Pepper Cake With Pumpkin & Prunes

1 1/2 c Flour

1 ts Baking soda

1 ts Cinnamon

1 ts Ginger

1/2 ts Nutmeg

1/4 ts Cloves

1/4 ts Salt

6 oz Prunes, dried but soft/moist

-pitted (1 cup) 3 oz Preserved stem ginger in

-syrup (1/3 c diced) 4 oz Walnuts; 1 cup

4 oz Unsalted butter

1 ts Black pepper; fine ground

1/2 c Lt brown sugar; packed

1/2 c Sugar

2 lg Eggs

1 c Unsweetened pumpkin, canned,

-solid pack Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour 8-cup loaf pan (10 1/4 by 3 3/4 by 3 1/4 inches). Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt and set aside. Cut prunes into 1/4-inch slices. Drain ginger lightly and cut into very thin slices or small dice. Break nuts into coarse pieces. Beat butter until soft. Add black pepper and then both sugars and beat to mix well. Beat in the eggs and then the pumpkin. Beat in the prunes, ginger, and walnuts. Then, on low speed, add sifted dry ingredients and beat only until incorporated. Turn into prepared pan and spread even. Bake for about 1 hour 40 minutes, until a cake tester gently inserted

in middle comes out dry. Cool cake in pan for about 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack. Source: "Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever"
-