Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease and line two 8 x 2 inch round cake pans with parchment rounds.
Place roughly chopped prunes in a small microwave safe bowl or measuring cup. Add lemon juice. Heat at 20 second intervals until just warm, set aside to soften; 5 minutes.
With a handheld blender, puree the prunes with the lemon juice until smooth.
In a small bowl, combine the Redpath® Granulated Sugar with the lemon zest. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until thoroughly combined.
In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, prune puree, the Redpath® Golden Yellow Sugar, and the Redpath® Granulated Sugar-lemon zest mixture until fluffy and lightened in colour; about 3 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating the egg into the batter before adding the next.
Add the pure vanilla extract. Blend well.
Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the batter. On low speed, mix flour until just combined. Add in half of the buttermilk. Mix until incorporated into the batter. Repeat process with the remaining dry and wet ingredients; do not overmix.
Evenly divide and smooth batter between the 2 prepared cake pans. Place into preheated oven and bake for 27 to 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of each cake comes out clean. Rotate cake pans halfway through the baking process.
Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes. Run a small offset spatula around each cake. Invert cake and set right side up to finish cooling completely on a wire cooling rack.
