George Naegele is cooking up a surprise for his wife in Oakley. He's after her favorite dark, moist prune cake made about 10 years ago by Busken Bakery. The nice people at Busken will do anything for love. Well, anything except give up their recipes.

        “We'd love to help, but that's too sacred to publish,” says Patrick Fenech, Busken president. But, love is sacred, too, so Busken will generously bake a special cake for the Naegeles.

CAN YOU HELP?

• Valerie Jacobs also is looking for a sweet biscuit like Cooker's serves. The restaurant considers its formula a trade secret, but maybe you have a taste-alike recipe to share.     • Ro Fiore of Kenwood would like to re-create Panera's vegetarian Sante Fe roasted corn soup at home. She's had no success searching online. Do you have a similar recipe?

        Perhaps it will be a simple prune cake, maybe like the one below, with everyday ingredients like vanilla, cinnamon and cloves. Each of these, says Max de Roche in The Foods of Love (out of print) is a mild aphrodisiac. Maybe some nutmeg, known to produce psychedelic experiences (OK, only in large quantities, at which point it is also poisonous), and walnuts, a symbol of fertility around the world.

        Yes, just a simple, innocent cake in time for Valentine's Day. Because sometimes nothing says romance like a prune cake. You go, George.

        In place of Busken's secret recipe, try this prune cake from Sunsweet printed in Best Recipes from the Backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans and Jars (Galahad; $11.99). Substitute jam for the prunes and you have a good old-fashioned Southern jam cake. Or substitute prune puree or prune baby food for an equal amount of shortening in your favorite spice cake recipe. And remember, as of October 2000, prunes have been officially renamed “dried plums.”

        Send food questions, tips, recipe requests and recipes to Saucy Cook, c/o the Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; fax: 768-8330; e-mail: foodlady@zoomtown.com. Please include name, neighborhood, e-mail and phone number.

        Golden Beauty Prune Cake

       1 cup chopped, cooked prunes
        1/2 cup butter
       1 cup sugar
        1/2 cup packed brown sugar
       1 teaspoon vanilla
       2 eggs, beaten
       2 1/2 cups sifted flour
        3/4 teaspoon baking powder
        3/4 teaspoon baking soda
        3/4 teaspoon salt
        1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
        1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
        1/4 teaspoon cloves
       1 cup buttermilk
       1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

        Cook prunes according to package directions, drain and chop. Cream butter with sugars and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Resift flour with baking powder, soda, salt and spices. Blend flour into butter mixture alternately with buttermilk. Fold in prunes and walnuts. Turn into two greased and floured 8-inch round pans or one 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until cake tests done. Frost with Mocha Frosting (follows).

        Mocha Frosting
       1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
        1/4 cup milk
        1/3 cup butter, softened
       1 pound powdered sugar, sifted

        Dissolve coffee powder in milk. Combine with butter and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and spreadable, adding a few more drops of milk if needed. Frost cake when cool.

        In Southgate, Suzanne Shield's adult daughter longs for a childhood sweet that goes by many names — Cap'n Crunch Candy (isn't that just Cap'n Crunch?) to Merry Christmas Crunch to White Trash Candy. Don't take offense, whatever you call it, it is delicious. Rose Ann Brown of Delhi Township comes to the rescue with her daughter's favorite version. Using the microwave, even young children can make this to share for Valentine's Day.

        Cap'n Crunch Candy

        2 pounds white chocolate
       3 cups Cap'n Crunch cereal
       2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
       1 cup peanuts or coconut
       2 cups miniature marshmallows

        Melt the chocolate then stir in all other ingredients. Spread on a sheet of wax paper until cool. Cut or break apart.

        Valerie Jacobs of Mount Carmel's search for a three-potato salad ends with this adaptation of Cynthia Bowan's version from www.chef2chef.com. Foods of Love claims even the lowly potato has aphrodisiac powers, which are multiplied by three in this recipe. Roast extra potatoes for dinner one night, salad the next day.

        Roasted Three Potato Salad

        2 1/2 pounds mixed potatoes, red, white and sweet
       2 tablespoons olive oil
       1 1/2 teaspoons lemon pepper
        3/4 cup red onion, chopped
        3/4 cup celery, chopped
        1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
        1/2 cup prepared honey-mustard salad dressing
       @fd:Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut potatoes into 1 1/4-inch chunks and arrange in a single layer on baking pan (skins on or off, it's up to you).

        Sprinkle with olive oil and lemon pepper, tossing to coat potatoes. Bake until potatoes are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time. Remove from oven and let cool. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently. Store covered in refrigerator.
       

Romance, made to order
Missing - the big man on campus
Surprises in Oscar also-rans
Complete list of Oscar award nominations
Say love with special prune cake
Smart mouth
Wine stores select sweet bargains for some tough times
Body & mind
Give up some fat for Lent, too
Seminar to focus on black women's health
Charles Schulz left us a valentine
Get to it