May 6, 2009

Whole Wheat Dimply Prune Cake - Where have you been?

First

There, I made it!
Well now, I have to make a small speech.
I know, I have been MIA for awhile, hmm... what shall we call that now? Writer's block, I-experiment-too-much-that-I-ran-out-of-ideas (oh come on, that is not going to happen, you know that!), or just sheer laziness.
Like William Shakespeare named it, I am going to leave that up to you "As you like it." :)
Having said that, I am thankful to all the emails and comments/messages I got during my short, er... shall we call it a long break. I am perfectly fine, and all my ten digits are intact and I never could be happier for them.
Sometimes, it feels good to be missed! I totally enjoyed all the attention ;)
Can I get more?

During my time away, I did manage to check on some of your blogs, even though I could not comment, I now want to let you know I was there.
Generous souls have showered my blog with awards, which I would like to acknowledge here. I appreciate every little gesture. Merci. I will get around to visiting other blogs and your posts soon.

I have some amazing recipes, some of which, or a lot of it are my own creations as usual. If you have followed my blog, you would know me and my love for experimenting with food, and making healthy, wholesome eatables.
If you are new here, then "My Archives" would be a great place to start.

I am going to celebrate my being back in the blogging arena with a cake today. If you are as thrilled as me, you could send me cakes too, real ones I mean ;)
And my address is...

What cake are we talking about today? A cute one, a healthy one and a sure-to-impress deal. You will need nice ripe prunes (mine were not), and after cooling the cake, the juices from the prunes do soak into the cake, making it soft and moist.
There are a lot of recipes on the internet for this cake, but I adapted my recipe from Smitten Kitchen, just because I fell in love with the way it looked. How can I not! It is a beauty.

First 1

Whole wheat Dimply Prune Cake

Whole wheat pastry flour - 1 1/2 cups
Cardamom powder - 2 pinches
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Salt - A pinch
Unsalted butter - 4 tbsp
Light brown sugar - 1/2 cup
Eggs - 2 large
Sunflower oil - 2-3 tbsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tbsp
Cold milk - 1-2 tbsp (optional)
Red prunes/plums - To top, as shown in picture. Use as many as you like.

Method:

Sift flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon and set aside.

Halve the prunes and take the seeds out.

Prunes

Butter/spray a 8" square cake pan, dust scantily with flour if you are buttering it.

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar till light and creamy with the help of a hand mixer. Use room temperature butter for best results. Add the oil next.

Add eggs one by one and keep whipping. When the mixture reaches a very pale yellow color (about 5 min), stop and add vanilla. Mix well.

Add the sifted dry ingredients slowly and combine well (you should still be using the hand mixer). Be careful not to over mix, when you see the last bit of flour mixed with the wet ingredients, stop. Over mixing the batter will result in a tough cake.
If at any point, if you feel the mixture is too thick, you may add a tablespoon or two of cold milk to loosen the batter.

Pour the batter into the cake pan. Top the batter with halved prunes/plums with cut side facing up.

Batter

Bake at 350F for about 30-35 min. Check for done'ness with a toothpick insert test.

Out of the oven

Remove from oven, cool on rack, right side up for about 20 min.

Cut into squares like I did, or do whatever you want with it. Its your cake now!

Last

Sending this cake off to Meeta'a Monthly Mingle #32 – Spring Cakes

94 comments:

  1. Yours actually looks better than SK's :) And you are hilarious girl! Welcome back!!

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  2. lovely cake anu...loved the pieces of prunes on top..

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  3. Tats a wonderful cake! Am new here, & enjoying ur space :)

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  4. vaamaa minnal :)
    good to have you back!
    yummy looking cake - maybe I can substitute prunes with something else ...

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  5. Well that cake sounds fantastic, I missed your healthy and creative concoctions! Welcome back.

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  6. Welcome back! and that cake looks delicious :)

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  7. good to see you back with a delicious cake..looks yumm..

