Jamaican Black Cake
Jamaican Black Cake is a rich, dense, boozy Caribbean dessert made of dried fruit soaked in rum, warm spices, and wine. Some call it rum cake, Christmas cake, wedding cake, or birthday cake. Whatever you call it, this black cake recipe is perfect for any holiday, celebration, or special occasion.
Servings: 10 servings
Equipment
- 9-inch Round Cake Pan plus an additional baking pan to hold water
- Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer to cream the butter and sugar
- Wooden Spoon for folding in ingredients
- Large Mixing Bowl to mix egg mixture
- Measuring Cups liquid and dry, to accurately measure ingredients
- Measuring Spoons to accurately measure ingredients
- Rubber Spatula/Scraper for scraping out the cake mixture from bowl
- Whisk optional, needed if no hand mixer
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Salted Butter softened to room temp. plus more for greasing baking pan
- 1 cup Dark Brown Sugar packed
- 6 Large Eggs room temp.
- 2 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 5 tbsp Browning or Homemade Browning Sauce
- 2 tbsp Molasses
- 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Ground Allspice
- 1 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour spooned and leveled
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 cups Fruit for Christmas Cake pureed until smooth, with the rum and wine listed below. OR use the quick soak method for preparing fruit. See notes.
- 1/4 cup Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum to be added to fruit when pureeing
- 1/4 cup J. Wray & Nephew Red Label Wine to be added to fruit when pureeing
- Juice from 1/2 Lime
- Zest from 1/2 Lime
For After Baking
- 1/2 cup J. Wray & Nephew Red Label Wine to pour overtop cake as soon as it comes out the oven.
- Red Label Wine and White Overproof Rum combined as desired, to spritz cake every few days.
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (149°C) and prepare a 9-inch round cake pan by greasing the bottom and sides using butter. Set aside an additional cake pan of water to be placed at the bottom of the oven during the baking process.
- Add the butter and dark brown sugar to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and cream on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 5 to 6 minutes). Set aside.
- Add eggs to another large bowl, and beat using a hand mixer or whisk until light yellow in colour and foamy on top (about 3 to 5 minutes). To the egg mixture add the vanilla, browning, molasses, lime juice and gently mix using low speed (about 30 seconds). Then, add cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking powder, salt, and lime zest and gently mix using low speed again (about 30 seconds).
- Pour egg mixture into the butter-sugar mixture, and fold well with a wooden spoon until fully mixed (about 3 minutes). Then fold in the pureed fruit mixture, and lastly the flour.
- Pour cake mixture into prepared cake pan and place into the oven along with the additional cake pan of water underneath (on the bottom rack) to ensure the cake does not dry out. Bake for approximately 2 hours (baking times will vary), cake is ready when a toothpick comes out clean or almost clean after inserting into the center of the cake.
- Once cake done, remove from oven and place cake pan on a cooling rack. Then, pour 1/2 cup of J. Wray & Nephew Red Label wine overtop while hot. Allow to soak into cake. Then when completely cooled, remove cake from pan, slice and enjoy!
Notes
Browning - this is key to getting the deep rich colour that makes black cake "black". Depending on the brand of browning, you may need more or less than the amount listed. I used the Grace brand, other brands such as Bedessee Jamaica Pride brand you will need less. Also, be careful not to use too much (depending on brand) as it can leave a bitter after taste.
Breadcrumbs - if you prefer a more cakier (cake-like texture), you can add 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and 1 cup flour.
Yield - this recipe is for one 9-inch cake. If you want two cakes, simply double the recipe ingredients - this will yield two 9-inch cakes. If you prefer a smaller cake, divide the recipe ingredients in half (by two) and this will yield a smaller 6-inch (or smaller) cake.
Cake Batter Readiness Test - a good test to determine whether your cake is ready for the oven is to stick a wooden spoon in the middle of the cake batter. If the spoons slowly begins to fall then rapidly falls to the side, you are set and cake ready for the oven!
Storage (Room Temp) - after cake has cooled, store in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in a combination of parchment paper and aluminum foil, or just foil. Open every few days and refresh cake with a spritz of rum and wine.
Nutrition
Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 147mg | Sodium: 387mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 713IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 2mg