This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes and guides at no additional cost to you. Learn more
Looking for a simple yet delightfully sweet treat to enjoy for dessert? Our walnut stuffed prunes recipe has all the makings of a crowd-pleasing dessert to serve at a dinner party, while also being ideal to store in the fridge and nibble on when you’re craving a little something sweet without too much richness.
Walnut Stuffed Prunes Recipe
Common in Moldovan cuisine and Ukrainian cuisine, among other Eastern European cuisines, walnut-stuffed prunes take me straight back to childhood.
While walnuts have a fairly mild flavor, when softened and enveloped in a prune they balance the sweetness and chewiness of the prune so effortlessly.
Recipe Ingredients
To make walnut-stuffed prunes, you will need the following:
- Pitted Prunes – 500 grams (about 17.5 oz)
- Walnuts – 100 grams (about 3.5 oz)
- Wine or Water – 150 ml (about 2/3 cup)
- Sugar – 2 tbsp
- Double Cream or Heavy Cream – 300 ml (about 1 and 1/4 cup)
- Powdered Sugar (Icing Sugar or Confectioners’ Sugar) – 1 tbsp
- Vanilla Extract (optional) – optional to add to the whipped cream
- Chocolate (optional) – to grate on top of the cream when serving
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1 – First, add the wine (or water) and the sugar to a little pot. Place the pot over medium-low heat on the stove and stir for a couple of minutes while the sugar dissolves. Transfer it to a little heat-proof container or a mug.
Step 2 – Then, stuff the prunes with walnuts and place them in the same little pot.
Step 3 – Pour the wine-sugar mixture over the prunes.
Step 4 – Place a lid over the pot and put the pot on the stove over low heat and let the prunes simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
Step 5 – After 10-15 minites, lift the lid and make sure the alcohol has evaporated and the liquid is now a syrup. If not, keep simmering the prunes until you can no longer smell the alcohol and the wine-sugar mixture (or water-sugar mixture) has turned into a syrup.
Step 6 – Once done, remove the pot from the heat and let the prunes cool. Once fully cooled, your walnut-stuffed prunes are good to serve. They look glorious served in a bowl or glass, ready for everyone to dip their hands in and try.
This is a dish that dazzles with its color. The dark, plum color of the prunes against the blonde of the walnuts are truly a match made in heaven.
All the while, the syrup-coated skin of the prunes and edges of the walnuts glisten under the light, making for a mouthwatering-looking dessert.
Serving Suggestions
The traditional recipe calls for serving them with a sour-cream-sugar mixture. However, we much prefer serving them with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Many people also like to serve them with mascarpone cream instead of sour cream.
To serve them with cream, get 300 ml of double cream (or heavy cream) and a hand mixer. Pour the cream in a large bowl and whip the cream with the hand mixer until you get soft peaks. You can add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar (icing sugar) to the cream if you would like it sweeter and a few drops of vanilla extract for enhanced flavor.
We like to serve the prunes in a tall glass and layering them with cream in multiple layers topping them with some grated chocolate. Absolutely delicious!
Walnut-Stuffed Prunes Recipe Card
Ingredients
- Pitted Prunes – 500 grams about 17.5 oz
- Walnuts – 100 grams about 3.5 oz
- Wine or Water – 150 ml about 2/3 cup
- Sugar – 2 tbsp
- Double Cream or Heavy Cream – 300 ml about 1 and 1/4 cup
- Powdered Sugar Icing Sugar or Confectioners’ Sugar – 1 tbsp
- Vanilla Extract optional – optional to add to the whipped cream
- Chocolate optional – to grate on top of the cream when serving
Instructions
- First, add the wine (or water) and the sugar to a little pot. Place the pot over medium-low heat on the stove and stir for a couple minutes while the sugar dissolves. Transfer it to a little heat-proof container or a mug.
- Then, stuff the prunes with walnuts and place them in the same little pot.
- Pour the wine-sugar mixture over the prunes.
- Place a lid over the pot and put the pot on the stove over low heat and let the prunes simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
- After 10-15 minutes, lift the lid and make sure the alcohol has evaporated and the liquid is a syrup. If not, keep simmering the prunes until you can no longer smell the alcohol and the wine-sugar mixture (or water-sugar mixture) has turned into a syrup.
- Once done, remove the pot from the heat and let the prunes cool. Once fully cooled, your walnut-stuffed prunes are good to serve.
- Pour the cream and the powdered sugar in a large bowl and whip the cream with the hand mixer until you get soft peaks.
- Layer the prunes and the cream in a tall glass and (optionally) decorate with grated chocolate on top of the final layer of cream.
You Might Also Like to Read
Save and Pin for Later
Keep our walnut stuffed prunes recipe for safekeeping by saving it to one of your dessert recipe boards.
Author: Doina is a content writer and strategist, with a deep passion for global cuisine. Constantly inventing in her home kitchen, she loves to use foods tried from the 40+ countries she has visited to inspire new dishes and combinations.
Contributor: Eifimia is a passionate Moldovan home chef and teacher, who has been putting smiles on friends and family with her home cooking for the best part of 40 years and counting.