Trinidad Black Cake Recipe: It’s Not Christmas Without It

It’s that time of the year again, when your fruits have been soaking for a few months and you’re ready to bake Trinidad black cake.

Trinidad black cake is made with rum soaked dried fruits, browning and spices along with typical cake ingredients.

It is a necessary part of any Trini Christmas lime. But everyone has their own version, their own special secret ingredient, and their own choice of alcohol and rum.

So, I thought I’d share the recipe hubby and I made this year. Everyone raved about it.

As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases.

Which Fruits to Soak for Black Cake

The fruits usually soaked for black cake include:

• raisins
• sultanas
• currants
• prunes
• mixed peel
• cherries

You don’t want any seeds in the dried fruits so either buy them seedless or remove the seeds before soaking.

Mixed peel are tiny pieces of candied citrus peel. You can get them on Amazon here if you can’t find them at your local store.

The cherries typically used are maraschino cherries, which are preserved and sweetened.

You should know, after soaking, any colors in the mixed peel will disappear. So, it’s perfectly fine to get the plain ones.

Here’s what I used this year:

Which Alcohol to Use for Soaking Fruits

Popular alcohol used for soaking fruits include:

• cherry brandy
• dark rum
• white rum
• puncheon (a very strong local brand that’s 75% alcohol)
• grape wine

A combination of cherry brandy (1½ cups) and dark rum (2 cups) is the most popular mix for soaking fruits.

I prefer using dark rum and blackberry wine. The wine adds a sweet and interesting depth of flavor.

Last year, I used an entire 750 mL bottle of Manischewitz blackberry wine (3 cups) and added enough El Dorado 15 year old rum and Hennessy v.s. cognac to cover the fruits.

This year, I didn’t have much blackberry wine and the local store didn’t restock it until recently.

So, the alcohol I used this year included leftover blackberry wine, El Dorado 15 year old rum, Dow’s fine tawny port wine and R.L. Seale’s finest Barbados rum.

As you can tell, there isn’t a fixed recipe – it’s based on what your taste preferences are and what you can get your hands on.

Another point I should mention is the alcohol you use for soaking the fruits is not as important as what you use on the cake after it is made. So, don’t overthink the soaking mix – use whatever you like.

How to Soak Fruits for Black Cake

How you soak the fruits will depend on when you plan on making the cake.

Months Ahead

If you are soaking the fruits months before making the cake:

• place the seedless fruits and mixed peel in a sealable container
• add enough alcohol to completely cover the fruits
• seal the container properly
• store in a dark cupboard away from light and heat
• after a few weeks, add more alcohol if the fruits are no longer completely immersed.
• repeat the last step until you use the fruits.

Soaking fruits this way can last for years in the cupboard – the alcohol acts as a great preservative.

These are my fruits after 3 months:

Days Ahead

If you are soaking the fruits a week before making the cake:

• cut the dried fruits into very small pieces (doing this allows the pieces to absorb the alcohol more quickly)
• place the fruits in a sealable container
• add enough alcohol to completely cover the fruits
• seal the container properly
• store in a dark cupboard away from light and heat

The Same Day

If you haven’t soaked the fruits beforehand, you will need to quickly infuse them with your preferred alcohol combination. To do this:

• add the fruits to a blender or food processor
• blend
• add the blended fruits and alcohol to a pot on low heat
• allow to simmer for five minutes
• stir often to prevent sticking

Leave to cool completely before adding to your cake batter.

How to Make Trinidad Black Cake

Here’s a look at what I used:

Here’s what I do to make trini black cake:

• place butter on the counter to soften
• make browning
• preheat the oven (250°F)
• blend fruits to the desired chunkiness (if not done already)
• combine softened butter and sugar
• mix in eggs (one at a time)
• add essence and zest
• add flour and spices (in 2 parts)
• incorporate the blended fruits
• add browning to achieve your desired color (I use molasses too for better flavor)
• butter and flour cake pans or line with parchment paper
• pour batter into cake pans
• bake
• check for doneness
• make little holes in the cake
• brush the cooled cake with your preferred alcohol mix
• repeat brushing the cake with alcohol the next day (and maybe the day after)
• share and be merry

Make browning

Before making the cake, you should make your own browning. I have an entire post explaining how to make browning sauce. Pop by for more details. This video short gives you a quick idea of what to do.

Browning gives black cake its color. If you want your cake to be darker, increase the quantity.

You can skip this step by purchasing browning at your local store or on Amazon.

