Banana and Pitted Prune Butter Cake

I am not a fan of prunes in spite of it's high content of vitamins and minerals. And of course, we know what prunes are good for, right? I eat lots of vegetables, so I don't need help in that area :)

I bought a packet of Sunsweet Prunes last year because I wanted to try Chef Wan's Prune Cake (that is my next project). But as usual, that packet of prunes sat in my pantry for the longest time. So when my partner brought home a huge comb of bananas (pisang berangan) I had to find ways to use them because they were ripening pretty fast. 

This recipe again comes from Lovely Butter Cakes, a cookbook my partner's son picked for me when the young man was desperately trying to top up another RM20.00 at Popular Bookstore. It was a very good choice and I realised that this is the first time ever that I have baked so many cakes from one book :)

When I spotted Banana and Pitted Prune Butter Cake, it was perfect as I could use the bananas and prunes which were going to expire in a month or two. And this cake did not disappoint. The cake however, took forever to bake. At 45 minutes, the centre was still wobbly even though the cake was already quiet brown. Maybe that's because I baked it in a loaf pan. This cake was supposed to be baked in small liners. Anyhow, I tented the cake with aluminium foil to prevent it from burning. After 1 hour and 5 minutes, the cake was done looking like this :

Overbrowned.

I was quiet worried that it would taste burnt. But after slicing the two ends off and tasting a slice, I was relieved. The yummy sweet bananas was offset by the tangy prunes. I loved it! Though not pretty like the Banana Apricot Cake, it tasted way, way, better. Yes, this cake will definitely be repeated in the future. Hmm...bananas and prunes, you are guaranteed to get up and go the next day!

Banana and Pitted Prune Butter Cake
Recipe source : Adapted from Lovely Butter Cakes (page 35)
My notes and adaptations in red.

Ingredients A
- 240g butter (I whacked the whole 250g slab of butter)
- 150g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 250g bananas, mashed
- 100g prunes (cut to quarters)

Ingredients B (Sifted)
- 150g self raising flour
- 90g plain flour
Note : I used 250g self-raising flour

Topping (I omitted)
- 2 bananas (cut into wedges)
- 5 pitted prunes (cut into halves)

Method :
1. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, egg yolks and flour, gently beat until well combined.
2. Add mashed bananas and pitted prunes, mix well.
(I beat butter and sugar first and then followed by eggs one by one. Then I added bananas and prunes and lastly added flour. I was afraid to follow the book method because I might mess up).
3. Pour the mixture into paper moulds and arrange bananas and prunes on top.
4. Bake in prehaeated oven at 175C for 25 minutes.
(I poured the batter into a lined and buttered loaf pan. Took me 1 hour 5 minutes for the cake to be done)

This post is linked to Cook-Your-Books #2 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.