Caribbean Fruit And Rum Cake

This cake is very popular, and is often eaten at Christmas, weddings and other special occasions. It is known as 'black cake', as the traditional recipe includes burnt sugar.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

1. Wash the currants, raisins, prunes and mixed peel, then drain and pat dry. Place in a food processor and process until roughly chopped. Transfer to a large, bowl and add the the mixed spice, rum and sherry. Stir in 115g of sugar. Mix well, then cover with a lid and set aside for anything from 2 weeks to 3 months — the longer it is left, the better the flavour will be.

Step 2

2. Stir the fruit mixture occasionally, adding more alcohol, if you like, before replacing the cover.

Step 3

3. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/ Gas 3. Grease a 25cm/10in round cake tin (pan) and line with a double layer of greaseproof (waxed) paper or baking parchment.

Step 4

4. Sift the flour into a bowl, and set it aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the remaining sugar. Beat in the eggs until the mixture is smooth and creamy, adding a little of the flour if the mixture starts to curdle.

Step 5

5. Add the fruit mixture, then gradually stir in the remaining flour and the vanilla essence. Mix well, adding 15-30ml more sherry if the mixture is too stiff; it should just fall off the back of the spoon, but should not be too runny.

Step 6

6. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, cover loosely with foil and bake for about 2 1/2 hours, until the cake is firm and springy. Leave to cool in the pan overnight. Unless serving immediately, sprinkle the cake with more rum and wrap in greaseproof paper and foil to keep it moist.

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