The last time I was on the farm on Christmas break, I sat down with my Mamaw Linda and we went through her recipe cabinet. Yeah, cabinet. Next to her cake mixes, oils, and tupperware she has an entire cabinet dedicated to cookbooks, index cards, and pieces of scrap paper with tried and true family favorite recipes. That's where I found this recipe for "Plum Good Cake." The weird secret ingredient? Plum baby food! Now I did some digging around about this recipe and found that the secret ingredient supplies moisture and flavor during a time when plums weren't readily available at giant super markets year-round.
I have renamed this cake "Plum Good Spice Cake" to reflect what it tastes like. It tastes like a classic Christmas spice cake. I thought it would be really fruity or plum-y, but the flavor of the plums really is hidden by the Christmas spices. Because of this, you could easily replace the baby food with an equivalent amount of Apple Sauce.
As far as baking goes, this cake is super simple and easy! Everything is measured by 1 cup or 1 teaspoon units, and you just dump everything in a bowl and mix it! Super easy!
So let's begin. Dump all your ingredients into a bowl, and mix them.
A couple notes on ingredients: if you don't have self-rising flour, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder per cup of All Purpose Flour. Also, plum baby food is really hard to find! The internet assured me that Plum and Prune taste enough alike that prune baby food is a great substitute. Apparently, all prunes are plums, but not all plums are prunes. So if something calls for prunes, do not sub plums.
Pour your batter into a greased and floured bundt pan. My Mamaw assured me that this could be baked in a regular 9 x 13 cake pan and be just as good, so no bundt pan or tube pan required. But whatever pan you use, don't skip the greasing and flouring.
Pop into a 350 degree oven, and bake for 1 hour.
Take it out and LET IT COOL! This part is essential for getting your cake out of the pan and icing properly. Once it has cooled for about 20-30 minutes, flip your pan upside down onto your cake stand or a big plate. Do not try to lift the pan just yet, instead, wait for gravity to do its thing and the cake will just fall away.
While it is cooling, make your glaze. Just mix all your ingredients together until you get the desired consistency. I like mine rather thin, but it should be ribbon-y.
After your cake is cooled and turned out, pour over your glaze and top with some chopped nuts.
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| *If you cannot find plum or prune baby food, plain applesauce will work just as well. |
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