NEW YORK, NY - Black Cake is a favorite in many Caribbean countries, including in Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, especially at Christmas. Here's how to set the fruit you'll be adding to your Black Cake, as well as how to bake the cake itself.
Setting the fruit
INGREDIENTS
1-pound pitted prunes
1-pound raisins
1-pound dried currants
1-pound dried cherries, deseeded
4 ounces mixed dried citrus peel
2 cups red wine
1 quart dark rum
METHOD
Combine all the dried ingredients into a large, air-tight container, preferably a big glass jar.
Add in the wine and rum.
Stir to combine and set aside until you are ready to bake your Black Cake.
Baking the Black Cake
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. brown sugar
1 lb. butter
12 eggs, beaten
1 lb. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed spices
¼ pound mixed peel
1 tsp vanilla
Red Wine
METHOD
Make a caramel by adding about one pound of the brown sugar to a pot and heating until it begins to melt.
Add at least a cup on wine and simmer until a dark color is obtained.
Grease and double line an 8-inch bake pan.
Cream the rest of the sugar and butter until smooth or add to an electric mixer and let it do the work for you.
Add eggs one at a time (beaten or unbeaten) and mix.
Add in the set fruit and nuts and stir well.
Add enough caramel to make it as dark as desired.
Sift flour, baking powder and spice together.
Add a little at a time and fold in.
Mix into a soft dropping consistency by adding a little more of the wine or rum.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in a slow oven at 300 degrees F, for 2 hours on the middle shelf.
Pour some of the remaining wine or rum over immediately after cake it is baked.
Repeat 3 or 4 times.
Serve at room temperature.
Cake can be kept and preserved all year round by reading rum.
~NewsAmericasNow.com
