Caribbean Black Cake

Roughly chop the Prunes (3 2/3 cups).

Put the Mixed Fruit Peel (4 3/4 cups), Lemons (to taste) peels, Raisins (1 1/2 cups), and Maraschino Cherry (1 cup) in a food processor. Add Dry Sherry (4 cups) and blend. Blend until it is a thick but smooth consistency (with a little chunkiness).

Pour the entire mixture into a large bowl and add the Dark Spiced Rum (2 cups) and sherry mixture.

Give it a good stir to make sure the fruit absorbs all the liquor goodness and get ready to pour it all into a container that can be sealed. Set aside. The longer you allow the fruits to ‘soak’ or marinate the more flavor it will absorb and it will make for a more rounded and fruity cake, but at least a few hours. Some people store fruits for up to a year.

When your fruit has soaked, preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).

Start the cake by creaming Unsalted Butter (1/2 cup) and Brown Sugar (1 cup) until you have a fluffy and smooth consistency.

After you have a smooth and fluffy batter base, start adding the Eggs (6) one at a time and mix thoroughly.

Add the Vanilla Extract (1 tsp), Angostura Bitters (1 dash), Caribbean Mixed Essence (1 tsp) and the zest of the Lime (1). Mix well.

Add the prepared fruit mixture. The mixture can be added all at once or in batches to allow for a more even mixture.

In another bowl, combine the All-Purpose Flour (2 cups), Salt (1 pinch), Ground Cinnamon (1 tsp), Ground Nutmeg (1/4 tsp), Ground Allspice (1/8 tsp), and Baking Powder (1/2 Tbsp). Mix thoroughly and sift.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet batter, but do so in 1/3 amounts (3 batches) to allow for easy and even mixing.

With the batter completely mixed, add the West Indian Browning (1 tsp) and give the entire batter it’s final mix. There is enough batter here for 2 round pans (10-12 inches).

Grease the pans and line them with parchment paper for easier removal. Pour in enough batter to 2/3 up the pan and place in the preheated oven for 2 hours and 30 minutes.

After cakes are removed from the oven, allow it to cool, then brush a mixture of rum and sherry over it and allow it to soak through the cake. This will give it that added kick!

Slice, serve and enjoy!