Pumpkin Prune Cake Food

PRUNE CAKE

Steps:

• Combine prunes and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until prunes are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a fluted tube pan (such as a Bundt®).
• Mix flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, allspice, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Combine vegetable oil, 1 cup buttermilk, and eggs in a separate bowl; pour them into the flour mixture. Mix until fully incorporated. Use an electric mixer to blend in the drained prunes; the mixer will break them up a bit. Stir in the chopped pecans.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven until a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Remove cake from oven and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes on a wire rack.
• To make icing, combine 1 cup sugar, margarine, 1/2 cup buttermilk, vanilla extract, and corn syrup in a saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for a full 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Invert cake onto a platter and pour hot icing over the cake.

PUMPKIN-WALNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Liberally butter a 10-inch bundt pan and dust with flour. Tap out the excess flour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt into a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the eggs and sugar and whisk on medium speed until well combined and lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, slowly drizzle in the oil, and whisk until combined, then whisk on high speed for 1 minute to emulsify. Switch to the paddle attachment. Add the pumpkin puree to the egg mixture and mix on medium speed just until combined. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing just until combined after each addition, approximately 5 seconds each time. Remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Fold in the walnuts by hand. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake springs back when touched and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run an offset spatula around the edges of the pans, then invert the cakes onto the racks and let cool for about 20 minutes longer. Serve right away, or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to serve and up to 3 days. To freeze, wrap tightly in a second layer of plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Serve at room temperature. Note: To make your own pumpkin puree, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Scrub a small (about 4 pounds) sugar pumpkin well and wipe dry. Cut the pumpkin in half and place the halves, flesh-side down, on a greased cookie sheet and bake until very soft, about 1 hour. Let the pumpkin cool. Scrape out the seeds and stringy fibers and discard. Scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin and process until smooth in a food processor or pass through a food mill to make a puree. Makes about 2 1/2 cups puree.
• Chocolate Ganache: We make 20 gallons of chocolate ganache every week at Miette as it is used in or on many of the things we make. Miette's recipe for this exquisite, velvety ganache is based on a recipe by Robert Linxe in the cookbook from La Maison du Chocolat in Paris, La Maison du Chocolat: Transcendent Desserts by the Legendary Chocolatier, which is why we call it the "MDC" in the bakery. We use chocolate with 62 percent cacao. Guittard and Scharffen Berger are our preferred brands, but feel free to try any chocolate to your taste. Makes about 3 cups 10 ounces 62 percent cacao chocolate, chopped 2/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) sifted powdered sugar 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream 2 large egg yolks 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature Combine the chocolate and powdered sugar in a heatproof bowl. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a gentle simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Nest the bowl over a pan of simmering water to make a bain-marie. Heat, stirring, until all of the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat. Whisk the egg yolks together in a small heatproof bowl. Pour about 1/2 cup of the melted chocolate mixture into the yolks while whisking, to temper them. Pour the tempered mixture back into the pan of chocolate and whisk to combine. Add the butter and stir until smooth. Pour the hot ganache through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean heatproof bowl. Use the ganache immediately, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Ganache does not freeze well. Next, microwave on 50 percent power for 10-second intervals, stirring between each, until the ganache reaches the desired consistency. You will usually need to add 1 or 2 tablespoons of hot water to loosen a cold ganache. For a glossy shine, it needs to return to the mixer for beating. For more specific instructions, see individual recipes.

OLD FASHIONED PRUNE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour Bundt or tube pan.
• In a medium bowl, mix together flour, soda, salt, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine oil, eggs and 1 1/2 cup sugar. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed.
• Add flour mixture, alternating with 1 cup buttermilk, starting and ending with dry ingredients. beat well after each addition. Stir in prunes, pecans and 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla.
• Pour into greased and floured bundt or tube pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.
• Make large, deep holes in hot cake and pour topping in holes and on top of cake a little at a time, giving it time to soak in.
• For the topping: In saucepan, over medium heat, cook butter, 3/4 cup buttermilk, corn syrup and 1 1/2 cup sugar until sugar and butter melt. Remove from heat and add 2 teaspoons vanilla and stir.

PUMPKIN PRUNE CAKE

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream margarine with sugar.
• Beat in the egg, then pumpkin and milk.
• In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
• Beat dry mix into the pumpkin mixture, and then stir in the prunes.
• Turn batter into greased and floured 8" square baking pan.
• Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.
• Cool on rack.