Old Fashioned Prune Cake: Don't Click Out!

I know by the title of this post, you are ready to click out.
Well please don't.
I know what you are thinking, 2 prune recipes in one week?

Prunes get a bad rap.
You think of an old granny drinking prune juice to keep her "regular". Well, forget about that, after all, prunes are our friend. They are just dried plums, nothing more, nothing less.
Think big raisin.

I happen to love them (but I am also a big fan of liver too). They are high in fiber, which in the end, does keep you regular (no pun intended).

Let's get on to cake.

In Paris whenever you go into a bistro or cafe, pretty much the ONLY dessert offerings are a Tarte aux Pruneaux (prune tart), perhaps a Tarte aux Abricot (apricot tart) and if you are lucky, a Far Breton (a fantastic eggy cake from Brittany w/ PRUNES and Armagnac!). That's it. Love it or leave it. I love it.

I saw this recipe for an Old Fashioned Prune Cake on Pioneer Woman's site, as well as on Garden Web. I combined the both recipes and the first time made it with the icing and the second time I skipped the icing and used only powdered sugar. I found the cake to be sweet enough without the glaze, but it's your call.

Old Fashioned Prune Cake:

1 cup prunes
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 whole eggs
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla Extract
1 cup of chopped walnuts

For the icing (optional):

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, simmer the prunes with water to cover for about 8 minutes until most of the liquid is gone and the prunes are soft.
Drain the liquid and mash the prunes with a fork. Set aside.



In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar and oil.
In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and walnuts. Combine the wet & dry ingredients and add the buttermilk and mashed prunes.

Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.
Bake at 325F for 30-35 minutes.

If you are going to make the icing, combine the ingredients 5 minutes before the cake is done. Simmer the icing ingredients for 5 minutes in a saucepan, and pour over the cake as soon as the cake comes out of the oven and let cool.

This was simple to put together and was really terrific, it is one of Ree Drummond's top 5 recipes, so you can be certain it's a winner.



And I promise, there were no "prune effects" from this cake (and you know what I mean).