Caribbean Black Cake
INGREDIENTS
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Sometimes I think the holidays would go a lot smoother if everyone was handed a shot of rum and a slice of cake.
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How could conversation not go smoothly after that?
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Turns out, that’s what they do in the Caribbean… with great success.
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Black cake is a cousin to the British Plum Pudding and is made with an expensive array of dried fruits, like cherries, raisins, and prunes and topped off with a bit of nutty crunch (almonds for me). Before baking - sometimes for months – the fruit
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What version of the cake ends up on your fork depends on what island your plate rests on, although most will agree that – unlike with American fruit cakes – grinding up the boozy fruit is a must. This, along with a dose of molasses and brown suga
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Considering the cake can take months to prepare, hours to bake, and is full of fancy fruit (in the Caribbean dried raisins and cherries are much harder to come by than, say, a banana) , Black Cake is a sign of real love.
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To give a whole home-baked black cake as a gift, Ms. Marshall said, is a sign of great affection and intimacy. “Everyone in the Caribbean knows that it’s a lot of work, that you’re baking those cakes for four hours, that it’s expensive to buy
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Now, before panic sets in, please know that, while you can certainly soak your fruit for up to a year, we’ve given you the quick version here (one recipe suggested soaking the fruit about 3 days, although – in a pinch – even a one day soak resu
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Makes two 8? cakes
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Ingredients:
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8 oz pitted prunes
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8 oz dark raisins
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8 oz golden raisins
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1 lb dried cherries
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1 cup dark rum, plus extra for brushing cake
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1 cup cherry brandy, plus extra as needed
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1/4 lb blanched almonds
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2 cups flour
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2 tsp baking powder
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1 tsp cinnamon
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2 sticks butter
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1 1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
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5 eggs
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zest of 2 limes
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zest of 2 oranges
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1 tsp vanilla extract
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1/2 tsp Amgostura Bitters
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2 Tbsp molasses
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