Pioneer Woman’s “Iny’s Prune Cake”
I spent some time watching TV, and may I just say that American television is incredible. Every possible show is broadcasted and despite the harrowing commercials, the TV there is quite enjoyable. Whenever I could at 5 pm each day, I would tune in to the Pioneer Woman on Food Network. I enjoyed watching Ree Drummond make gluttonous, high-calorie all-American recipes. It’s like she’s the new Paula Deen! *but look how well that turned out in the end*. I probably will not end up making many of Ree’s recipes just because of all the sour cream and butter, but I was allured by her grandmother Iny’s prune cake recipe. There’s something particularly enticing about spices like cinnamon, all-spice and nutmeg that I can never resist.
I was convinced at that. That and the caramel sauce she practically drenched the cake in. The cake looked so moist and gooey, and it had prunes, which is always a bonus. Prunes are great for digestion, so I thought, “why not?”
Thank you, Pioneer Woman and Grandma Iny. You just made my life.
- My version (makes an 8×8 inch cake):
- For the cake:
- 1/2 cup prunes
- 1 really big egg (1/2 cup of beaten egg is what I used)
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp allspice (use the spices you have on hand- I know allspice may not easily be available)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- For the glaze:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 tbsp butter (salted, unsalted – your choice)
- 1/2 tbsp corn syrup (use maple syrup if you ain’t got no corn syrup)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- Preheat the oven to 300 F or 150 C and prepare a 8×8 inch baking pan- grease with butter.
- Place the prunes in a saucepan, cover with around 1 cup of water bring to a boil for 8 minutes.
- When they are nice and soft, place them on a plate and mash with a fork.
- In a bowl, combine the egg(s), sugar and oil.
- Blend in the prunes until they are distributed through out the batter.
- Sift in the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice), and stir just to incorporated- don’t over-work the gluten in the flour!
- Add in the vanilla and buttermilk, fold together with a spatula to make sure everything is well-combined.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 min (Mine baked for exactly 35 min, I inserted a knife, it came out clean.) As PW says, “DO NOT OVERBAKE!”
- During the last 5 min of baking, begin the glaze. Pour all the ingredients into a saucepan with tall sides and bring to a boil on medium-low until the color is a light caramel brown. Turn off the heat, let it settle for around a minute, and drizzle over the cake.
- Let the cake absorb the caramel sauce for a couple minutes, then dig in!