Iny’s Prune Cake with Buttermilk Icing

It’s finally time for me to return The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl to the library. I’ve tried a few of her recipes and I thought I’d share with you my favorite one.

Iny’s Prune Cake with Buttermilk Icing
Makes one 9 by 13 inch cake.

Cake
1 cup prunes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar (I reduced to 3/4 cup)
3 eggs
1 cup canola oil (or 1/2 cup apple sauce and 1/2 canola oil)
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Icing
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and butter a 9 by 13 inch pan.

2. Place prunes in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until soft and mashable, about 8 minutes. Drain water, and mash prunes. Set aside.

3. Sift together flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice in a medium bowl.

4. In a large bowl mix together oil (and apple sauce if using), sugar, eggs and vanilla.

5. Combine wet and dry ingredients and add buttermilk. Stir until just combined. The mixture will be slightly lumpy. Add mashed prunes and stir to combine.

6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Do not overbake!

7. While cake has about 5-10 minutes left, make the icing. Combine the icing ingredients in a medium saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring to a slow boil over medium-high heat. No need to stir. Boil for 5 to 7 minutes, or until icing starts to turns a light caramel colour. Do not over boil. Icing should be pourable not firm and sticky.

8. Remove cake from oven and pour the icing over top. Serve warm.