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  8. Just came few hours back to check ur cilantr muffins, gal u were been vanished for a while :) Prune cake what not to love? Good 2 see u :)

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  9. Welcome back Divya! Ad that cake looks pretty!

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  10. amazing dessert..my hubby loves prunes...this is xtra cool

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  11. Welcome back!
    www.sevenspice.wordpress.com

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  12. Welcome back and love the prune-dimpled cake!

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  13. Nice to see u back. Perfectly baked cake with plums and as usual nice click.

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  14. Hey Dear... A happy welcome for you..!:) Was missing ur posts a lot! Yummy cake..!

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  15. Welcome back Divya. Cake looks delicious.

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  16. very nice presentation!!!!

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  17. AnonymousMay 06, 2009

    haha..finally appeared with the lovely thing ..!! hey,thats a perfect scene to watch on this sweet mng..great photograph with your pretty recipe...
    sweet girl you anu..

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  18. welcome back! I am doing good. The cake looks wonderful...I love the first picture. it looks very cute with the prunes on top. hope to see you blogging more often!

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  19. Mouth watering pictures
    Thanks for your comments.Haven't seen you visiting my blog for a very long time.Do visit frequently.
    There are many stories in my other blog.I am sure they will interest you.
    I hv nothing much to do with culinary art and hence not able to comment on your posts.Give me if ok your email ID
    kind regards

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  20. what a great comeback!!!! its good to have you back :) delicious looking cake, as always!!! :):) n u better not go on a short or long break again!

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  21. Welcome Back Anu..Seems u came back with a delicious cake..thats looks wonderful.

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  22. Looks moist and so yumm.

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  23. Welcome back dear.....cake looks delicious..........

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  24. Hi!! Great to see you back! With a lovely cake offering! Looking forward to more of your 'experiments' :)

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  25. Hi Anu,
    I got drawn by the dimple :) indeed what a perectly dimpled cake. each snap is so damn clear and nice. nicely presented sweetie.
    TC

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  26. It's okay to take a break, long or short as long as you are doing well personally!:)

    Cake looks fab, Prunes are a great addition!

    I am on break now, see you in June!

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  27. Phew ! What a relief! Seeing your updated reader early in the morning made my day. MIA!! for that long!! I had promised myself that 1'll wait till may 15th & send u a mail, proper of not.

    Anyway great to see ya back, esp with something so pretty!!

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  28. Good to have you back anudivya... :)

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  29. wow! new recipe to me thanks for sharing ...love the clicks

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  30. WELCOME BACK DIVZ.YAY!.THE CAKE LOOKS AMAZING.I WILL NOT FEEL LIKE EATING THE CAKE SIMPLY LOOKING AT IT WOULD MAKE MY DAY.

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  31. welcome, welcome :) any anger we might have on you disappearing like this, is overcome by the gorgeous cake :) Can I also have some ice-cream, please ?
    This reminds me of a Ina Garten recipe, where she placed halved plums, cut side down on the pan, topped it with caramelized sugar syrup and them filled the pan with (pan)cake batter.

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  32. Back with bang.....Happy to see you baack.....Was relly missing your innovative recipes....Dimply Prune cake looks yummylicious.

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  33. Welcome back gal...U were missed :-)...glad to see you back..and cake looks so gud..wonderful as always

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  34. Oh my welcome back, understand how good its to be missed and thought about he he... I do this disappearing act of mine quite often, like disappear from blogs, no calls, mails, no orkut and then when you get back its all fun doing the catching up ;) wonderful come back recipe... I just started a blog as u did mention but there isnt much time keeping up with them.. The cake looks wickedly delicious and impressive...

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  35. Welcome back!!!! We would want your address to grab this delicious cake.

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  36. Welcome back.. Cake looks delicious. Hope to see more recipes in the future.

