OLD-FASHIONED PRUNE CAKE
This Old Fashioned Prune Cake is wonderful. The spices and moistness will make it one of your favorites. Even if you don’t like prunes, you will love this cake. Most people never even realize it has prunes in it and they love it. It’s a very popular cake for a reason. If you have never tried this classic.. you should!
Old Fashioned Prune Cake Ingredients Needed:
Pitted prunes
Buttermilk
Oil (I used Canola)
Sugar
Eggs
All-purpose flour
Baking soda
Salt
Cinnamon
Ground cloves
Allspice
Nutmeg
Vanilla extract
Topping Ingredients for Prune Cake
Buttermilk
Dark corn syrup
Sugar
Baking soda
Butter
Vanilla extract
I don’t use a mixer to make this cake which is another added plus! It’s that easy and all the spices makes this cake so good. Many people comment they have used prune baby food. I have never tried it, but I am sure it would work. You can easily make this cake a few days in advance and I always just store it in a cool place.
If you love spice cakes you will love this Southern Jam Cake! It’s classic too!
“I’ve made this cake sooo many times. I don’t like cake very much but I absolutely love this cake. I tell everyone it’s an old fashioned spice cake so they don’t know it has prunes in it.” – Sheila
“I have been looking for this recipe for a long time! My Grandmother made this cake and we all loved it. I am now following your website, you have so many old fashioned recipes.” – Dana
“I just made this cake, and OMG!! It is absolutely decadent!! I only had white corn syrup for the glaze and it is light colored but delicious!!!! This is a real keeper!!” – Deb
Full printable recipe in recipe card below.
Are you reading our digital magazine, Front Porch Life? It’s full of great new recipes, country living, fantastic people, southern charm, cooking tips and so much more. We send it directly to your email so you can start reading, cooking and relaxing immediately! This is our premium content not found on our website. Join 1000’s of others today and start enjoying our magazine!
Old Fashioned Prune Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted prunes chopped (I used 25 prunes cut in about six pieces each)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup oil I used Canola
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Topping for Prune Cake
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- I do not use a mixer with this cake. You will need 3 bowls, 1 large mixing bowl and 2 smaller bowls. Put your chopped prunes in one of the small bowls, cover with the cup of buttermilk and set aside. In the large bowl add together the oil, sugar, and eggs mixing well with a spoon. In the other bowl combine the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg and use a wire whisk to mix well.
- Pour the prunes and milk into the large bowl with the sugar, eggs, and oil. Add the dry ingredients and mix well with a spoon. (I use a wooden spoon). Add vanilla extract and mix. Spray a 9 x 13 cake pan and add the batter. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until the center of the cake is done. Add the topping recipe below while still warm.
Topping Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil. Poke holes in the cake and pour over the cake while it is still warm. Topping can also be made in microwave.
Be sure and PIN for later:
Follow us on Instagram.
© The Southern Lady Cooks photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder.
My brother loves this cake. I had never heard of prune cake & a nice lady use to make him one every yr. She has passed & he’d let me know that he’d love to have one. Now that I have your recipe I will venture to make him one. Thank you
You’re very welcome! Hope it’s a hit!
This prune cake is wonderful! Even people who do not like prunes, ask for seconds!
I totally agree! It’s a winner!
This cake looks delicious. I do have a question. Could this be made using persimmon pulp instead of the prunes? I have had persimmon cake before but cannot find a recipe that sounds appealing.
Darlene, I have never tried that, but if you do, please let us know how it turns out!
Excellent recipe. I made this exactly as directed. My husband, who it out off by the very name of”prune”, has gone Gaga over this cake. It’s just like what we used to have at potlucks growing up. So moist. The glaze scares me when I poured it on — I thought the cake was drowning in it, but then it magically disappeared into the cake. Wonderful recipe, thank you!
YAY!! So glad to read this comment! Love that this cake was a hit, we love this one too!
