Caribbean Christmas Cake Recipes

BLACK CAKE (CARIBBEAN RUM SOAKED FRUIT CAKE)

Steps:

• 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 ninja blender. Add enough wine to grind fruits to a paste. Repeat process until fruits have been macerated. Fruit mixture should not be too watery. Add 3-4 cups dark rum. Stir and let mixture soak at minimum one week or even one year+. Adding more wine or rum periodically.
• If using store-bought burnt sugar, skip this step. Place sugar in a small saucepan. On low heat turn sugar with a spoon until it begins to caramelize. Once dark brown, add wine and remove from heat. Let cool completely.
• Preheat oven to 275 or 300 degrees F.
• Line 3-8in or 2-9in baking pans with parchment paper. Trim paper and set aside.
• Bring eggs and butter to room temperature.
• Crack eggs into a separate bowl one at a time, Remove little white membrane from each egg (optional). Beat in zests, vanilla, almond, and mixed essence. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Set aside.
• In deep mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale. Add eggs a little at a time. Blend well.
• Of the macerated fruit mixture, add 1 1/2 lbs (3 heaping cups) a little at a time, continue blending.
• Add flour mixture a little at a time- fold in with a spatula. Add 1 tbsp burnt sugar at a time until desired color is achieved. If using store bought burnt sugar, 4 tbsp should suffice for a very dark cake. Mix well.
• Pour batter into lined cake pans.
• Bake anywhere from 275-300 degrees F for 80-90 minutes. When cake come out of oven, pour alcohol mixture on top. When cool, cover cake with plastic wrap. Flavor is best after a few days.

CARIBBEAN CHRISTMAS CAKE (KNOWN AS BLACK CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F; spray a nine-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla and browning until soft and creamy.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
• In a third bowl, beat the eggs with the rum.
• Add egg mixture to butter mixture and thoroughly combine, then stir in zest, fruit and nuts.
• Fold in flour mixture; do not overbeat.
• Put batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for approximately 90 minutes, or until cake tests done; may need longer.
• Remove cake from pan when cool.

SHARON'S JAMAICAN FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 - 9 inch round cake pans.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, then add rum, lime juice, vanilla, almond extract, and lime zest. Stir in mixed fruit, wine, and molasses. Sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and salt. Fold into batter, being careful not to over-mix. Pour into prepared pans.
• Bake in preheated oven for 80 to 90 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

CARIBBEAN BLACK CAKE CHRISTMAS CAKE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients for the rum-soaked fruit. Add the dried fruit to a medium non-reactive bowl. Pour the rum over the fruit and stir to combine. Set aside to soak for at least 8 hours or up to overnight, stirring occasionally over the soaking time.

JAMAICAN CHRISTMAS CAKE

Steps:

• One day ahead, in microwaveable bowl, combine raisins, currants, peel, walnuts, prunes and cherries. Add 2/3 cup of the brown sugar, vanilla and almond extracts, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves.
• Stir in 1/2 cup of the rum. Cover and microwave at High for 10 minutes, stirring twice; let stand overnight. (Or, instead of cooking, let stand in a cool, dry place, stirring occasionally, for 3 weeks.).
• Grease two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans; line with double thickness of waxed paper. Grease paper.
• In large pan, bring fruit mixture and 1/2 cup water to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.
• Meanwhile, in saucepan, bring granulated sugar and 2 tbsp water to boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium and boil for 6 minutes or until thickened, brushing down pan with water to prevent crystals from forming. Pour over fruit mixture, stirring to coat; let cool.
• In bowl, beat butter with remaining brown sugar; beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add fruit mixture, blending well.
• Combine flour, baking powder and salt; fold into fruit mixture. Scrape into pans. Bake in 275F oven for 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 hours or until sides come away from pans and tester inserted in centers comes out slightly gooey.
• Puncture each cake several times with skewer. Mix remaining rum with port; pour over cakes. Let cool in pans. Cover with foil; let stand for 3 days. (Cakes can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature or in refrigerator for up to 1 month.).

