My mother's family originally came from Scotland. Eventually they moved to Northern Ireland, Virginia, Kansas, Utah and after my mother and dad married they moved to Southern California. Accompanying them on that long time, long distant journey came a recipe for a prune cake. It's really a type of fruitcake but without all the candied fruit and citrus peels. The primary ingredients are prunes (stewed and crushed), raisins, and chopped walnuts. It is incredibly rich and includes two cubes of butter. For the last few weeks I have been buying and storing all the necessary ingredient so I will be ready to start baking immediately after Thanksgiving. Each year I make between twenty and twenty five of them for family and friends (including Oliver). Each cake bakes for one hour and forty-five minutes so while one is baking I have time to get the next one ready to pop into the oven. Baking them is one of my most treasured Christmas tasks.
P.S., If anybody would like the recipe P.M. me and I will be happy to send it to you.