Prune Spice Cake - Just Call It Spice Cake

Prune Spice Cake is a name I avoid using because the word "prune" puts so many people off. Unless you enjoy imploring your picky eater to "Just try it, you'll like it," I'd suggest you call it Spice Cake and skip all that nonsense. 

I first came up with this cake when I was a teenager. Over the years, I tinkered with it until I settled on this formula. If I hadn't needed a frosted cake for a particular reason this week, I would have skipped the frosting and just served it with some barely sweetened whipped cream.

It's a lovely moist and tender cake that keeps well at room temperature for a few days or even freezes well. I needed to cook a week ahead for an upcoming lunch for friends, so sliced half the layer cake into six slices and laid them on a parchment-lined, indispensable 13x9x1-inch quarter sheet pan, covered it with foil and popped it into the freezer. 

What size/shape cake do you make most often? I have all sorts of pans: 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-, 12- and 14-inch rounds, 8- and 11-inch squares, not to mention the rectangles and loaf pans; but I make a 7-inch round cake most often these days. 

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Prune Spice Cake 

(Makes one 13x9-inch cake or 2 8-inch round layers) 

1 8-ounce (227 grams) package pitted prunes

1 1/4 cups (10 fluid ounces) water
2 dip-and-sweep cups (10 ounces/283 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
8 tablespoons (4 ounces/113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) extra virgin olive oil or organic* canola oil
3 large eggs
1 cup (4 ounces/113 grams) finely diced walnuts

1 Spray one 13x9x2-inch pan with organic* canola cooking spray, or butter and flour two 8-inch round layer pans.

* Of course, I use organic everything, but I mention it specifically for the canola oil because canola oil that is not organic is sure to be genetically modified (GMO or GE).  

2 In 1-quart saucepan, combine prunes and water. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup of the liquid (add water if necessary). Chop prunes. They wind up a rough puree. You could use the food processor to make a perfectly smooth puree. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

3 In 2-cup glass measure, microwave butter until just melted. Stir in oil. 

4 In bowl of stand mixer, combine all the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for one minute. Add reserved prune liquid and the butter and oil. Mix to blend; at medium speed, beat for 2 minutes. Add eggs. Mix to blend; beat for 1 minute. Stir in prunes and walnuts. 

5 Pour into prepared pan(s). Bake at 350F/180C for about 40 minutes (single) or about 30 minutes (layers). 

6 Serve single cake directly from pan. For layer cake, cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks for an hour or more. When completely cooled, frost with vanilla butter frosting.

Jean