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  37. Welcome Back..Cake looks awesome. Lovely pictures too.yummyy

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  38. Oh my my! That looks D E L I C I O U S. Awesome. Haven't had fresh prunes in along time.

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  39. Poppy seeds were dry roasted dear..you missed I guess...now coming to ur qn..95% I always saute onions in 1tbs of oil before grinding...tht's way I always like.in Aloo Dum I didn't felt any bitterness..will focus next time nore on this :)

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  40. Looks really excellant DIvya.. Nice entry.. Welcome Back..

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  41. Thank you for stopping by my blog and for the lovely comment. The prune cake looks yummy,moist and delicious.Luved the way you arranged the prunes on the cake also.

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  42. Welcome back and what an amazing comeback.Lovely cake.

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  43. back with bang! looks really yummy! good now i have to start blogging again soon. break edutha thirupi varathuku ore somberithanama iruku....hmm BTW good to know that you are in perfect health! Missed you gal!

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  44. Welcome back girl! Your post is funny and the cake looks awesome.

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  45. Good to see you back Divya! Welcome back..That's a beautiful cake with nicely arranged prunes.

    Yes, that's me in the profile pic. Glad you liked it :) I see you changed your profile pic too, looks so nice.

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  46. AnonymousMay 07, 2009

    Good to have you back!
    Hope the break was rejuvenating for you!.
    Love your use of Prunes; Awesome pic.
    I thought prunes were just figs. But obviously they are not. I was in india recently and eating a few anjeer (Figs) was such a delight!
    and Meera, loves Anjeer too!

    Bestest!
    Arun

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  47. Welcome back.. cake looks so gud with prunes.. !!

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  48. Welcome back. You've been missed. Your cake looks beautiful.

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  49. How cute is that cake??

    It looks so good!

    This is my first time to your blog, so I didn't miss your haitus!

    I'll be back to check out more recipes!

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  50. Hi Divya, how lovely to see you're back! And with such a lovely cake-- it's just gorgeous.

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  51. Nothing like a cake for a come back.I bought a box of plum\prunes from costco ,found your delectable recipe just in time :)

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  52. Yay for your come back girlie..n my..what a gorgeous cake.I shouldnt have missed Heights..but no probs I'l drive in often..;)
    Kudos for that great looking cake..:)

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  53. First time here anu cake and prunes in the top looking so gorgeous...

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  54. Good to see you back ... and with such a fab cake too! :-)

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  55. It is indeed beautiful! I came to your blog coz of the pics too :D

    And I've tried your Rasmalai and may I say I make it EVERY single time I have a visitor at home? I swear, its either your Rasmalai or Soma's Phirni for Indian dinners! We love it.

    The next target is mom-in-law :P

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  56. Looks gorgeous Anu..Soft and yummy cake..

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  57. Looking gorgeous Anu...Looking soft and yummy..

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  58. Thank you for passing by my blog :-)

    This cake looks so beautiful. I'm off to check out your and your MIL's blogs

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  59. Thanks for visiting my blog. You have a great blog too with a lot of good recipes. I am definitely going to be coming here often. Love the dimples on the plum.

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  60. AnonymousMay 08, 2009

    What a gorgeous cake! I'm very curious about the flavor with prunes. I will have to try it very soon! Thanks!

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  61. what a great recipe to come back with! love the prunes dotted all over the cake! welcome back!

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  62. Anudivya, I'm so glad you're back. I missed you my friend. I love this simple, but elegant cake. Let's keep in touch, shall we? Have a lovely weekend. :)

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  63. welcome back! I've been away too and missed reading your blog for a long while now, some issue with the feeds..this cake looks awesome..

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  64. Welcome back. I have had this on my list of things to make for a while. Looks great!

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  65. Welcome back! The cake sounds super delicious!

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  66. Welcome back - I was wondering where you were. Your cake looks really pretty and tasty.

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  67. Prune cake looks awsome Anu and very grand welcome to you. I am glad u are back with us. Looking forward to many more wonderful recipes. And, thank u for ur comments at my blog too :).

