I prefer to say dried plum

We had an unopened bag of prunes in the pantry and I never thought I was going to use them until I found this recipe from the EDF issue #46, October 2007. I searched for this Spiced Prune Cake recipe on the MSLO site just now and didn't find it in the 2.5 seconds I have for this post, sorry for the lameness.

It was great. I reduced the sugar by a 1/2 cup, used an equal mix of whole wheat and white flour, and reduced the oil by half and added applesauce instead. Next time I will 1/2 the recipe and bake it in a loaf pan, it was so good, but there was a lot of it. No one needs to be eating this many prunes. Enough said.

These photos were taken with the old broken camera. The color is so weird I find it distracting. In other news, we are all set for Halloween tomorrow. The girls are not really into candy--a bag of potato chips is their favorite. However, I was reminded by them that they do like kit kats. So, a little less adult pilfering of the treat bags will go on this year.

The Bend-the-Rules Sewing book signing is next Thursday! I will send out a reminder e-mail to the mail list and post about it again next week. I am very excited. There will be more there than donuts and witty banter--the first 15 people who come and bring something they have made from the book to show will receive a little gift bag from me complete with a special sewing related item custom designed especially for the Bend-the-Rules Sewing Book Signing Event by the small object! whoo-hoo!

And due to the popularity of Halloween around here, The Tie One On gallery will probably not up up until the weekend. The submissions look amazing! Keep them coming!

Comments

[sally]

Can't wait to see you next week at the book signing party. But wait, I thought it was on Thursday night. Am I wrong?

[mary]

would you post the recipe? i have a bag of prunes. . .

[amy k.]

sally!! you are not wrong!! I am crazy!! I just corrected it now-

and mary, I think it will be up on the MSLO website soon-perhaps the issue is to recent?

[Mom in France]

Don't be ashamed of your "prune" cake! My aunt makes me a prune cake every time I visit from France (summer or winter). She serves with a spoonful of whipped cream. Yum! I know I could just as easily make it myself, but I like that there's something special about the visit.

For what it's worth: Plum in French is "prune" (just as grape is "raisin"). Go figure.

[Adrienne]

Spiced Prune Cake from this month’s issue of EVERYDAY FOOD:

-2 cups all purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
-1 cup pitted prunes
-2 cups sugar
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon ground cloves
-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 cup plain yogurt (recipe called for buttermilk, but i used yogurt instead)
-3 large eggs
-1 cup coarse chopped walnuts
-powdered sugar for dusting.

Oven Temp: 325 degrees
Butter & Flour a nonstick Bundt Pan (12 cup capacity). Add some flour to cover- tap out excess.
Boil some water-pour over the prunes to cover & let sit for 10 minutes. Drain & chop. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour/sugar/cinnamon/cloves/nutmeg/salt/baking soda- Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk oil/eggs/yogurt & eggs.
Add wet contents to dry contents. Add the prunes & walnuts.
Spoon into pan- bake until toothpick is clean. (1 hour 45 minutes- 2 hours).
Immediately invert onto baking rake. Dust with powdered sugar when cooled.

[June]

The cake looks delicious and thank you to Adrienne for posting the recipe.

Best of luck on your book signing--I'm so sorry I don't live somewhere close enough to participate.

A very happy Halloween to you!

[Taryn]

funny you would title the post that way. my dad was actually a prune farmer (it's a big crop in the small farm town i grew up in). i always loved correcting people telling them that prunes and plums are actually not the same thing. but the prune growers have recently tried to rebrand prunes as dried plums to rid prunes of their bad reputation as old people food. i bet the cake is yummy...i'll have to try it.

[Scribbles & Bits]

It's funny you should mention the whole (lotta prunes) thing. I just sent a cookbook back the other day because it had so many prune recipes. And can I mention how wary I would be of trying something called prune surprise? Sorry for sort of going bathroom humoury there, but seriously, way big on the prunes.

[hannah]

can i mail you my book to sign? or how about i keep up the positive attitude i've been working on and say i'll have you sign it when i get up there in a few months. eah? sound good?

