More fun with the old cookbook, and using up things.

[chowmama]

The pantry had a little over 8 oz of pitted prunes. DH wanted them at one time and actually ate a few, but better than half the carton has been just sitting there for way too long. The only way I'll eat them is if I have to, in a kolache, hamentaschen or some other pastry, and even then, I prefer poppyseed. Still, the prunes had to go.

Rombauer had an interesting-sounding recipe for a spice cake flavored with prune pulp. Ok, I'll give it a shot. First, I stewed the prunes, added a little sugar (which I'm not really sure was necessary), cooked them a little longer and put them through a food mill. This gave me a prune jam which is...not bad, actually. Apparently, it'll last a while in the fridge, too.

Then the cake. I followed every direction to the letter, sifting cake flour into the measuring cup and then again with the other dry ingredients. Butter or shortening was 1/2 to 1 cup and I used the lesser amount of butter. Everything else per the directions (the butter, sugar and eggs beaten until almost white), and the batter tasted quite good.

Baking went awry. There just isn't enough structure for the weight of the other ingredients. Also, I elected to try them as cupcakes for portion control and there's too much batter for a pan of 12 cupcakes. They have crispy edges (I was worried and actually scorched a couple making sure the middle was done), but the body just gives way under the weight of the top.

Still, the flavor's great and there's a lot of promise here. We're eating them upside down, holding onto the crispy edges and eating the soft parts first, but DH keeps saying how good they are. I'm going to have to work on this. I could make several batches, adding progressively more cake flour but that seems wasteful.

So next time, I'm using all-purpose flour, same volume measurement, but more heft. (The sifted cake flour came in at 3.2 oz per cup, and I usually figure all-purpose for 5 oz per cup.) If that's too bready, I can sift the AP flour pre-measure for a little less weight on a third try. I'm also going to default to a 13x9" pan. The recipe allowed for 2 layers, 1 deep layer, or a tube pan and later referred to a loaf, so there's wiggle room.

But now I have to buy more prunes. That wasn't the idea.

[mwmisses4289]

1. Try a half and half mixture of cake flour

and all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour. I did this when I used to do lots of baking, and I had sucess with this combo for cakes, muffins and quick breads. And for me, anyway, things always seemed to work better if I measured then sifted my flours.

[chowmama]

4. If the recipe is old enough, they sifted before measuring.

It probably had something to do with the quality of the flour. The stir up, then dip and sweep, or spoon lightly and sweep techniques came along sometime after the war - I think the 60's, but I could be wrong. I do remember flour bags stating proudly "Pre-sifted" as if it was a new innovation. (I was born in '53 and hit the kitchen about 5 years later. Mostly, I read my mom's cookbooks and asked if we could try things. Once in a while, we could; otherwise I just hung around and watched what she did. It took a few years before I was soloing.)

Anyway, my first try is always strictly according to directions, which were quite specific this time. That way, if it goes wrong, it's the recipe and not me. Second try, I adapt, often quite freely. I like to weigh flour, anyway, as I don't have to worry if it's too packed in or too loose. If it needs sifting after that, just to aerate and mix, that's different.

The recipe calls for 1-1/2 cups of flour. If it's sifted cake flour, that's just under 5 ounces. If it's just standard (not sifted) AP flour, that's 7.5 ounces. If I sift the AP flour to measure, that's 6 ounces. I might just weigh out 6 ounces of flour and call it good.

[japple]

2. Or you could just buy dried apricots instead of prunes!

[Kali]

3. LOL

buying more prunes - been there on the lets use up something bus!

[SARose]

5. Two issues

Sifting - you should sift onto wax paper and then scoop into the measuring cup.

Did you use a sieve to sift or an old fashioned flour sifter? My Mother’s flour sifter has 3 screens. I have old family recipes that say sift 3 times and then scoop. If you used a sieve - try sifting 3 times.

Eggs - checked my 1970s Joy of Cooking. A large egg then weighed 2 oz. I have no idea what modern large eggs weigh.

Hope this helps.