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jamaican style dark fruitcake
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Jamaican-style Dark Fruitcake

Jamaican fruitcake, often called “black cake,”is a dense, fragrant version rich with spices and rum-soaked fruit. A relative of British plum pudding, its deep colour comes from molasses and a bitter caramel sauce called browning, a staple of Caribbean kitchens used for everything from cakes to stews. You can make your own by caramelizing sugar.
Servings 12
Author Julie Van Rosendaal

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cup mixed dried or candied fruit of your choice(cranberries, cherries, dates, figs, dark raisins, apricots, candied orange peel)
  • 1 1/2 cup dates, pitted and chopped
  • 1 1/2 cup currants
  • 1 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup rum
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup dark molasses
  • 1 orange, zested and juiced
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
  • 3/4 cup red wine or grape juice or orange juice
  • 2 cups coarsley chopped walnuts

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 300°F. In a large bowl, combine the dried fruit and rum; toss and set aside to soak.
  • Grease a Bundt or tube pan well, or line a few loaf pans with parchment.
  • Place the sugar in a small saucepan or skillet set over medium-high heat and cook, swirling the pan as the sugar melts, until it turns deep golden. Remove from the heat and gently stir in 2 Tbsp water — it will splatter. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar for a few minutes, until light and creamy. Beat in the molasses and orange and lemon zest and juice.
  • In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the wine or juice in 2 parts. Stir in the fruits (with their juices), the caramel sauce and nuts and scrape into the prepared pan.
  • Bake for 2½-3 hours, until dark golden and set. If the cake is darkening too quickly on top, cover it loosely with foil for the last 30-60 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack, then invert onto a plate.
  • Store well wrapped at room temperature.