[kirsten]

just one more reason i wish i lived a bit closer to Bolt, it's a little too far to drive on a thursday from seattle, but i love my copy of the book and love the things i have sewn from it, thank you amy!

[kirsten]

just one more reason i wish i lived closer to bolt. it's a little to far to drive down on a thursday from seattle, but i love my copy of the book and the things i have sewn from it, thank you amy!

[Briana]

Oh man, I am really looking forward to the book signing! A little nervous too... its always strange to meet people whose blogs I read and to realize that I know so much about you and you know nothing about me. I get a little starstruck. *blush*

[Becky]

My whole family loves prunes/dried plums. In fact, we gleaned some plums and dried them ourselves! They are so delicious! (I like our home-dried ones since they are drier than commercial ones.)

We eat them in our oatmeal a lot, I've added them to fruit compote (which was served in baked brie), and used them to make the filling for paczki (which are Polish pre-Lenten doughnuts.)

[Kathy]

I love the way your cake looks like a christmas wreath! To me, anyway. I really like prunes. I'd have a hard time parting with them even to make a cake.

[DianeM]

ha ha...I had to laugh at your comment about pilfering the trick or treat bags, my son's gonna wonder what happened to all his reese's peanut butter cups ;P

[Leaves]

Wow, we always have prunes around the house. We like to take them with us when we go on long walks or bike rides. But most of them sit. I'll have to try this. Thanks.

www.leavesart.com

[Kelly H]

Prunes sort of freak me out. Dried figs, too. I'm sorry, but Prune cake just sounds like something you'd bring as a treat to the ol' folks home.

Also-is Bolt going to open for business during the book-thingy?

[Euphoria]

prune cake?!? I dunno about that... very curious though

Good luck at your book signing... wish I were in your parts to participate!!

[Anne]

Oh, couldn't you have a competition on your site where you could win a gift bag? It would be lovely for us not able to come to your book signing due to trivialities such as living on the other side of the globe. :-)

[abelene]

Hey--a great webiste for various salts is nirmalaskitchen.com
who knew!

by the by...love your site. your wit. your creations. your book.

[Erika Cass Designs]

I'm not a big prune fan but I have to admit, that looks really good! :oP

[LouAnne]

This recipe and the cake look like a winner to me. I laughed when I saw the title of your post. When I was in 7th grade in the 1950's the very first thing we made in the required home ec. class was "Prune Whip". I still have that recipe in the handwritten recipe book Mum started for me, but I have never ever used the recipe. One of my 3 daughters and I love prunes and recently discovered the Cherry Essence ones - Num!

[LouAnne]

HELP: in the recipe that Adrianne posted, it mentions oil, but none is listed in the ingredients that I could see!

Am I blind as well as senile?

LOL,
LouAnne

[Helena C. Rådström]

Hej, Amy,

I have just stumbled onto your site, mainly because of your name, Angry Chicken. I love it! Well, my husband and I are "word nerds", playing with words is like an persistent addiction in the household. Thank goodness, it's not illegal!

Okay, story short, I love how you word your copyright phrase. You see, I have just started my own blog, Little Sketches, and still unhappy with my copyright phrase, as I thought a standard line would do. But it still is bugging me! It sounds rather cold and regular... So, would you allow me to base my copyright phrase on your? :)

[Aina]

JUM! It looks delicious Amy!!You sound just like me. I normally reduce the fat and the sugar as well..trie to be more healthy, though i eat chocolate when no one sees me, laughing..
Aina

[Heather]

The cake looks yummy!

I wish I could be there for the booksigning. Have a great time and eat some donuts for me!

[Janice]

LOVE this plum cake! Thanks so much for the recipe and alteration suggestions, I'm always reducing the sugar too. And doing the whole wheat switch-er-oo. Forge Ahead! And thanks for a great blog!

[malinmaskros]

How do you do, if you´d like an autographed copy of your book, but lives in another country? An autographed sticker to put in the book, perhaps?