Jamaican Rum Cake (Black Cake)

About This Recipe

Jamaican black cake, sometimes called rum cake, is a deeply traditional holiday dessert, its dried fruit steeped in rum and wine for weeks or even months beforehand, developing an intensely rich, boozy flavor. Once baked, the cake batter itself gets its dark color from browning, a burnt sugar syrup, giving the finished cake its signature near-black hue, distinct from any cocoa or chocolate. Traditionally served at Christmas and weddings, black cake is often soaked with additional rum after baking and left to mature further, becoming a dessert that families treasure and prepare well in advance of any celebration.

Ingredients

Serves 10

• 2 cupsmixed dried fruit (raisins, prunes, currants)(chopped)
• 1 cupdark rum(for soaking, divided)
• 1/2 cupred wine(for soaking)
• 1 cupbutter(softened)
• 1 cupbrown sugar
• 4eggs
• 2 cupsall-purpose flour
• 2 tspbaking powder
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1 tspground nutmeg
• 1/4 cupbrowning (burnt sugar syrup)
• 1/2 tspvanilla extract

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the fruit

   Combine dried fruit with half the rum and the red wine in a jar; let steep at least 1 week, ideally several weeks, stirring occasionally.

   The longer the fruit steeps in rum and wine, the deeper and more complex the finished cake's flavor — a week is a bare minimum, and months is traditional.

2. 2

   Blend the soaked fruit

   Blend or finely process the soaked fruit into a coarse paste.

3. 3

   Cream the butter and sugar

   Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs one at a time.

4. 4

   Combine

   Fold in the fruit paste, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, browning and vanilla until well combined.

5. 5

   Bake

   Pour into a greased and lined cake pan and bake at 150C/300F for 80-90 minutes until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.

6. 6

   Soak after baking

   While still warm, poke holes in the top and soak generously with the remaining rum.

7. 7

   Rest

   Wrap and let the cake rest at least a day before serving, ideally longer for the flavors to fully meld.

Variations

• •

  Some recipes use a mix of rum and cherry brandy for the soaking liquid.

• •

  A version without alcohol substitutes grape juice, though the flavor and preservation qualities change significantly.

• •

  Adding chopped glace cherries to the fruit mix is a traditional variation in some households.

Storage

Wrapped tightly, black cake keeps at room temperature for weeks, and many families continue soaking it with rum periodically; it can also be refrigerated for months.

Frequently Asked Questions