Enfield Shaker Sour Cream Prune Whip Recipe

Remove pits from prunes, chop and beat to a pulp. Add sugar, nuts, and extract; mix thoroughly. Whip cream until stiff with a fork. Add prune mixture in small amounts and mix thoroughly. Chill and serve. SERVES 4.

A word about rose water: Virtually every Shaker community had a distillery where the Shakers made, among other things, fragrant waters. Today, rose water is still made and sold by the Shakers at the Sabbathday Lake, Maine community and can be purchased directly from them.

Place prunes, sugar, and lemon zest in a food processor and process until smooth. Stir in 1 cup sour cream. SERVES 4.

Recommended uses: The Shakers served Prune Whip as a smooth and delicious desert. It is also a perfect filling for cakes, doughnuts, or sugar cookies.

This recipe first appeared in The Best of Shaker Cooking, edited by Amy Bess Miller and Persis Fuller (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. 1970), based on Shaker manuscript recipes, 19th century Shaker almanacs, and The Manifesto, the Shakers’ own publication. The Best of Shaker Cooking is still in print and available from Amazon or the Enfield Shaker Museum gift shop.