Prune Cake (MRS)

By hmp13

This cake is surprisingly delicious and extremely moist. The prunes don’t actually impart a prune flavor, but give the cake lots of body. Makes one 9 by 13-inch cake.

Ingredients

• Buttermilk Icing:
• 1 cup pitted prunes
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 300. Grease and flour a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

Place the prunes in a small saucepan and add just enough water to cover them. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and cool until the prunes are completely soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Add more water if the mixture becomes too dry and begins to stick to the sides of the pan. Drain and mash the prunes with a fork.

Combine the oil and sugar in a large bowl and mix using an electric mixer. Add the eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Add the pecans and prunes and fold in with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

To make the icing, combine all of the ingredients in a large, deep saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir well and bring to a vigorous boil. Stir occasionally with a long handled spoon for about 15 minutes, until the mixture forms a soft ball when dropped into cold water. Use at once.

Remove the cake from the oven and pour the hot icing over it. Transfer the cake in the pan to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before serving.