Gooey Prune Cake with Buttermilk Icing

By carvalhohm

Ingredients

• 1 cup prunes
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Icing
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Details

Adapted from simplysavvyrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

Place the prunes in a small saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to a low boil and cook until soft and mashable, about 8 minutes.Drain the water and mash the prunes on a plate, leaving a few chunks. Set the prunes aside.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and add the buttermilk. Stir until just combined. The mixture will be slightly lumpy. Gently stir in the mashed prunes.

Pour batter into a greased 9″x13″ pan and bake at 300F for 35 to 40 minutes. Do not over bake the cake as you want it to be nice and moist.

When the cake has about 5 minutes left to bake, make the icing: Combine the sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, baking soda and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring to a slow boil over medium-high heat. No need to stir. Continue boiling until the icing turns a light caramel color, 5 to 7 minutes. Important: The icing should be the color of caramel, but not yet firm and sticky. It needs to be pourable. While the cake is very warm, pour the icing evenly over the top and spread evenly. Work fast, as it will quickly start to soak into the cake. Serve warm or let the cake set (it gets better with age!)

Notes:
If you don’t have any buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar to just under 1 cup low-fat milk and stir together.