Spiced Prune Traybake is a great recipe for using up a tin of prunes. Moist & delicious, this cake is mildly spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, plus a dash of vanilla, and finished off with an icing drizzle
Spiced Prune Traybake Backstory
Do you have a forgotten tin of prunes in your cupboard? Well, so did I, and hence I came up with this recipe for Spiced Prune Traybake.
It was inspired by this recipe for Peach, Tea & White Chocolate Traybake from Recipes from a Normal Mum!
As a kid, tinned prunes and custard were a regular dessert.
I vividly remember piling up the discarded stones and reciting “Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief” as many times as needed to count the stones.
You never wanted to be any of the last three options!
I think I initially bought this tin of prunes to make a healthy Brownie, but never got around to it.
So, last week, I looked in my cupboards for inspiration, and my tin of prunes waved furiously at me (I might be using artistic license here)!
I had in mind to make a cake as I hadn’t made one in too long, and baking is so very rewarding and good for the soul!
Prunes are great bedfellows with spices, so I looked for some cinnamon and discovered that I’d run out.
Not wanting to run around the neighbourhood to borrow some, I found that I had some cinnamon sticks and remembered that I own a nifty spice grinder.
I popped a couple of broken cinnamon sticks in the grinder, and moments later, I had beautifully pungent ground cinnamon!
I also decided to add allspice, nutmeg, and some vanilla extract to the mix and top with a sweet icing drizzle to contrast with the spices.
This is a cake recipe aimed at grown-ups, but despite my daughter’s misgivings about my cake, she said it was indeed delicious.
It also went down well on Mother’s Day with my mum and the rest of the family giving it a big thumbs up too!
Storage
Store Spiced Prune Traybake in a cake tin or an airtight container where it will keep for at least 3 days.
More Prune Recipes
For more prune recipe inspiration, you might like:
- Prune Brownie Thins
- Prune and Walnut Muffins
- Prune and Chocolate Shortbread
- California Prune Energy Bars
- Spiced Prune Chocolate Pots with Amaretto
Pin Spiced Prune Traybake for later!
Leave a comment and rating below when you’ve made this recipe; I love getting your feedback! You can also share your pictures by tagging @FabFood4All over on Instagram.
Spiced Prune Traybake
Ingredients
- 50 ml olive oil
- 200 g unsalted butter melted (plus extra for greasing the tin)
- 250 g caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 235 g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 tinned prunes stoned and halved,
- 150 g icing sugar
- 5 tsp water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180℃, 160℃ fan, 356℉, gas mark 4.
- Add the oil and butter to a small pan and heat gently for about a minute until the butter has melted, then remove from the heat.
- Meanwhile prepare a 22cm x 22cm tray bake tin by greasing with a little butter and lining with baking parchment.
- Sieve the self-raising flour into a large bowl and mix in the oil and melted butter mixture, caster sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and vanilla extract all together until a smooth batter is formed.
- Place the prune halves in 3 rows on top of the sponge (you’ll have an odd half left).
- Place on the middle shelf of oven and bake for 35 minutes or until golden on the top and a skewer comes out of the centre of the tray bake clean.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
- Once the cake has cooled, mix together the sieved icing sugar and water and drizzle over the cake.
- Leave to set and slice into squares to serve.
Fenella Watson
Made it with a tin of prunes 5 years out of date. Took advice of commenter and upped the spices which worked well. Accidentally doubled the baking powder with no incident thankfully. Mixed whole meal flour with white as I’d some left over. They came out delicious and my kids (4, 7) scoffed several today.
Camilla
Awesome Fenella, so glad you got to use up that old tin of dates:-)
Lesley Negus
What a great idea – love it !
Camilla
Thank you Lesley, it is a lovely cake:-)
Jill
Great recipe. I adapted it slightly by adding some ground almonds that needed using up, with a teaspoon of baking powder. And then swapped the vanilla for almond essence. Delicious. Flavour reminded me of lebkuchen
Camilla
Ooh, great idea, that sounds lush! Glad you like the recipe:-)
Ann K.
Made in London ,enjoyed by all…Thank you.
Camilla
Excellent, so glad you all like it:-)
Sepi
I can’t wait to try making this cake. Just everything about this recipe is very inviting. Thank you for sharing.
Camilla
Thanks Sepi, I’m sure you’ll love it:-)
Stevie
This is a great idea to use prunes. The recipes look lovely. I’d like to try the traybake out.
