Yield: Three 8-inch pans or two 9-inch pans
Black Cake (Caribbean Rum Soaked Fruit Cake)
This beloved rum-soaked fruit cake is rich, perfectly spiced, and decadent. You'll find yourself having a little piece each day until it's gone.
Prep Time
45 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Total Time
1 hour 45 minutes
Ingredients
Macerated Fruit mixture
- 1 lb prunes, pitted
- 1 lb currants
- 1 lb raisins
- 8oz red glaced cherries
- 4oz mixed peel
Soaking
- 750mL bottle port wine (or another dark red wine)
- 3-4 cups white or dark rum
- Keep one extra small bottle rum on hand
Browning
- 4 tablespoon brown sugar
- 4 tablespoon port wine
Cake batter
- 1 lb unsalted butter, softened (4 sticks)
- 1 lb sugar, demerara brown or white granulated (2 cups)
- 12 eggs
- Zest of one lemon
- Zest of one orange
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoons mixed essence
- 1 1/2lbs macerated fruit mixture (about 3 heaping cups)
- 300g all-purpose flour (2 1/2 level cups)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground all spice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
Alcohol mixture to pour on top
- 1/4 cup dark rum
- 1/4 cup cherry brandy
Instructions
Fruit Mixture
- Wash and dry all fruits. Mix together in a large bowl. Place fruits a little at a time in a food processor, food mill, or high-powered blender like a Ninja brand blender. Add enough wine to grind fruits to a paste. Repeat the process until the fruits have been macerated. Fruit mixture should not be too watery. Add 3-4 cups of dark rum. Stir and let mixture soak at minimum one week or even one year+. Adding more wine or rum periodically.
Make browning
- If using store-bought burnt sugar, skip this step. Place sugar in a small saucepan. On low heat, turn the sugar with a spoon until it begins to caramelize. Once dark brown, add wine and remove from heat. Let cool completely.
Make batter
- Bring the eggs and butter to room temperature
- Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
- Line three 8-inch or two 9-inch baking pans with parchment paper. Trim the paper and set it aside.
- Crack eggs into a separate bowl one at a time; remove the little white membrane from each egg (optional). Beat in zest, vanilla and almond extracts, and mixed essence. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Set aside.
- In a deep mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream butter, and sugar until fluffy and pale. Add all of the egg mixture a little at a time until completely combined with the butter-sugar mixture.
- Of the macerated fruit mixture, add 1 1/2 lbs (3 heaping cups) in three parts until it's completely blended in.
- Add the flour mixture in four parts until it is all combined with the batter. Add one part at a time and mix the flour into the batter with a spatula until you no longer see flour in the batter. Alternatively, you can blend the flour in if you are using a stand or hand mixer, but blend on the lowest speed.
- Add one tablespoon of burnt sugar at a time until the desired color is achieved. If using store-bought burnt sugar, 4-6 tablespoons should suffice for a very dark cake. Mix well.
- Pour batter into lined cake pans.
- Bake at 275 degrees F for 60 minutes. Gently nudge the pan. Let the center bake for another five minutes if the center looks a little jiggly. When the cake comes out of the oven, pour the alcohol mixture on top and spread it evenly with a small pastry brush. When the cake is cooled, cover it with plastic wrap. The flavor is best after a few days.
Notes
1lb fruit mixture is traditionally used, you can try this recipe with these changes to see if it meets your preference. If you do not soak fruits months ahead, you can also simmer the fruits in wine for about 20 minutes. Let it cool, then grind them in a food processor or blender, adding enough wine to bring it to a paste texture.
After removing the cake from the oven, it may seem it is undercooked. Do not be alarmed as this is how it is supposed to be. After 2-3 days, the texture will change.