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  68. Anu, I'm so glad you are back! the cake looks fantastic... I will give it a try sometime soon.

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  69. Glad you are back. I've missed you! The cake looks wonderful. I will try this when plums are ripe this summer!

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  70. Welcome back! The cake looks very inviting.

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  71. Welcome back! The cake looks simply awesome. I love your recipes and ideas!

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  72. Oh buddy, where were you all these days, sitting silently..I too even thought about you many a times, what happend to his girl actually????

    BTW you cake looks very soft and moist...More than the cake, your presence makes me more enlighted..

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  73. Hi first time on your blog and i must say its very impressive..love the prune cake..looks gorgeous :)

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  74. I made that cake last summer and was really pleased with how it turned out. Yours is lovely!

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  75. Hi DA...

    Welcome back dear ....wow the cake looks really delicious ...great click..
    love
    veena

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  76. oh great welcome back Anu cake looks very yum

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  77. Welcome back. cake looks gorgeous.

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  78. Hi Anudivya,
    Thanks for dropping by at my blog.
    You have a lovely collection of recipes here..
    This prune cake looks gorgeous!

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  79. Oh my, you are indeed right to ask such a question.

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  80. lovely looking cake! i enjoy simple sheet cakes a lot too. this is perfect for the mingle.

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  81. The title you've given this post expresses exactly what I wanted to say - it's a stunner and exactly the type of cake I adore. Yum.

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  82. It's great to have you back to blogging...

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  83. Mmmm, yummy! I bet this cake is tasty! ...Even a nice breakfast cake with tea.

    Love the name...dimply..so cute! heehee

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  84. this is awesome too......nice presentation!!!

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  85. AnonymousMay 12, 2009

    I love PRUNES, I really do especially dried, oh they are so yummy ( I don't think I was fond of them as a child though).

    The cake looks fabulous, hence my prune loving self... "wink"

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  86. What a pretty looking cake! Not sure about wholewheat, but LOVE the plums.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  87. Hi
    mm..... yummy....
    Im a new blogger.
    The cake looks really delicious.
    Simply superb!
    yummy...........................

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  88. This Prune cake looks so beautiful with the colors, I'm sure it'll be a big hit with the kids! Nice colors! Although I'm to a big fan of Prune cake, this sure looks yummy! I'm normally the one that will say no to Prune cake.

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  89. AnonymousJune 12, 2009

    I tried this plum cake and it came out very hard..i did not beat the mixture as you suggested, and even added 4 tbsp cold milk..but it came out hard, let me know for any suggestions

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  90. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  91. Anon - There are two reasons why cakes end up being tough.
    1. Whipping the batter too much "after" adding the flour. Cakes are tender when you use minimal mixing after the flour, that minimizes formation of gluten. Gluten in cakes is not a good thing.
    2. Failure to cream the mixture well "before" adding the flour. Butter and sugar should be creamed well using a hand blender or a stand mixer. After adding eggs, the mixture should be whipped till it reaches a pale yellow ribbon consistency. I had mentioned that in my post. Hand whipping may not be as effective when making cakes.
    Hope that helps.

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  92. AnonymousJune 14, 2009

    thanks Anudivya for replying, I appreciate..I did follow the 1st step, I did not beat the mixture after adding flour, however the mixture was too sticky, and thick...

    Also, I used the electric mixer to mix butter and sugar for approx 5-6 minutes..I thought that butter and sugar mixer was whipped more(and that caused the butter to turn to cream), if possible please post the picture of the consistency for butter and sugar..

    I like reading your healthy receipe blogs!, thanks

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  93. Big love from Scotland to you.

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Thank you for taking the time to comment on this post. I will try to respond to queries as soon as I can. If I miss anything that needs to be addressed... please feel free to ping me again.
Happy cooking/baking or whatever it is you are doing in the kitchen! :)