Blend the Fruits

Scoop out the amount of soaked fruits you need. Be sure to get some alcohol in there too. Place in a blender or food processor and pulse. I use the food processor from the Ninja kitchen system (get it on Amazon).

If you like larger fruit pieces in your cake, then a couple pulses are enough to create a chunky blend.

But if you like a smooth cake, blend until smooth. You can add a bit more alcohol if necessary.

Here’s my chunky blend:

Make the cake

Combine the softened butter and sugar together until they are smooth and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time. Incorporate completely before adding the next egg. Your resultant batter should be white, light and very fluffy. My KitchenAid stand mixer makes this process really quick and easy. Get it on Amazon here.

Mix in essence and lemon zest – though you can use lime or orange zest too. The zest is important to mask the eggy, fresh taste.

Mix the dry ingredients together – flour, baking powder and spices. I usually use cinnamon powder and freshly grated nutmeg.

This year, I found tonka beans in the market so I grated one and added it in there. Tonka beans have a vanilla-like smell but it doesn’t really come through in the cake so you can skip this ingredient.

Add half of the dry ingredients to the cake batter and mix until well combined. Then, add in the second half and repeat.

It may be time for a bigger bowl.

Now for the fruit blend and browning.

I use molasses too. It’s not necessary but it adds a sweet, smoky taste to the cake – not to mention it also helps to color the cake. Since molasses is thick, I whisk it into the browning sauce to thin it out and make it easy to work with.

Mix half of the fruits, browning and molasses into the cake batter. Combine properly and repeat with the remaining ingredients.

If you want your batter to be darker, add more browning and molasses. For a lighter brown cake, use smaller amounts.

I prefer mine a little lighter so the cakes don’t exactly look black.

Baking

Pour into greased or parchment lined cake pans.

The more batter you pour into the pan, the longer it will take to cook. It is best to keep the height of the batter under two inches. Thicker cakes will cook too quickly on the top and sides but won’t be done in the center.

Pop your cake pans in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour at 250°F.

After an hour, reduce the heat to 225°F and continue baking for another 2 hours. Reducing the heat is important – the tops and sides will begin to dry out at the higher temperature. You want the cake to bake evenly so drop that temp.

After 2 hours, remove from the oven and insert a toothpick or bamboo skewer in the center. If the skewer comes out clean, then it is cooked. If batter sticks to the skewer, pop the cake back in to the oven for another 15 minutes before checking its doneness again.

When you’re done baking, allow the cakes to cool.

This recipe makes two 10-inch cakes.

Or three cakes: a 9-inch, a 6-inch and an 11-inch by 7-inch cake. Specific? It’s what I had on hand… Also, all of the rectangular cake didn’t make it to the photo session – hubby said it was “taste-tested.” Haha!

Basting the cake

Poke the cake with a skewer to create tiny holes. Then, brush with your preferred alcohol blend. The holes allow the alcohol to soak into the entire cake.

The alcohol you choose here will influence how your cake tastes and how ‘strong’ your black cake will be.

I like using the blackberry wine here because it’s sweet and fruity. You can use the popular cherry brandy-dark rum combo or any alcohol you like.

Leave the cakes to ‘soak’ overnight and brush again with alcohol the next day and maybe the day after too.

Share and serve anytime – it’s better a couple days after baking when the cake has properly absorbed all that alcohol.

Serve alongside other popular Trini Christmas favorites like sponge cake and sorrel drinks.

Here’s a quick video on all the steps:

Trinidad Black Cake Recipe

This recipe will give you enough soaked fruits for four 10-inch cakes. The cake recipe itself will make two 10-inch cakes.

I don’t have two 10-inch cake pans so I made three cakes of different sizes here.

Can black cake get you drunk?

It is not likely that black cake will get you drunk, however, if your alcohol tolerance is low, you can experience very mild intoxication symptoms like light-headedness and mild euphoria.

The extent of symptoms may be affected by the percentage of alcohol used to soak the cake. For instance, wine is approximately 10% alcohol; whereas dark rum can be 40% alcohol or more.

How to store black cake?

Since alcohol is a preservative, black cake can be left on the counter for three to five days. After that, it can be refrigerated for weeks or frozen for years without spoiling.

To freeze, slice the cake into the desired pieces and store each slice separately. You can use baking paper to prevent the slices from sticking and freezing together.

When you’re ready to eat, defrost for three minutes in the microwave and enjoy. Or place the frozen slice in the refrigerator overnight to defrost and savor it the next day.

Related Recipes