Christmas fruit cakes have been baked for centuries with the oldest known recipe dating back to Ancient Rome. Fruitcakes were a way to preserve fruits and nuts, as well as a way to celebrate the harvest and seek good luck next year. Jamaicans’ favorite Christmas cake is dark, fluffy, and heavy, with rum-soaked fruit and rich flavor. Eaten alone at Christmas, the cake is a favorite treat and a family tradition.
Ingredients:
* 1 pound. Grapes
* 4 oz. Cherries
* ½ lb. Chopped plums
* 2 oz. Blueberries
* 32 ounces Dark Jamaican Rum
* 4 oz. Citrus peels
* grated rind of 1 lime
* 6 oz. or 1.5 cup of flour
* 8 oz. butter
* 8 oz. sugar
* 4 eggs
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* ½ teaspoon allspice
* ½ teaspoon ground cloves
* ½ teaspoon salt
* 1 cup of wine / brandy
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 tbsp. browning
Addresses:
Soak fruits, rinds, and rind in rum for two weeks before baking. In a separate bowl, beat the butter, sugar and brown until creamy. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and mix well. In a third bowl, beat the eggs and brandy until well blended.
Add the egg mixture to the creamy butter mixture and mix well. Strain and add fruit, saving the rum for fruity drinks. Gradually mix dry ingredients into batter and fold in.
Pour batter into lightly buttered 9 “cake pan and bake at 350F for 1.5 hours, checking after 1 hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
