Rich, boozy and full of flavor, this authentic Jamaican black cake recipe is a keeper! It's an absolute Christmas staple, and is bursting with deep, fruity flavors and has that beautiful hint of warm spice too.
Whether you're making this for the holidays or for a special occasion, this cake is sure to be an absolute show-stopper!
Growing up in a Jamaican household, I have a lot of memories revolving around food, especially during the holidays, and lately, I have been trying out a lot of recipes that I've grown up eating. My vibrant and flavorful Jamaican steamed fish and Jamaican brown stew chicken have been huge hits, and for me, there's the ultimate comfort food.
On special occasions, I love making my Jamaican rum cake, which packs in those delicious boozy flavors. This time though, I thought of taking it a step further and trying this decadent rum cake, and oh boy- I'm so happy I did!
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What I Love About this Recipe
This Christmas cake is super easy to make. Don't be daunted by the ingredients list- once you have everything ready, putting it together is a breeze.
It's packed with flavor. If you love a good fruit cake, this black cake has 10 times the deliciousness.
It's moist, slightly dense and has an absolutely fantastic texture you'll love!
Recipe Ingredients
Cake essentials: The absolute classics- all purpose flour, eggs, butter, sugar, vanilla and baking powder.
Rum-soaked fruits: I used raisins, golden raisins, prunes, and cranberries soaked in rum and red dessert wine.
Breadcrumbs: To lend the fruit cake a bit of structure.
Extracts: I used a mix of vanilla extract and almond extract.
Molasses: Molasses help sweeten the cake and give it that dark color.
Lime juice and zest: Adds some extra flavor and citrusy aroma to the cake.
Browning is also called burnt sugar and is usually available in most Caribbean markets. It lends the cake a more profound, intense flavor and dark hue.
Spices: I used a mix of allspice, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg powder.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- If you don't have the breadcrumbs or don't want to use them, it is okay to skip them and just use the all-purpose flour. The cake will be slightly less dense but still just as delicious.
- Soaked cherries and mixed peel can also be great additions to this cake. If you have them at hand, feel free to add them too!
How to Make Jamaican Black Cake
To make the Jamaican rum-soaked fruit cake, preheat your oven to 300℉ and grease a 10-inch round cake pan or line it with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy for about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and mix. The mixture might curdle, which is okay.
- Whisk together the flour, bread crumbs, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves until well combined.
- Add the flour mixture in batches into the butter mixture until smooth.
- Add lime zest, lime juice, fruit puree, molasses, and browning. Mix well.
- Pour the batter into the greased or lined baking pan, smoothen the top, and bake at 300℉ for 2 hours until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and let it cook for 20 minutes. Pour ¼ cup of wine all over it. Cut and serve.
Storing Leftovers
You can store your leftover Jamaican black cake at room temperature for 3-4 days. Cover it up nicely with cling wrap or place it in an airtight container to keep it nice and moist.
You can freeze the cake if you want it to last longer. Use a freezer-safe container to store it for best results.
If the cake seems a bit dry, you can brush a bit of rum over it to moisten it.
Tips & Tricks to Make the Jamaican Black Cake
- Ensure the eggs and butter are at room temperature before using them for the recipe. This helps in getting the right soft texture.
- Sift the flour and other dry ingredients to get the perfect smooth batter without any clumps.
- To avoid large chunks of fruit in the cake, blend the rum-soaked fruits nicely.
- If you want the cake to have that extra moist texture, place a pan filled with water on the bottom of the oven while cooking. This will create steam inside the oven, which will soften the cake.
- If you don't have rum-soaked fruits, you can make a quick version by boiling them in water for a few minutes, then letting them simmer for 1-2 hours until the liquid reduces and turns dark. After this, they can soak in the dessert wine and rum for 24 hours and should be ready to use!
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
This cake is perfect to make and serve on a special occasion or for a holiday get-together you're hosting. I love making it with my other Christmas desserts, like Grinch Rice Krispie treats, Rudolph brownies and easy Christmas fudge. Whenever I'm entertaining, I love having my Christmas simmer pot on in the background to have that beautiful, warm aroma all throughout my home.
If you're planning on making this boozy dessert over the holidays this year, don't forget to check out my herb roasted turkey and orange poppy seed cake, both of which are sure to be absolute crowd pleasers!
Recipe FAQs
You absolutely can, and you should! Making the cake in advance and serving it after a few days helps deepen its flavors. Just pour some wine on it a few hours before serving.
The easiest way to check whether the cake is cooked is to do the toothpick test. It is done if a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or has some moist crumbs.
More Dessert Recipes to Try
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried these Jamaican black cake or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Jamaican Black cake
Ingredients
For the Rum Soaked Fruits
- 1 cup Raisins
- 1 cup Cranberries
- 1 cup Golden raisins
- 1 cup Prunes pitted
- 1-2 cups Red dessert wine
- 1 cup Rum
For the black
- 2 cups All purpose flour
- ½ cup Bread crumbs
- 1 cup Brown sugar
- 6 large Eggs at room temperature
- 3 sticks Butter 1½ cup, softened
- 2 cups Blended rum saoked fruits
- 3 tablespoon Fancy molasses
- ¼ cup Browning
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon All-spice
- ¼ teaspoon Cloves
- 1 tablespoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Almond extract
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- Lime zest from ½ lime
- tablespoon Lime juice from ½ lime
- ¼ cup Red dessert wine
Instructions
Soak the Fruits
- Combine the fruits, wine, and rum in a container. Make sure the fruits are covered with rum and wine. You may add more if needed.
- Cover and allow to sit for 1 week or more.
Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 300℉ and grease a 10-inch round cake pan or line it with a parchment paper.
- Blend the soaked fruits into a smooth puree.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy for about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and mix. The mixture might curfle, which is okay.
- Whisk together the flour, bread crumbs, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves until well combined. Add the flour mixture in batches into the butter mixture until smooth.
- Add lime zest, lime juice, fruit puree, molasses, and browning. Mix well.
- Pour the batter into the greased or lined baking pan, smoothen the top, and bake at 300℉ for 2 hours until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Some cakes might need 2 hours 30 minutes depending on the cake pan size.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and let it cook for 20 minutes. Pour ¼ cup of wine all over it. Cut and serve.
- Let it stay at room temperature for up to 3 days, and pour more wine if needed so it doesn't dry out.
Video
Notes
- Make sure the eggs and butter are at room temperature before you use them for the recipe. This helps in getting the right soft texture.
- To get the perfect smooth batter without any clumps, make sure you sift the flour and the other dry ingredients.
- To avoid large chunks of fruit in the cake, make sure you blend the rum soaked fruits nicely.
- If you want the cake to have that extra moist texture, place a cake pan filled with water on the bottom of the oven while cooking. This will create steam inside the oven, which will soften the cake.
- If you don't have rum soaked fruits, you can make a quick version by boiling the fruits in water for a few minutes, then letting them simmer for 1-2 hours until the liquid reduces and turns dark. After this, they can soak in the dessert wine and rum for 24 hours and should be ready to use!
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Naomi says
What can you use instead of molasses?
Unfortunately molasses should only be used
Ogiriki says
Wow..thanks for sharing
Bilikis says
♥️♥️♥️♥️
Bilikis says
It looks so yummy.Thanks for the recipe ma