Caribbean Black Cake - ‘Christmas Cake
Source: Tastes like Home by Cynthia Nelson
Jamaican Black Cake (which is also known as Jamaican rum cake, wedding cake or Christmas cake) is a rich, delicious traditional Caribbean dessert! A variety of dried fruit is soaked in rum for up to 12 months then added to the cake with spices and wine - making it super-moist.
Ingredients list
Rum-Cured Mixed Fruit
1 pound raisins
1 ½ pound pitted prunes
¼ pound preserved cherries
¼ pound mixed peel (or replace with more prunes/currants)
½ cup brown sugar
1 x 750 ml of good dark rum
Cake
8 oz unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing pan)
1 cup brown sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
4 cups rum-cured mixed fruit
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting pan)
Image from the Aromatic Essence
website
Image from the My Forking Life website
Method:
Rum-Cured Mixed Fruit
Note: This mixture can be stored in an airtight glass jar and does not need to be refrigerated
Mix together all fruits in a large bowl
Add 2 cups of rum and some of the mixed fruits along with ¼ cup sugar to a blender and blend until it is like a paste. Add more rum if paste becomes too thick
Repeat this process until all the fruits are blended
Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with baking rack in the middle of the oven
Grease and flour the cake pan and line the bottom of the pan only with greased parchment paper
Cream butter and sugar until it reaches a pale cream colour
Mix together the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl and set aside
Whisk eggs until frothy in a separate bowl. Add vanilla essence and continue whisking for a few seconds
Add whisked eggs to creamed butter and sugar and stir gently to incorporate (mixture will appear curdled)
Add the rum-cured mixed fruit and mix thoroughly until fully incorporated
Add the flour mixture and mix thoroughly to incorporate, being careful not to over mix or over-beat the batter
Pour batter into baking pan and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes after removing from oven.