California prunes add moisture and richness to this updated recipe for prune cake flavored with the essence of my favorite Mexican coffee drink: Café de Olla. Rich espresso, cinnamon, and clove turn this old fashioned prune cake into a stunner of a dessert.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while and aren’t in love with prunes by now—do we really even know each other? My fangirl obsession with them has been well documented. I’ve made various recipes using prunes and I religiously eat them every day, not only for health reasons but because they’re just really freakin’ good.
So it is with great joy that I am partnering with California Prunes to bring you another way to incorporate this sweet, juicy dried fruit into your life with an exceptional recipe that is holiday entertaining ready.
A New Recipe For Prune Cake
I was going through the archive of recipes on the California Prunes website and came across this vintage prune cake recipe. It was a soft, almost gooey, prune-studded spice cake dripping with a buttermilk glaze. Just like the kind you would find in old church cookbooks.
I love these recipes because they are always crowd pleasers and are simple—the two requirements I have for holiday entertaining.
The original recipe was full of warm spice like nutmeg and allspice and topped with a buttery-sweet glaze but I wanted to make a Mexican-inspired version with flavors based on my favorite coffee drink: Café de Olla.
Café de Olla is Mexican coffee that is made in a ceramic pot over a wood fire and is sweetened with piloncillo (raw brown sugar), cinnamon, orange, and cloves. To mimic those flavors this cake includes espresso powder, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and is topped with a buttermilk icing scented with orange peel.
You will fall in love with my take on this vintage recipe with the first bite. But first let’s learn a little more about what makes California prunes so special.
Why Buy California Prunes
When shopping for prunes look for ones grown in California. These organic D’Noir prunes are my personal favorite.
- California prunes are descendants of the original Petit d’Agen plums imported from France over 100 years ago.
- They are dried in climate-controlled tunnels, which California farmers have honed into a precise art.
- Unlike other varieties, the California plums (that eventually become prunes) ripen fully on the tree — pit and all — without fermenting.
- They are the secret ingredient in baking. Adding more than 1 cup prunes to this recipe makes a supremely moist cake.
Ingredients
- California prunes
- 3 large eggs
- Almond extract
- Grapeseed oil
- Granulated sugar
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Instant espresso
- Cinnamon
- Clove
- Buttermilk
- Powdered sugar
- Orange zest
- Kosher salt
How To Make This Recipe
step one
Soak the prunes. The first step is to chop the prunes into small pieces and place them in a separate bowl. Pour 2 cups of water into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover the prunes with the boiling water and let sit for about 20 minutes to soften. Also, preheat the oven to 300°F and grease a 10-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and grease that as well.
*SIDE NOTE: If you want to have mashed prunes instead of chopped, soak the prunes whole then drain and place on a plate. Mash them with a fork until they are in little chunks.
step two
Mix the wet ingredients. Combine the oil, 1 tsp almond extract, eggs, 1 cup buttermilk, and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl.
step three
Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, 1 tbsp espresso powder, cinnamon, clove, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
step four
Combine the batter. Pour the flour mixture into the wet mixture and gently stir together.
step five
Add the prunes. Drain the prunes and fold into the batter.
step six
Bake. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the 300 degree oven for an hour or until it is a light caramel color, springy, and a tester inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs on it. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
step seven
Make the icing. While the cake is baking, make the icing. Whisk together the powdered sugar, buttermilk, and orange zest in a large mixing bowl.
step eight
Drizzle and serve. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then run a knife around the edge and flip onto a plate or a cake stand. Drizzle icing over the top of the warm cake and serve immediately or let cool and serve at room temperature.
*SIDE NOTE: If you served it with ice cream, absolutely no one would be upset about that.
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Let Me Know If You Make This Comforting Cake
This new take on an old-fashioned dessert is one of my favorite recipes for the holidays. It is loved by picky eaters and tastes even better the next day. Let me know when you make it by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) ! Also, sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!
Café de Olla Cake
California prunes add moisture and richness to this festive (but simple) cake flavored with the essence of my favorite Mexican coffee drink: Café de Olla. Rich espresso, cinnamon, and clove turn this old fashioned prune cake into a stunner of a dessert.
Adapted from Old Fashioned Prune Cake from California Prunes
Ingredients
- 30 California prunes (about 8 ounces), chopped
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 cup grapeseed oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For The Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 5-6 tablespoons buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons orange zest (from 2 medium oranges)
Instructions
- Soak prunes. Place the chopped prunes in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak 20 minutes, then drain.
- Prep. Heat oven to 300°F and grease a 10-inch round baking pan with cooking spray. Cover bottom with a piece of parchment paper and grease that as well.
- Mix wet ingredients. Combine oil, buttermilk, sugar, eggs, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth.
- Mix dry ingredients. Combine flour, espresso, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, and salt in a separate medium bowl. Whisk to break up any lumps.
- Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in the prunes being careful to not overmix.
- Bake. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 60 minutes or until springy and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs still attached.
- Stir icing. Make the icing while the cake is baking. Whisk together powdered sugar, buttermilk, and orange zest in a large bowl until smooth. The icing should be very thick so it doesn't run off the cake but still thin enough to drizzle. Start with 5 tablespoons of buttermilk, then add another tablespoon if necessary.
- Decorate. Let cake cool 15 minutes then run a knife around the edge of the cake pan and flip cake onto a plate or cake stand. Drizzle with icing and serve warm or room temperature.
Notes
- Make Ahead and Storage. You can make this cake up to a day in advance and leave, covered, on the counter. It tastes even better the next day. It also freezes well. To freeze: bake the cake but do not make the icing. Cover well with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator, make the icing, and decorate the next day.
- Almond extract. The addition of almond extract in the wet ingredients adds a delightful nutty flavor to the cake. If you prefer you can substitute vanilla extract.
- Prunes. Make sure to drain the softened prunes before folding them into the batter to avoid excess liquid.
- Serving suggestion. For an extra indulgence, serve the cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a delightful dessert combination.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 5Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 24mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 0g
In support of this small business, ¡Hola! Jalapeño earns revenue in a few different ways. Several sponsored posts are published each month, like this one which is sponsored by California Prunes. I also earn an affiliate commission on the sales of products I link to— there are a few of those links in this post. I only feature items I genuinely love and personally use on a regular basis. This commission is an arrangement between the retailer and ¡Hola! Jalapeño (readers never pay more for products). This income allows me to run the site. Thank you for reading!
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I just tried this recipe for A Mexican-Inspired Recipe For Prune Cake with Icing and it was absolutely delicious! I was skeptical at first because I’m not a big fan of prunes, but this cake was so moist and flavorful, I couldn’t even tell there were prunes in it. The icing was also perfect – sweet and tangy, and it really balanced out the richness of the cake.
Thank you Oliver!