Tuesday, May 13, 2008

• Prune Cake

  Marci's reading for the other week was as follows:

  The Bake Sale   

  Jane and Kate talk about the Boys' Club bake sale.  The sale will make funds for kids who have no homes.  The funds will get them a home.  

  Jane and Kate want to help the kids.  But they also want to win a prize.  For the best cake, the prize is two sets of skates (one for each of them).  The next best cake wins two games.  Jane and Kate would like the skates. 

  "How about if we make my date and prune glaze cake?" says Jane. 

  "Prunes?!" says Kate.  "I hate prunes!"

  "But you will love this cake," says Jane.  "It has bit of Coke in it and that makes it fizz when you make it.  And then when you eat it, the Coke adds a nice bite. Yum!

  "And there are some spices.....And the glaze!  The glaze is to die for!"

   

  The Prune Cake

  Jane says the glaze on her prune cake is "to die for."

  "Well," says Kate.  "I don't want to die for this cake.  But I will help you make one.  I will try a slice.  And if I like it, I will help you make a new cake for the bake sale.   Or, if I don't like it, can we make a spice cake that I like?"

  "That will be fine with me!" says Jane.  "But you will love my cake!"

  "Okay," says Kate.

  The two girls go to Jane's house.  They get the things they need.  Jane fires up the oven.  "It has to be hot when we put the cake in," she says.

   

  The Mix Fizzes

  As the oven gets hot, the girls mix all the things the cake needs.  They dice the prunes and dates.  They cut up some nuts.  They mix all the things.  Then, they dump a cup of Coke on top.  The stuff fizzes.

  "Yuck!" says Kate.  "It looks like glop!"

  "It may look like glop," says Jane.  "But you will love it!  It is good stuff!"  She sticks her finger in and licks it off.  She smiles a big smile. "Yum!  Why don't you stick your finger in and try it?"

  "But it does not look good to me!" says Kate.  But she sticks her finger into the mix, then licks a bit off. "Hmmm!" she says.  "It's not too bad!"

  Jane grins.  "You will like it more when we bake it."

  Then Kate sees smoke.

   

  Black Smoke

  Kate sees smoke.  It comes from the oven.  "What is that?" she asks Jane.

  "What?" says Jane as she looks at the oven.  "Oh no!  I did not look in the oven when I lit it!  What's in there?"

  When she looks in, she sees that she left a plate in the oven.  The plate had spills from the last time the oven was on.  Now the spills are black, and smoke comes out of them!

  Jane grabs a hot pad and a mitt.  She lifts the plate from the oven.  The thick fumes make the girls want to cry!

  " Put that thing outside!"  says Kate.

  Jane puts the plate on the deck.

  "It was a good thing there were no flames or fire!" says Kate.

  The girls wave their hands to get the smoke out of the house.

   

  A Good Cake

  When the oven smoke is gone, the girls put their cake in to bake.

  "We know the oven is hot!" says Jane with a smile.  "It has been on for an hour."

  The cake bakes.  The girls look at their cake.  Jane takes a pick and pokes the top of the cake.  The cake does not fall.  "It's done!" she says.

  Jane takes the cake from the oven.  "Would you like a slice?"  she says. 

  "Can we?" says Kate.  "Let's!  It smells so good!  But what about the glaze?"

  "We have to make that, yet," says Jane.

  After they make the glaze, they try the cake.  It is good. In fact, Kate loves it.  "Shall we make one for the sale?" she asks.

  "You bet!" says Jane.  And so they do. 

  When they take their cake to the  contest, the judges do not love it like the girls do.  The girls do not win. But the cake sells well.  And that is good!  The Boy's Club gets the funds it needs to get a home.

  The girls had fun when they made the cake.  And Kate now knows what cake she likes best!

   

  After Marci read this story, she was curious about Prune Cake and wanted to know if she could make one....I looked in my cookbooks and found one from our local cookbook submitted by ThisIsLoretta .  It didn't call for Coke or dates, but we decided to try it.....here is the recipe...

  2 cups of sugar   2 cups of flour  1teaspoon  baking soda   1 teaspoon salt  1 teaspoon nutmeg   1 teaspoon cinnamon    1 teaspoon allspice     Sift all these ingredients together.    Add 1 cup oil   3 eggs    1 teaspoon vanilla  1 cup of sour cream or milk   beat until smooth.   Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts and 1 cup chopped, cooked prunes.  Bake in a greased 9x13 inch pan at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until done.

  Topping:

  1 cup sugar  1 cup sour cream or milk   1/2 cup butter    1 teaspoon baking soda

  Combine in saucepan and bring to rolling boil.  Pierce cake all over with fork and spread on topping until it absorbs while the cake is still hot.....it is a very moist cake.

  We substituted applesauce for the oil and used sour cream and pecans.  It was DELICIOUS!!  We have now made it 3 times in last 3 weeks!

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  and here is a shot of Anita before surgery the other day

  

   

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