Bakery — Jamacian Holiday Black Fruit Cake: 101 by dvdlee

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Bakery -- Jamacian Holiday Black Fruit Cake: 101

Submitted by dvdlee on August 27, 2004 at 10:09 am

DESCRIPTION
Bakery -- Jamacian Holiday Black Fruit Cake: 101

SUMMARY
Yield 0 File under cakes

INSTRUCTIONS
This is a great fruitcake for those who don't like fruitcake. (For one thing you start with a bottle of rum AND and bottle of sweeet wine or Port.) Also, the fruit is chopped very fine (think ground) so you don't get chunks of fruit. The taste is addictive, complex and "Bracing"

I've made this cake for Christmas for the past 5 years since it is a unique gift, reasonable in price, not too complicated, and the recipe makes a lot. It is taken from Laurie Colwin's "Home Cooking" (which is a great Christmas present to Anyone who cooks.) You can bake the cake in whatever sized pan you need for a specific event (adjusting the baking time of course).

However, there are a few things I was slightly uncomfortable about this cake recipe: 1.) not sure EXACTLY when it is done and 2) not sure how authentic the recipe is.

I had coffee with a friend-of-a-friend who is from Jamacia and he gave me his family's recipe, which is fairly different from the Colwin. He did say that everyone in Jamacia has their own version (kind-of like gumbo or barbecue sauce) and mine was a "simple, plain, but good" recipe. I also have one from on-line.

So I am combined/blended and personalized my fruitcake with these other two sources and keeping careful notes and observations (i.e., such as bake to internal temp of XXX). I am posting 3 recipes (my recipe first, the "native" Jamacian recipe, and then finally Laurie Colwin's)

I will be posting the 3 recipes here in different notes. If you are interested in making the cake(s) you do need to prepare the fruit several months before so it has time to blend and age. This opening process is the same for all 3 recipes.

1 lb. raisins
1 lb. currents
1 lb. pitted prunes
3/4 lb. glace cherries
1/2 lb. lemon peel
1/2 lb. orange peel
1/2 lb. citron
1 750 ml bottle Passover wine or Port***
1 750 ml bottle of Dark Rum

Finely chop all fruit in a food processor (or meat grinder) You can add a dab of two or the wine to help the food processor handle the fruit. The ideal texture is a paste with very small chunks of peel or fruit.

Combine fruit with the rum and wine. Place in crock or plastic storage container (tupperware). Cover, leave at room temp. stirring mixture 1 to 2 times a week or so.

***I usually use Passover wine and use the money I saved by not buying Port to buy a better bottle of rum.

I usually start the fruit anytime between Labor Day and Halloween (for baking in early December). I haven't tasted much difference.

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