mine in the microwave, and it worked.
- Mix together oil, sugar, and eggs. In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Combine wet and dry ingredients, add buttermilk and vanilla and stir gently until just combined. Throw in the mashed prunes and stir gently to combine. DO NOT OVERMIX!
- Pour batter into buttered baking dish (9 x 13 or so) and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE.
- While cake has five minutes remaining, make the icing.
- Combine all icing ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a slow boil. Boil without stirring for 5 to 7 minutes, or until icing starts to turn dark. (about 220°F worked for me).
- Do NOT allow icing to reach soft ball stage; icing should be caramel in color, but not sticky like caramel. Icing should be easily pourable.
- Remove cake from oven and pour on icing immediately. Allow to rest on the counter. Serve warm.
Notes
This looks incredibly delicious! I love prunes and even prune juice ~ great taste! I can only imagine how moist and tasty this is and I will try this, for sure! Thanks!
I am one of those people who loves dried fruit of any kind, (figs, raisins, dates and PRUNES!).
I am making Hamantaschen soon, which has a prune filling, so it's been on my mind and there was your delicious looking cake.
Prunes have so much fiber, and are so delicious. They are dried plums! The poor little things get a bad rap!
Thanks for bringing this cake to our attention my dear. It makes us think of prunes in a whole new way:D
Looks delicious and very moist–loving the topping especially!
I am not a prune fan but this cake looks delicious!
I was hoping someone would make this cake soon! I'm so glad to hear that it was a hit. It does look delicious and moist:D
I wish I would have had an entry for FFPW. My computer died last week and it really set me back. I'm excited to see the roundup though.
Prunes are just dried plums. And who doesn't like a plum?! I love prunes, BTW, and used to eat my babies' Gerber plums when they wouldn't.
You forgot just one thing, Debby. Prunes are no longer prunes. Thanks to some marketing guru they have become dried plums. This sounds delicious.
Funny, I was thinking sticky toffey pudding as I was reading the post. There is something about prunes and other moist fruits that are just magic in a cake.
This cake looks sinfully good and I am drooling! Great recipe and photos, thanks for sharing!
I am going to have to try this. I had just been thinking of sticky toffee puddings, so it was meant to be that I'd stumble across this. Never used prunes, but I can imagine it would work superbly.
Thank you.
mmm i had a cake recipe that used prunes and it was really yummy. shhh your secret's safe!
Only Ree could make a prune cake sound so amazing! And since all of her recipes are great….I know this one must be out of this world good. I actually really like any dried fruit, including prunes. I love all of the photos you took! Very Ree-esque.
This cake looks fantastic! I bet it is super moist! But I can't make it until the cake I made this weekend is gone (what's left anyway!). So many recipes, so little time! Roz