Great cake! Exactly the same recipe as my mom used. She’s passed now, but I still have her hand-written recipe card, which is at least 65 years old. Love your recipes. Always can find old favorites. New ones, too. Your sloppy joe recipe can’t be beat!
YAY! So glad you are enjoying the recipes and we love that sloppy joe recipe too!
My grandmother used to make a chocolate prune cake that she baked in a bread pan. I haven’t found a recipe yet – wonder if you’ve heard of it or if I could add some cocoa powder to this recipe perhaps? Love your recipes!
I have not heard of it, but I do think you could add some cocoa to this recipe. Thank you for the kind words!
I love this prune cake recipe. It is so easy to make and tastes great. My husband’s mother used to make it for his birthday. Now I have to make it. Thanks for the recipe.
The prune cake was absolutely delicious. Reminded me of my grandmothers.
That is wonderful news! So glad!
I remember my grandmother making this delicious cake. She used a jar of junior baby food prunes! She usually served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, too!
I have a large bag of prunes sitting on my pantry shelf. I’m anxious to be trying this on the weekend as this sounds and looks amazing! Can I ask what the purpose is to adding the baking soda to the topping ingredients? If its not about to be baked, what does it do to it… is it a flavor thing?
It reacts with the buttermilk and makes the sauce lighter and gives it a great texture. It’s a very old recipe and this is the way my family has always made it.
I used to make this cake many years ago and it was so good! So long ago I’d actually forgotten about it. The recipe is exactly like the one I made back then. I’m going to have to make one soon.
YAY! It’s such a wonderful cake and so full of flavor! For anyone that loves spice cakes, this one is a must make.
Looks delicious! I/m not crazy about prunes so could this be made with persimmon pulp?
I have never tried it, this cake doesnt really have a “prune” flavor, its a spice cake flavor but the prunes keep it nice and moist.
Excellent recipe. Made it several times. Everyone loved it
I absolutely love this cake! So moist, so easy. I told my husband I was making “spice cake” and he loved it! I asked him after he had his first piece what he thought the secret
ingredient was and he thought it was applesauce. when I told him 25 prunes he was shocked! He hates prunes! The topping was so good, i couldn’t stop licking the bowl when i was done pouring it on the cake!
YAY! We love this old fashioned classic! It really is a winner and I am so glad you gave it a try!
Are the prunes you use fresh or dried?
I just use the pitted prunes you buy at the grocery store.
Can you make this in a round pan, and if so, what timing adjustments need to be made for baking it. Thank you
I have never tried, do you mean a bundt pan or a layered cake?
Awsome
My mother made this recipe in the 60’s and it is still one of my favorites. But I use 2 jars of baby prune food instead of cutting up prunes. Thanks for posting this recipe.
You are welcome!
Yes, J Miller! Years ago my Mom made this with baby food prunes too. I have always wanted her recipe.
I have made this very Cake a Couple times over a few years and it is so DEEEEEE-LICIOUS and Moist. I cannot say how good it is enough. My Family Loved it as I sure did. You Ladies always post good, easy and delicious Recipes.
I have made this Deeeee-licious cake a couple times and it never has any leftovers. I Love, Love, Love it. Great Recipe and Cake for sure.
Can I bake this in Bundt pan?
It would probably work just fine, you would have to adjust the cooking time. It will take longer.
Hello,
I am trying to find something like this to prepare in disposable mini aluminum loaf pans as Christmas gifts for my coworkers. My grandmother made a cake just like this! Unfortunately, I don’t have her recipe. I’m looking forward to trying this out! My questions for you would be, do you think this recipe would cook well enough in a disposable aluminum loaf pan roughly 5” x 2”? And if so, do you think it’s possible to freeze these? And if so, would I do that with the buttermilk topping or without? And if they can’t be frozen, because the topping includes buttermilk, would I have to refrigerate them? I saw that you mentioned they could be made a few days in advance, but I want to clarify how they would be stored in the meantime. Thanks so much!