CARIBBEAN CHRISTMAS CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease and flour a Bundt pan and set aside (nonstick baking spray can also be used).
• 2. Mix together all ingredients (except the pecans and extracts) until blended. At medium speed, mix the batter at medium speed for about three minutes.
• 3. Mix in extracts on medium speed.
• 4. Add pecans to the bottom of the Bundt pan.
• 5. Then add cake batter.
• 6. Bake for an hour and ten minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan and prepare glaze during this time.
• 7. To prepare glaze, add butter, salt, water and cream of coconut in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and continue to cook at medium heat for another minute.
• 8. Remove from heat and add rum extract.
• 9. Before inverting the cake, poke holes with a fork.
• 10. Brush the glaze on the bottom of the cake. Give it a few minutes to sink in.
• 11. Once the cake is turned onto a plate, poke holes in the top of the cake.
• 12. Slowly pour glaze over warm cake, just a little at a time and giving each "coat" a little time to sink in. Keep glazing the cake and allow it to soak until you have used up all the mixture.
• 13. Add coconut to the top of the cake. This cake is good at this point, but you really need to let it sit overnight to allow the flavors to blend and all the moisture to soak into the cake. Enjoy!

CARIBBEAN CHRISTMAS BLACK CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix all the fruits thoroughly with the wine and the rum. Let the fruit sit covered at room temperature for 2 wks. In a heavy skillet combine 1 lb. brown sugar & 1 C. water. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved & gently boil the syrup, swirling the skillet occasionally for a few mins or until it is reduced to 1 3/4 C. Let the syrup cool. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon & nutmeg into a bowl. In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream together the remaining brown sugar and the butter until it is fluffy; then beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Beat in the vanilla, the flour mixture & 1 1/3 C. of the burnt sugar syrup. In another large bowl, combine well the flour & fruit mixture & divide the batter between 2 buttered & floured 10" spring form pans. Bake the cakes in the middle of a preheated 350 F oven for 2 hrs or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out with some crumbs adhering to it. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a rack, remove the sides & bottoms of the pans and wrap the cakes in foil or wax paper. Let the cakes stand at room temperature for a week. Roll out half the almond paste between sheets of plastic wrap to form a 10" round and remove the top sheet of plastic wrap. Fit the almond paste layer over one cake, trimming the edge if necessary and remove the other sheet of plastic wrap. Roll out and fit the remaining almond paste onto the remaining cake in the same manner. ICING: Using an electric mixer, beat 4 C. of confectioners' sugar with the egg whites & lemon juice until the mixture will hold a soft peak. Beat in the remaining sugar & beat the icing until it will hold a stiff peak. Transfer 2 cups of the icing to a pastry bag fitted with a tip, spread the remaining icing on the tops & sides of the cakes with a long metal spatula & pipe the icing in the pastry bag onto the cakes. Arrange the drages on the cakes.

JAMAICAN CHRISTMAS CAKE

Steps:

• Cream 16 oz of dark brown sugar and 16 oz of unsalted butter in an electric mixer until smooth.
• Add 12 large eggs to your creamed butter and sugar mixture (Add 3 eggs at a time until they are all incorporated into your mixture).
• Add 2 tbsp vanilla, 2 tbsp rose water 2 tbsp mixed essence and 2 tbsp of almond flavor to your mixture.
• Combine in a bowl, 6 oz all-purpose sifted flour, 6 oz plain bread crumbs, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbs baking powder, 1 tbs baking soda, and cinnamon, 2 tbs ground ginger, 1 tbs mixed spice, 1 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp ground cloves.
• Now it's time to prepare your dried fruits.Simmer over low heat, 2 cups of port wine and 1 cup of Jamaican White Rum, add 1/2 cup dried raisins, 1/2 cup dried currants, 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup chopped pitted prunes, 1/2 cup chopped dried dates, 1/2 cup candied cherries and 1/2 cup candied mixed peel.
• When all liquid has evaporated let your fruits cool.
• Alternate your flour and fruit mixture to your cream mixture and blend in your electric mixer (Do not beat).
• Add 2 tbs molasses, and 4 tbs browning to your mixture and blend slowly in your electric mixer. (Do not beat).
• Grease and line 2 eight inch baking pans with butter or nonstick spray
• Fill pans 3/4 full, Heat oven to 350 degrees (Do not preheat).
• Bake until done (approximately 45 mins)
• Remove from oven while still hot, mix together 1/4 cup port wine and 1/8 cup white rum and pour over cakes.
• Leave cakes in pan to cool.