Excerpted from Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago
For many years I thought Black Cake was a variation on English plum pudding brought to the Trinidad by English colonists. On a research trip to Ireland in 2008, I came to learn about Christmas Cake, a confection of liquor soaked dried fruits made specifically for the winter holidays. Sure enough, further research, revealed that Trinidad was among those English colonial islands that had a fairly large population of Irish indentured laborers. Jamaica, Barbados and Montesserat are the notable others. While subsumed by the larger Indian and African populations certain Irish throwbacks remain like a love for Guinness, Sea Moss Drink, and Black Cake which only differs from Irish versions by the liquor used and the use of burn sugar syrup to make the cake dark.
This unusual cake has led many a culinarian to wax prolific about its rich aromatic flavors and unusual texture that is something between a plum pudding and a pound cake. Although it could technically be called a fruitcake because of the candied and dried fruits that comprise its bulk, no fruitcake ever tasted this good!
Special credit must be given here to Mrs. Irma Hannays of Woodbrook, a former librarian-turned-pastry chef who is noted throughout Trinidad and many other Caribbean Islands for her sweet hands when it comes to making wedding and other special occasion cakes. Mrs. Hannays, who turns out tens of Black Cakes every year for friends, family and clients, developed the fast-soaking variation offered below which is a great boon to Black Cake lovers who want to have their cake and eat it too “now for now” as we say in Trinidad.
RECIPE (Don't forget to check out the video below!)
1 pound raisins
1 pound currants
1 pound prunes
1/4 pound mixed citrus peel
1/2 pound candied cherries
4 cups cherry brandy or cherry wine
4 cups dark rum, such as Old Oak
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise pods
1/2 vanilla bean
Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
6 eggs
1/2 teaspoon mixed essence
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon burnt sugar syrup*
Basting Liquid
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup cherry brandy
2 tablespoons sherry
**If using quick-soak method use the reserved steeping liquid for basting the cakes.
- Place the fruit in a gallon jar that can be tightly sealed—preferably with a suction lid. Add the raisins, currants, prunes, peel, candied cherries, cherry brandy, rum, cinnamon stick, and star anise pods. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add these to the jar, along with the bean. Mix very well and seal. Store, unrefrigerated, in a cool, dark place for at least 3 weeks or up to 1 year.
2. To soak fruits for black cake quickly: Combine 1 cup raisins, 1 cup currants, 1 cup pitted prunes, 3 tablespoons mixed citrus peel, and 1 cup candied cherries in a large sauce pan with 1 1/2 cup cherry brandy and 1 1/2 cups rum. Place saucepan over a medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, then cover and remove from heat. Allow to cool completely.3. To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
5. Place the butter and sugar a bowl, and cream with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the mixed essence and vanilla.
6. Using a slotted spoon, remove 5 cups of the soaking fruit from the jar or remove all of the steeped fruits from the saucepan, reserving liquid. Place in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse to a coarse paste. Remove from the food processor and beat well into the butter mixture.
7. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the burnt sugar syrup and mix well.
8. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 40 minutes, then lower the heat to 250°F and bake for another 45 minute to an hour, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
9. Remove from the oven and cool for 20 minutes in the pan. Combine the rum, brandy, and sherry, for basting, or if using the quick-soak method use the reserved liquid and evenly brush the cooled cakes with this mixture. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
10. Remove from the pans. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then tinfoil. You may also place the loaves in a tightly lidded plastic container. Store in a cool, dry place for at least 3 days before eating.
11. Black cake can be stored for up to 3 months in the refrigerator. If doing so, rebaste with the rum mixture, once every 2 weeks.
TIP: Commercially prepared burnt sugar syrup is available in West Indian markets. If you cannot find it, you can make your own by placing 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of water in a dry frying pan over medium-low heat. Heat slowly, swirling the sugar in the pan until it starts to caramelize. Continue swirling until the sugar syrup becomes very dark brown—almost black. Add to batter as needed.
