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A slice of Jamaican black cake in a white plate, with the rest of the cake visible on a plate in the background
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5 from 4 votes

Jamaican Black Cake

This Jamaican Black Cake is bomb, y'all! With fruit soaked in port wine and rum and a richly spiced batter it's all flavor!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time2 hours
0 minutes
Total Time3 hours 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Caribbean
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 528kcal

Ingredients

For the Fruit Mixture:

  • 6 ounces pitted dried prunes roughly chopped
  • 4 ounces raisins
  • 4 ounces golden raisins
  • 4 ounces dried cherries
  • 1 ½ cup port wine
  • 1 cup white rum

For the Cake:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup almond flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon lime zest
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 1 tablespoon browning sauce like Kitchen Bouquet

Instructions

For the Fruit Mixture:

  • Combine dried fruit, port wine, and white rum. Make sure all fruit is submerged. Let sit for at least two days or up to 2 weeks. If storing longer than a couple of days, you will need to continue to add more wine and rum to cover the fruits.
  • When ready to bake, strain ½ cup of liquid off of fruit. Reserve.
  • Add remaining liquid and fruit to a food processor and pulse 5-6 times until chopped into small pieces. Set aside.

For the Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 250F. Prepare two round cake pans by spraying with nonstick baking spray.
  • Combine flour, almond flour, baking powder, and spices in a bowl and set aside.
  • In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes on high speed.
  • Add eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl, between each addition.
  • Add in dry ingredients in two additions and mix on low speed until just combined.
  • Add in fruit mixture, lime juice and zest, vanilla and almond extract and browning sauce. Mix on low speed until everything is evenly combined.
  • Divide mixture into two prepared pans. Bake until cakes start to pull away from edge of the pan, about 1 hour 50 minutes to 2 hours.
  • Allow cakes to cool in pan for about 15 minutes. Remove cakes from pan onto wire rack and brush reserved liquid onto both cakes. Allow cakes to fully cool, about an hour.
  • Once fully cool, you can serve immediately or wrap and keep for a few days at room temperature.

Notes

  • Don't Skip Soaking the Fruits: Always soak your fruits, no exceptions! Even if you've only got a few hours. But honestly, the longer, the better.
  • Go for a Quick Soak: Got caught in a time crunch? Simmer your fruits in the alcohol on low heat until they're plump and juicy! Easy fix.
  • Sift Your Dry Ingredients: This helps avoid those dreaded lumpy bits in your batter. We want a dense cake, after all, that's the texture of any Jamaican Christmas cake. But we don't want to munch on flour pockets!
  • Room Temperature Ingredients: Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature before you start. This is key for getting that batter silky smooth.

Nutrition

Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 110mg | Potassium: 346mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 999IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 2mg