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Guyanese Black Cake
Guyana's legendary Christmas cake — dried fruit soaked for weeks in rum and cherry brandy, blended dark and folded into a rich, moist spiced batter. Deep, boozy and unforgettable.
Black cake is the crown jewel of a Guyanese Christmas — and a labour of love that starts weeks (sometimes a year) ahead, with dried fruit steeping in rum and cherry brandy. The result is dark, dense, intensely spiced and gloriously boozy. Every family guards its own recipe; this is a classic place to begin.
Ingredients
- Soaked fruit (start weeks ahead)
- 1 lb raisins
- 1 lb prunes, pitted
- 1/2 lb currants
- 1/2 lb mixed peel
- 2 cups dark rum, plus more as needed
- 1 cup cherry brandy
- For the cake
- 1 lb (4 sticks) butter, softened
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 8 eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp mixed spice (or cinnamon, nutmeg, clove)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup browning (burnt-sugar caramel)
- Zest of 1 lime
Instructions
- Weeks (or months) ahead, blend the raisins, prunes, currants and mixed peel with some of the rum until coarse. Store in a jar covered with the rum and cherry brandy, topping up the liquor occasionally.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line two cake tins with greased parchment.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and lime zest.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Fold into the batter gently.
- Fold in the soaked fruit and the browning until the batter is evenly dark. Add a little extra rum if it's stiff.
- Pour into the tins and bake low and slow for about 1.5–2 hours, until a skewer comes out clean. Cover the tops with foil if browning too fast.
- While still warm, brush (or soak) the cakes with extra rum. Let them cool and 'feed' with more rum over the following days for the richest flavour.
Tips & Notes
- The soaked fruit is everything — the longer it sits in rum (weeks to a year), the better the cake.
- Browning gives black cake its signature dark colour; you can buy it or make it by caramelising sugar until almost burnt.
- Bake low and slow so the dense cake cooks through without drying out.
- Well-fed black cake keeps for months and only improves with age.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far ahead should I soak the fruit?
Weeks to months ahead. The longer the dried fruit steeps in rum and cherry brandy, the richer and better the cake.
What is browning?
Browning is a burnt-sugar caramel that gives black cake its signature dark colour. You can buy it or make it by caramelising sugar until almost burnt.
How long does black cake keep?
Well-fed with rum, black cake keeps for months and only improves with age.
Nutrition is an approximate estimate per serving and will vary with brands, portion sizes and substitutions. See our disclaimer.
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