I think you could easily freeze them without the topping and just add the topping once you serve the cake. I think you could make it in the disposable pan, just have to adjust the cooking time, by how much I can’t really say. This is a cake that gets better with time, so you can make it a few days in advance and then just store it in a cake container or if you are using disposable pans, make sure they have a lid.
I love this cake…so easy to make and so delicious. I always make it as written, it’s perfect.
For her Christmas cake my great grandmother baked this in layer pans and then covered the cake in a white icing.
I’m 80 going on 81 and haven’t seen this recipe in years. I use to make it with fig preserves instead of prunes and finish with a brown sugar meringue with chopped pecans on top. It came from a New Orleans newspaper .
Hi! I hope this isn’t stupid question but I found bagged pitted prunes that look moist but also canned prunes with pits. I’m unsure which to use?
The one without pits would probably be the easiest, since you don’t want the pits in the cake.
Delicious cake…so moist.!! I like that I don’t have to use an electric mixer, but be careful when boiling the topping, as it can quickly boil over and make a mess…
Just baked old fashioned prune cake and the best cake. My picky husband loved it! Old fashioned goodness! Thanks!
I made this prune cake and it was so delicious! My mother and grandmother used to make this cake and I made it too but I had lost my recipe and forgot all about it? I started thinking about a prune cake and looked the recipe up on Pinterest and found this recipe. Thank you for sharing it . It was really easy to make and my husband and I loved the cake!
I made this for my Senior’s Bible Study group last Thursday and it was a big hit.
I have a prune cake recipe from our friend’s grandmother (her name was Lollie), but it didn’t have the instructions for the buttermilk glaze. So glad to find this!
I received this recipe around 45 years ago and have been making it every Christmas since then. I wondered if it was posted somewhere on the web, in case I lost my recipe, and found you! I pinned it.. The only difference is my recipe called for 1 cup of simmered prunes and 20 prunes, cut them all up together… I like the simmering portion , it makes some of the prunes very soft and spreads the flavor throughout the cake.. imo.. Thanks so much for posting this, it’s an awesome recipe:)
Heavenly cake! I recall my mother making this Devine cake for us, when I was a little girl. I hadn’t had it since and, I’m now 69 years old. Thank you for the post.
This cake is fabulous and so easy to make! I’d like to try substituting golden raisins and chopped, pitted dates for the prunes and perhaps adding some walnuts. But instead of soaking them in buttermilk I would toss them in a tablespoon of flour so they don’t sink to the bottom of the cake like the prunes did. The hot buttermilk glaze is what makes this cake, in my opinion. My 6-year-old granddaughter, normally only a chocolate cake lover, pronounced the cake A“deee-licious” so I didn’t tell her there were prunes in it!
My grandmother made this but added an orange squeezed. My mom only found her secret ingredient after she was unable to squeeze the orange and cut it up very fine.
My grandmother added orange also and her topping was a simple orange glaze. It was so good!
Could you use a spice cake mix as a time saving shortcut for this recipe? Maybe enhance the spice if you wish by adding additional allspice or cloves. Thanks!
You can always try it, I have never made it that way so can’t say if it would work or not.
This cake is so delicious, I loved it cause is super moist, we ate it with vanilla ic. Definitely is a keeper. By any chance do you have recipe for prune pie?
I had some leftover prunes I needed to use up before they “expired” and thought to myself I wonder if there are recipes that call for prunes. I found two possible options, this cake and a pudding. Decided on this cake because I thought the pudding would be too concentrated for a one bath 2 people house. lol I am so glad I found this recipe as this cake is magnificently delicious!
My dear friend is of German heritage, and her family reunions include prune cake contests. They all love prune cake, and each family member uses a different recipe! Am going to have to try this recipe.
My grandmother would make this cake when I was little girl. I miss her cooking. I told my my mother that I may have found a recipe for grandma’s cake, she was like..girl when are you making it. I’ve made this three times and each time she says girl I think your grandmother was with you while you made it. Side note she called everyone and told them about this cake. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe with us. This has brought back so many memories.
