Preserved Plum Cake

Prunus domestica (PLUM) on the branch at the Kompetenzzentrum Obstbau-Bodensee in Germany, a private foundation with the goal to promote fruit cultivation in the Lake Constance region which borders Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Photograph by Nasser Halaweh, Prunus domestica PLUM, 2003. Via flickr.

Okay, yeah...by ‘preserved’ we mean dried and by ‘plum’ we mean prune.

This recipe is based on Gjelina’s stunning, sticky date cake, but uses the more affordable, underutilized prune. It skips the boozy toffee sauce topping because we don’t feel like walking to the liquor store for an airplane bottle of bourbon, and it ends up being a little healthier without that additional sugar. You're encouraged, however, to serve it warm with vanilla, coffee, ginger or earl grey ice cream if you happen to have some in the icebox. We have a hunch that this also might be killer if lightly iced with cream cheese frosting.

1 c prunes
1 t baking soda
1 cup hot water (as hot as you’d use to make tea)
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
1/4 t vanilla extract
1 c flour
1 t baking powder
Pinch of salt

Mix prunes with baking soda in a small bowl until coated, then pour the water in to cover them. Soak for 10-15 minutes, then blend into a mostly smooth mixture. You can play with the finished texture and hue of your cake here by leaving the mixture more or less smooth.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, egg and vanilla, then add prune mixture.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt over the bowl, then slowly fold in. Lumps are acceptable.

Bake at 350° in a 9" shallow, round cake pan for 22-24 minutes. Makes 6 slices at about 250 calories each.