Ingredients: 16 slices
Cake: 10 1/2 oz/30 dkg pitted dried prunes (ideally from Szatmár), 1 3/4 oz/1/2 dl rum, 3 medium eggs, 1 stick vanilla bean, 4 1/4 oz/12 dkg butter (baking margarine), 4 1/4 oz/12 dkg powdered sugar, 5 oz/14 dkg all purpose flour, 2 1/2 oz/7 dkg ground walnuts, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 ground cinnamon, 1 lemon grated peel, 1/8 teaspoon salt, butter or margarine for coating
Frosting: 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 5 1/4 oz/15 dkg homemade plum jam, about 2 oz/6 dkg walnuts
Syrup: 1 level tablespoon granulated sugar,
1 3/4/1/2 dl water, 1 oz/1/3 dl plum schnapps (ideally from Szatmár)
Gelatin: 8 3/4 oz/2 1/2 dl water, 1 1/3 oz/4 dkg gelatin
Marzipan Cream: 3 1/3 oz/1 1/4 dl milk, 3 1/2 oz/10 dkg plain white marzipan paste, 2 egg yolks,
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 5 1/4 oz/1 1/2 dl
whipping cream
Chocolate Cream: 3 1/3 oz/1 1/4 dl milk 1 3/4 oz/5 dkg bittersweet baking chocolate, 1 egg yolk, 2 tablespoon granulated sugar, 5 1/4 oz/1 1/2 dl whipping cream
Decorating: 7 oz/2 dl whipping cream, 16 pitted soft dried prunes, 3 1/2 oz/10 dkg thinly sliced toasted
almonds

Begin the task by preparing the cake. Quarter the prunes (about 3/4”/1 cm cubes) and toss them into
boiling water, cook until they soften but do not overcook them or allow them to get too soft. (If using soft prunes, you needn’t cook them at
all, simply drizzle rum over it later.) When done, strain and rinse immediately with cold water. Drip them well, drizzle with rum and set aside. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and sprinkle in the scraped inside of the vanilla bean. Beat the butter, at room temperature, and powdered sugar until frothy, and one at a time, beat in the eggs. After 2-3 minutes, it will become a light and creamy. Pour over the prunes. Combine the flour, ground walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, grated lemon rind, and salt. Lightly fold into the prune mixture but do not over mix because it will become too solid. Divide the dough into three portions (12 oz/34 dkg). Coat three
9”/23 cm baking pans with butter, and spread about 3/4”/1 cm dough into it. Bake in a preheated oven set slightly above medium (420°F/210°C; 380°F/190°C convection oven) about 10 minutes. When done, sprinkle a bit of flour on top, and turn out onto parchment baking paper. Bake two more round cakes the same way. Stir up or whisk the plum jam that will go on top of the cake, it will be easier to spread. Dry-toast the walnuts in a skillet, cool, and chop fine (or pound into chunks in a mortar). To make the syrup, bring the water and sugar to boil, stirring for about 2 minutes. Wait until it cools then add the plum schnapps. We need to make two kinds of creams, marzipan and chocolate. Since both will be bound with a bit of gelatin, prepare this first. Bring the water to a boil, sprinkle in the gelatin and, stirring, let it boil 2-3 minutes until it dissolves. For the marzipan cream, mix in a blender the milk and grated marzipan paste until smooth, then heat to simmering. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until
creamy, add to the milk, and bring to boil, stirring on low heat while the mixture thickens. Let it cool, stirring constantly. For the chocolate cream, heat up the milk and melt the chocolate in it. Beat the egg yolk and sugar until creamy, add to the chocolate milk, bring to boil on low heat, stirring as the mixture thickens. Let it cool, stirring constantly. Whip the cream into stiff peaks, and divide into two portions. When both creams have cooled to lukewarm, fold in the whipped cream, and drizzle in 2 tablespoon of the dissolved lukewarm gelatin into each. With lightning speed, set to frost the cake before the creams harden. Spread one round with the syrup, followed by the whisked plum jam, sprinkle on the toasted walnuts, and put back into the baking pan. You need to frost them this way
because the creams at this stage are very soft. Spread the chocolate cream over the top, saving a good tablespoon for decoration. Cover the other two rounds with syrup, jam, and walnuts sprinkled on top also. Place one cake over the chocolate round. Spread 3/4 of the marzipan cream over it, and put the third round over this. Frost the entire cake with the remaining marzipan cream and dot with the chocolate cream, or using a toothpick, make lines from the chocolate cream for a marbled effect. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 2-3 hours, even better, overnight. To serve, decorate the top of
the cake with stiffly whipped cream and prunes, pressing toasted almonds over the sides. Slice into 16 pieces with a knife dipped in hot water.

Preparation time: 2 hours 30 minutes + hardening and setting
Calories per serving: 498