Thank you so much for the kind comment. We’re so happy that you found the recipe and it has brought back so many wonderful memories for your family!
My mom made this cake & we loved it.I’m 76 and have been searching for yrs for the recipe. Only diff is the topping. Mom boiled hers & it had smushed prunes in it. She made a 2 layer cake & put the topping between the layers and on top. She didn’t put on sides. We always had to wait till the 2nd day to eat it. Extra Extra Moist. Wish I would’ve watched her. But the ingredients for cake were same as listed only I don’t remember the amounts.
Thank you so very much. Will bake it tomorrow for Thursday meet. ♥️
Thank you so much for posting it.
My mother made this cake. For the icing she use red wine with confection sugar.
I’ve made this cake sooo many times. I don’t like cake very much but I absolutely love this cake. I tell everyone it’s an old fashioned spice cake so they don’t know it has prunes in it.
I have been looking for this recipe for a long time! My Grandmother made this cake and we all loved it. I am now following your website, you have so many old fashioned recipes.
Hello,
My grandmother made a prune cake that looked much like yours. I’m anxious to try this out!
I was wondering how you store it, and I if I can make it a day or 2 in advance, or if it best to be eaten the first day? My grandma had several several items she’d bake in advance and freeze to have on hand, but I’m not sure this cake was one of those. I want to be she I’m serving it with the best result possible.
Thank you!
Hi,
We just store it in a cool place in the house. You can certainly make this cake several days in advance. Good luck!!
Is it possible to half all the ingredients to make a smaller cake? Sounds delicious!
I honestly have never tried it, but I think it would work.
Can you substitute the buttermilk with regular whole milk?
I’ve never tried it, but you could always just make a buttermilk substitute: https://thesouthernladycooks.com/handy-food-tip-substitute-for-buttermilk-in-recipes/
Does the cake have to be refrigerated or can it be left out on the countertop? Thank you.
I just keep mine in a cool place. It should be fine out.
I plan to try this recipe for Thanksgiving this year. My grandmother made a Prune Cake and Banana Pudding every year for our Thanksgiving desserts. After she died everyone claimed that no one had her recipe so I spent a long time without being able to find it. I found a slightly different recipe a couple years ago but I didn’t like it. It was always too wet and I couldn’t eat it. Judging from the pictures and the ingredients, yours sounds much more like the one my grandmother used to make so I’m excited to try it. I might actually be able to eat this one!
I hope it is perfect for you! Happy Thanksgiving!
Made this cake today for the first time and a first having Prune Cake. I absolutely love this cake and I know my husband will also like it, I will definetly make this again.
Wonderful! So glad it was a success.
Ok or
Love old recipes I like to try different things
I have a prune cake recipe passed down from my mother’s side of the family. It is my all time favorite cake..period!! My mom used to “bribe” me & my friends when we were teenagers with this cake!! She actually got us to shovel her car out if the snow with the promise of a prune cake waiting for us!! And true to her promise, when we were done,the prune cake was there for us! My best friend’s brother would “float” through the front door as she was taking one out of the oven saying “prune cake”! He always could smell it a “mile away”!
My husband hates it…he calls it s*** cake.. I told him you would have to eat the “entire cake in one sitting” for that to happen but…oh well…MORE FOR ME!! LOL
I have made this cake for years, but I use a cream cheese frosting with cinnamon and lemon juice in it and it really makes the cake taste great, yum.
My mom used to make this all the time, but she used Baby Food prunes.
Great cake my mom made one for me ,one out of six kids each year only she had added ginger 1tsp.. And identical to your recipe the dryer the cake the better she toasted the pecans first and always cut and cooked the prunes with one of the cups of sugar when cool she chilled for making the next day and mmm so good ! Thank you I’m a cooker now!
