The Caribbean black cake, also known as Rum cake, Fruit cake, and Black Cake, is a cake containing rum and is a traditional holiday dessert in most of the Caribbean, a descendant of pudding, such as in figgy pudding.
The cake is particularly associated with Christmas and weddings in Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Traditionally, the fruit (mainly raisins, currants, prunes, candied cherries) was soaked in rum for months and then added to the batter prepared with sugar that had been caramelized by boiling it in water, called browning.
Today, to save time, the fruit is boiled in rum and then blended.
The cake gets part of its color from the browning sauce, browning (available at stores specializing in Caribbean food products), but molasses can be used or prepared at home (by heating 50 g of brown sugar until a dark brown syrup is formed, then mixing with 25 ml of hot water).
The cake was the highlight of one of the TikTok live streams of “Waiting for Christmas”.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 10 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Caribbean
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients
- 26 oz candied and dried fruit (often currants, raisins, candied cherries, prunes)
- 2 cups rum (or sweet liqueur/wine — + for brushing)
- 9 oz butter
- 7 oz raw cane sugar
- 5 eggs
- 1 vanilla extract (or sachet of vanillin)
- 2.5 fl oz browning (or molasses)
- to taste ground cinnamon
- to taste nutmeg
- to taste allspice
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 11 oz flour
Tools
- 1 Baking Pan 9 inches
Steps
Soak the fruit in rum for at least 1 hour.
Boil the fruit in rum for 20 minutes, let it cool, and then blend the mixture.
Cream the butter with the sugar.
Beat the eggs, add the vanilla, browning (or molasses), cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking powder.
Combine the two mixtures. Mix and add the flour, and finally the blended fruit.
Bake in the oven at 320°F for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Let the cake cool, and if desired, brush it with more rum until serving.
It’s better if eaten a couple of days after baking.
In Puerto Rico, the Caribbean black cake is called Bizcocho de Ron and is a sponge cake, allowing it to absorb the rum. If fruit is added, it is fresh or dry.
In Puerto Rico, the Caribbean black cake is called Bizcocho de Ron and is a sponge cake, allowing it to absorb the rum. If fruit is added, it is fresh or dry.
Thanks to Hulu’s TV series (on Disney+ in Italy) “Black Cake“, the cake has gained significant popularity.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is the TV series “Black Cake” about?
Based on the novel by Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake tells the story of two siblings, Benny and Byron Bennett (played by Adrienne Warren and Ashley Thomas), who uncover their late mother’s past after finding the USB drive she left them, containing the family recipe for the traditional Jamaican black cake and stories of her journey from the Caribbean to America.
These stories, narrated by Eleanor (Chipo Chung), upend the siblings’ understanding of their family origins.