Camilla
Thanks Stevie, I hope you get to try it:-)
Debbie Hoare
This caught my eye as I have prunes to use up. Fab recipe!
Camilla
Great Debbie, do let me know what you think if you make it:-)
Nancy from North Carolina
Lovely recipe! I added a bit of ground ginger and halved the icing.
It would be fabulous with a crumb topping as a brunch treat.
Used american self rising flour with no issue.
Camilla
Thank you Nancy, so glad you like the recipe and gave it your own touch with the added ginger which sounds fab:-)
Dom
adore prunes and this looks great, so simple and so good! Thanks for the link too xxx
Camilla
Thanks Dom, it is a fab cake:-)
Robert Price
Looks to good to eat
Meymi-Pastry and Beyond
I love prunes-the sweet tangy flavor. This cake sounds delicious with allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon. And the icing looks so good!
Camilla
Thank you so much, it is a lush cake:-)
Colleen
Prunes are an ingredient that I have never really thought of using, but they look scrumptious in this beautiful cake! I need to get some prunes and try baking with them.
Camilla
Thank you Colleen, yes they do get forgotten about – time for them to shine:-)
Gill
This recipe looks fab and I love prunes. This will be fab for packed lunches will def make it this wknd.
Camilla
Excellent Gill, enjoy:-)
Janice
ooh, I really love prunes. I don’t often have a tin of them, but I’m sure I could adapt your recipe to use soaked dried prunes. Thanks for including a link to my California Prune Energy Bars.
Camilla
Thanks Janice, yes soaked prunes would be just as good or some dried prunes are quite moist these days, had some at my mum’s the other day:-)
Kate
This cake looks so good! That icing looks so inviting…I wish I could try a piece right now!
Camilla
Thank you Kate:-)
Ceri Jones
I really like prunes. Which I know is not that sexy. Why do dates get all the glory?? I’ve used them for brownies before, but love the idea of this tray bake. lovely
Camilla
Thanks Ceri. Prunes are a bit overlooked aren’t they, lets hope that changes:-)
Margaret Gallagher
Quick easy and delicious – always stuck for prune recipes
Camilla
Thanks Margaret, hope you get a chance to make it:-)
Jacqueline Meldrum
It looks fab with that drippy icing. Yep, the icing did it for me. Shared!
Camilla
Thanks Jacs-)
Dannii
I love revisiting desserts that I enjoyed as a kid. I haven’t had a prune dessert before, but it sounds like good comfort food.
Camilla
Yes lots of old dishes, even ones I didn’t like as a kid, keep popping into my head-)
Sarah Roberts
This sounds really nice, i’m not a big lover of prunes but know they are good for you so be nice to try this
Camilla
Thanks Sarah, they’re not overpowering in this cake so I think you’d be fine:-)
Choclette
Love prunes in baking so this looks right up my street. Freshly ground cinnamon is so much better than ready ground, but I rarely get around to doing it myself. Must try harder 😉
Thanks for sharing one of my links 🙂
Camilla
Thanks Choclette, yes grinding my own cinnamon made the flavour far more intense I think:-)
Amy Nash
What a delicious looking cake with wonderful flavors! I think prunes are super tasty and would love to have a piece of this to snack on in the afternoons. Sounds delightful!
Camilla
Thanks Amy, it is a yummy cake and perfect with a cuppa-)
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
You know, I don’t even remember EVER baking with prunes!! This does sound delicious….and I love the term “traybake”. Being in Canada I had to think for a minute what you were referring to. The flavours sound wonderful….and I would even serve this as brunch item too.
Camilla
Thanks Gloria, I hadn’t realised you were from Canada, had assumed the States! Yes traybake can be a savoury meal across the pond can’t it – difficult to keep up sometimes with all our different terms:-)
Yolanda Davis
Looks and sounds amazing. I can’t wait to try it.
Camilla
Thanks Yolanda:-)
Leila Benhamida
Cinnamon and nutmeg are a brilliant addition. Looks really delicious
Camilla
Thank you Leila, they add a lovely warmth:-)
William Gould
I used to love prunes & custard when I was younger. You’ve reminded me I’ve not had that in years! The traybake sounds very interesting!
Camilla
Prunes and custard are fab aren’t they:-) Maybe a prunes and custard cake should become thing:-)
Maya Russell
How did you get the icing to drizzle over in such a pattern? It looks great. A nice traybake to try.
Camilla
Thanks Maya, I just used a dessert spoon and drizzled from a height.