Prune Cake -- The Church Kitchen Bakes with Full Dignity

Black History Month at New Hope AME means every Sunday has a special element — a speaker, a reading, a recognition of someone in the congregation's history. This Sunday the recognition was for Brother Wilson, who is ninety-one years old and one of the last living members of the church who can speak to what integration cost in Tuscaloosa. He stood up with a cane and he spoke for ten minutes, slowly, about specific things — not the large history, not the famous names, but the actual texture of it. The diner on the corner that he could see from the window but not enter. The church kitchen where the women cooked for funerals that included white guests now, guests who came because the times were changing, and how those women cooked with full dignity and asked nothing of those guests and gave them food that was the best food in the county.

I thought about that church kitchen for the rest of the day. Women in a kitchen making food for a changing world, making it with dignity, not asking for recognition, just cooking. This is what we have always done. This is the kitchen as a site of resistance and welcome simultaneously, which is what cooking in a Black church community has always been.

I told this to Kezia on Saturday when she came to cook. I told her about Brother Wilson and the diner and the church kitchen. She sat on the counter stool and listened with real attention and then she said, is that why Bernice's Table is named after your mother? I said yes, partly. She said, so the table is also a continuation. I said yes. That is exactly right. She wrote it down, which is what she does when something is exactly right. I love that child's notebook.

When I got home from service, I kept thinking about those women in the church kitchen — cooking the best food in the county and asking nothing in return. The recipes that come from that tradition are not flashy; they are patient and deep, and they carry more than flavor. This prune cake is exactly that kind of recipe: old-fashioned, underestimated, and quietly magnificent. It is the kind of thing that would have come out of that kitchen on a covered dish, and every person in the room would have known, after the first bite, that it was made with full dignity.

Prune Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup pitted prunes, chopped
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Buttermilk Glaze

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Prepare the prunes. Place chopped prunes in a small saucepan with just enough water to cover. Simmer over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes until softened. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Preheat and prep your pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan, or a 10-inch Bundt pan if you prefer the classic church-kitchen presentation.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until smooth and well combined.
4. Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt.
5. Bring it together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined — do not overmix. Fold in the softened prunes and nuts, if using.
6. Bake. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40–45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is deep golden brown.
7. Make the glaze. About 5 minutes before the cake is done, combine all glaze ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the butter melts and the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Remove from heat.
8. Glaze while hot. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, use a skewer or fork to poke holes across the top. Pour the warm glaze evenly over the hot cake and allow it to soak in as the cake cools in the pan.
9. Cool and serve. Allow the cake to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Serve from the pan, warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 220mg