Simple and light, with a delightfully chewy texture and a subtle tang of prunes, this cake contains about half the fat of a regular cake.

Ingredients: (Serves 8)

For the cake:

• 80 g/2¾ oz dried prunes
• 3 tablespoons boiling water
• 110 g/4 oz butter, at room temperature
• 120 g/4 oz caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 140 g/5 oz self-raising flour

To decorate:

• 170 g/6 oz icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 12 dried prunes

Method:

Put the prunes in a bowl, cover with the boiling water and leave to soak for 2 hours. Blend to a smooth puree in a food processor or blender.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4. Grease a 20-cm/8-inch springform round or square cake tin and line the bottom with greaseproof paper.

Beat the butter until creamy, then beat in the prune puree, followed by the sugar. Beat until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then sift the flour over the bowl and fold in. Spoon the batter into the cake tin and spread out evenly. Bake for about 30 minutes until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To decorate, stir together the icing sugar and lemon juice until smooth and creamy. Pour over the cake. Decorate with the prunes and serve cut into squares.