PW's Grandma Iny's @!%*# Cake

We're friends, right guys? We've been hanging out, sharing some food, drinks, and laughs. And I think we've gotten to the point where you can trust me. I made a cake that turned out to be SUPER delish, but contains an unorthodox ingredient. Just trust me on this, okay? And if you don't trust me...well, trust The Pioneer Woman, because that's who I got the recipe from.

First thing's first....you're gonna need a cup of these:

COME BACK!

I know, I know...they're prunes. They're just dried up plums people! We like, plums, right? I used to be a massive prune hater...but they're really good! Earthy, sticky, sweet ,but not overpowering. I'm still not down with prune juice though. It doesn't have any of the usual prune...effects, either. AND WE'RE GONNA DOUSE THIS IN CARAMEL! So really, come back...please?

Okay. We're gonna take a pot of water, throw the DRIED PLUMS in, and bring it to a quick boil.We want to soften them up to make it easier to combine them into the cake.

Strain off the water, throw em on a plate, and smash em with a fork. Set aside, and let cool.

Here are the rest of the ingredients:

Sugar, flour, cinnamon, eggs, nutmeg, allspice, buttermilk, vanilla, canola oil, and baking soda for the cake itself. For the icing: corn syrup, buttermilk, butter, sugar, baking soda, and more vanilla. Look at the spices perched atop the canola oil! They're such daredevils.

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl....

And the wet in a another. For some reason in baking, sugar is always considered a wet ingredient...I'm not sure why. I'm figuring that it has something to do with the creaming method...but  I could be talking out of my butt.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients gently, then add the vanilla, buttermilk, and *gulp*, the dried plums. 

I can't stress mixing this gently enough. Over-mixing will toughen up the cake and it'll be ruined forever. Seriously!!

I used Baker's Joy (the most amazing baking spray EVER) and lubed up this glass pan. Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes, and test it out at 45.

While the cake has 10 minutes or so left on the clock, start cooking up your icing. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, throw in your frosting ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon until the butter melts.

Stop stirring, and let this mixture come to a SLOW boil. I can't be bothered to get a candy thermometer (I'M LAZY), so I made sure to watch it vigilantly until it just turned a caramel color, and not a moment more. You don't want this to get hard or else it won't pour.

WHOOP THERE IT IS!

Here's the cake out of the oven. My knife came out clean at about 50 minutes; the cake was moist, but not wet on the inside. Perfect.

Carefully (!), pour the frosting all over this biatch. You really want it to soak into the warm cake.

YES. YES. YES.

Look of that slab of love. How could it be bad! I topped my piece with a tiny sprinkling of gray sea salt...because I'm extra and I like salty/sweet things. Delightful! I know if I make this with dates, it'd be amazing sticky toffee pudding.

And no, you won't have to use the restroom after you use it. So, try it!