Caribbean Black Cake

Here it is Christmas time and the requests are rolling in for Caribbean Black Cake. So far 20 folks have asked for one and I'm about up to making number 3. For those of you who haven't had this cake, the best way to describe it is "what plum pudding wishes it could be." The cake, which I always thought originated in plum pudding, is made from dried fruits that are soaked in rum and cherry wine then ground up and baked in a cake that begins with the standard butter creaming method.

For many years, the traditional thinking was that Black Cake actually did come from plum pudding, especially because of its strong presence in those islands that were once British Colonies. The thing that always stumped me was how a steamed pudding evolved to include butter and white flour, both relatively expensive in the colonial West Indies since there is little land to keep cattle and wheat isn't grown there.

I found my answer on a recent research trip to Ireland. Black Cake seems actually to be descended from Christmas Cake, a dense Irish cake that is made in virtually the same way as Black Cake but without the burnt sugar syrup used in the Caribbean that gives the cake its black color. A little more research revealed that, in fact, there was a strong presence of Irish indentured laborers in Jamaica and Trinidad, the two islands most known for black cake. Their historical presence has largely been subsumed in the records by the larger story of the slave trade and later Indian indenture. So, now I'm rethinking Black Cake and my cousin's habit of soaking her fruits in Guinness (a heritage drink in Trinidad too, as it happens) doesn't seem so odd.

Black Cake is relatively laborious when made in the old way. It involves soaking the fruit for at least 3 weeks, though most hard-core Trinis have the fruit soaking from one Christmas to the next. I know I do. As soon as this year's black cakes are made, the next year's fruit go into the jar with the rum, cherry wine, and spices. I like to use whole cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean, and star anise to give an especially warm spicy flavor. It should be said, that nowadays it's especially important to have the fruits at the ready since lots of people use the cake for any kind of special event. It's long been used as a wedding cake (I made 200 mini cakes for favors at my brother's wedding 5 years ago) but now graduations, christenings, prayer meetings, and more are all good reasons to have black cake.

Here is the recipe for Caribbean Black Cake from my book Sweet Hands: Island Cooking From Trinidad & Tobago. It includes a "fast soak" method if you don't have the time or inclination to keep a jar of soaking fruits around.

If you want to see a demo of how it's made, check out this You Tube video I did last year.

Please check out the December issue of Caribbean Travel & Life magazine and see my article on Christmas in the Caribbean, including a recipe for--what else--Black Cake.

Because Black Cake recipes are fiercly personal (everyone has "The Best" version) I hope folks will post their versions here as well.

Black Cake
Makes 2 cakes

For soaking the fruit:
1 pound raisins
1 pound currants
1 pound prunes
1/4 pound mixed peel
1/2 pound candied cherries
4 cups cherry brandy or cherry wine
4 cups dark rum, such as Old Oak
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise pods
1/2 vanilla bean

For the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
6 eggs
1/2 teaspoon mixed essence
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon burnt sugar syrup*

For basting the cake:

1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup cherry brandy
2 tablespoons sherry

Place the fruit in a large saucepan. Add the cherry brandy, rum, cinnamon stick, and star anise pods. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add these to the pot, along with the bean. Mix very well and place over medium high heat until just under a boil. Turn off heat, cover pan, and allow to sit for 1-2 hours or up to overnight. Alternatively, place fruit and spices in a gallon jar that can be tightly sealed—preferably with a suction lid. Store, unrefrigerated, in a cool, dark place for at least 3 weeks or up to 1 year.
To make the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 250°F and grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
3. Place the butter and sugar a bowl, and cream with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the mixed essence and vanilla.
4. Using a slotted spoon, remove 5 cups of the soaking fruit from its storage jar. Place in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse to a coarse paste. Remove from the food processor and beat well into the butter mixture. Add the flour ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the burnt sugar syrup and mix well.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 1 ½ hours or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and cool for 20 minutes in the pan. Combine the rum, brandy, and sherry, and evenly brush the cooled cakes with this mixture. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
Remove from the pans. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then tinfoil. You may also place the loaves in a tightly lidded plastic container. Store in a cool, dry place for at least 3 days before eating.
7. Black cake can be stored for up to 3 months in the refrigerator. If doing so, rebaste with the rum mixture, once every 7 days.

*If you cannot find commercially prepared burnt sugar syrup, you can make it by placing 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of water in a dry frying pan over medium-low heat. Heat slowly, swirling the sugar in the pan until it starts to caramelize. Continue swirling until the sugar syrup becomes very dark brown—almost black. Add to batter as needed.