Thank you Una. Happy you are enjoying the recipes and Happy New Year to you and yours!
I’m an avid fan of author Carla Neggers, and in one of her books one of the main characters bakes a Prune Cake from recipe passed down from her grandmother. I am pleased to have found your recipe and look forward to baking this delicious sounding cake soon.
Yummy …..
I made prune cake when I was a kid but also added chopped black walnuts to it. My dad loved this cake. After I got married I would make it using chopped pecans. Thanks for printing the recipe. I have lost the recipe after moving.
Made a prune cake many, many years ago that was similar – no icing tho’. Will have to try this one!
My mother always made this cake for special occasions. Her frosting was chocolate with coffee in it. I’m making it now for my bridge club.
Is it possible to cut back on the oil and up the buttermilk to replace it? I shy away from any recipe that starts with a cup of oil.
I only make this cake by the recipe, Janice.
I make this cake all the time. but I use a Bundt Pan, and I just sprinkle Powered Sugar on top. This cake is rich enough without all that corn syrup in my opinion.
My mom use to make this cake for every special occasion. Now that my mom has passed on I still make the cake now for my family members. This cake is a tradition for our family. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe.
This cake is so good! It doesn’t taste like prunes much,more like a spice cake.I first tried this cake,because my mother in-law made it every year for my ex on his birthday…is his favorite cake.My mother in-law used to live in California,and was well known for baking awesome cakes for celebrities.I even saw her photo album.She even was requested several times to make cakes for Bob Hope!Oh man…all of her cakes were awesome!But my ex,choose this prune cake over all of them!!!You gotta try this cake!
My mother used to make this cake when I was a child. It was wonderful. The only difference was she would make a homemade cream cheese frosting and decorate it with pecan halves.
I made this many years ago and it is fabulous!
I have got to try this!!
I just made this cake, and OMG!! It is asolutely decadant!! I only had white corn syrup for the glaze and it is light colored but delicious!!!! This is a real keeper!!
Wow….looks delicious
Sounds like a good old fashion cake that goes down the generations. I plan to try it soon. Thank you Southern Lady.
I’ve been looking for a recipe for Prune Cake that would be like the cake Ms. Mattie Todd from Versailles made for the old Rand McNally cafeteria.. I’m going to give this one a try.
My Momma used to make this delicious cake!!Thank You for this wonderful recipe & all of the fabulous memories this has brought to mind!! I appreciate YOU so much!!
Thank you so much Jean. Happy to have you and appreciate you and everyone on this site.
I love theses cakes.
I have been baking this cake for over 55years and it is always a big hit. Charlotte
I was just talking about this cake today, while I was making your Lazy Day Oatmeal Cake. I’m thinking of using the glaze from this prune cake recipe for the oatmeal cake. Prune cake is my favorite ‘scratch’ cake and I hope folks will look beyond the word ‘prune’ and give this a try. It’s just a deliciously moist spice cake that does not disappoint in the taste department. If you are making this for the first time, please don’t despair if it looks awful after you’ve baked it. In my experience, it’s just not a pretty cake–it may cave in or just generally look unattractive. Don’t throw it away if it looks strange! Poke it and glaze it and ENJOY it–it’s just delicious!
My Grandmother made this cake .. It’s so Delish the Icing is the Best Part … Thank You for Sharing
My mama used to make this cake quite often, and I loved it. I will be making this cake very soon. One question, can you substitute light corn syrup for the dark in the topping? Thanks for sharing!
I have not used light corn syrup but I think you could.
This is one of out top two cake recipes. We call it Sugar Plum Cake! We love it! It is good anytime, but we like it better the second day. Sometimes, it doesn’t make it to the second day! My son wants it more than any other dessert for our Christmas meal.
I usually use white syrup because I have that on hand, but otherwise, I make the recipe exactly as written.
I love this cake! My mom use to make it and I’ve thought about making it myself, but have to dig out the recipe somewhere. =) It’s YUMMMY for sure.