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1
Cut the prunes in half and put them in a bowl.
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2
Cover with boiling water and leave them to plump for 10 minutes.
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3
Drain well and place in a clean bowl.
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4
Mix the simple syrup and Armagnac together and pour over the prunes.
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5
Let macerate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
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6
Store the prunes in the maceration liquid.
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7
Heat the oven to 375F or 350F on convection.
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8
Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and fibers.
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9
Use a small sharp knife to score the flesh in a checkerboard pattern, cutting in about 1/2 inch.
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10
Rub each half with the butter, sprinkle with the brown sugar, and season with salt.
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11
Put the pumpkin on a baking sheet, cut-side up, and bake until very tender and browned, about 45 minutes.
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12
When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, peel it and put the flesh through a food mill.
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13
Line a strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth.
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14
Scrape the pumpkin puree into the strainer, set it over a bowl, cover with cheesecloth, and weight it.
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15
Let the puree drain for at least 2 hours to remove the excess liquid.
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16
Put the pine nuts, the sugars, and a pinch of salt in a food processor.
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17
Pulse to chop the nuts.
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18
Slowly add the butter, pulsing until you have pea-sized pieces.
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19
Transfer to a bowl and chill until ready to use.
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20
Heat the oven to 350F or 325F on convection.
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21
Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment.
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22
Spray twelve 2 x 2-inch ring molds or 1 1/2-inch square molds with cooking spray and set on the pan.
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23
Put the pine nuts, all-purpose flour, semolina, salt, baking powder, and sugars in a food processor.
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24
Pulse and process until the pine nuts are ground.
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25
Add the butter and pulse until well mixed; the texture should be coarse.
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26
Combine the eggs, pumpkin puree, olive oil, zest, and vanilla seeds (rinse, dry, and save the pod for another use) in a mixing bowl.
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27
Whisk until smooth.
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28
Add to the processor and process for 30 seconds.
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29
Coarsely chop half of the drained prunes and fold into the batter.
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30
Fill the molds two-thirds full.
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31
Top with the streusel, filling the molds.
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32
Bake until a tester comes out clean and the streusel is browned, about 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
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33
Let cool briefly, then remove the molds.
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34
Put the warm cakes on dessert plates and garnish with the remaining prunes and the maceration liquid.
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35
You could use canned pumpkin puree.
