This rich and moist Jamaican Black Cake is the centerpiece dessert that's perfect for any holiday or celebration. Black Cake, also known as rum cake, Christmas cake, and wedding cake, depending on when it's served, is a staple dessert recipe in all of the Caribbean.
The full recipe with ingredients/instructions is available on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Important tips/tricks are also included in the blog post.
Black Cake is exactly what it's named, a cake that is really black. It's also rich, dense, moist, and tastes like a strong liquored cake with tons of flavor and essence. Growing up in a Jamaican household, Christmas was all I knew when it came to celebrations. We also had the cake at every wedding, including my very own.
Black cake is known by many names, such as rum cake, Christmas cake, or wedding cake (where it's covered in royal icing). Black cake is a traditional dessert made throughout the Caribbean islands and is not exclusive to Jamaica. Everyone has their own version of the cake, but it’s pretty much all the same. Dried fruits are soaked in wine or rum for weeks or months in advance. This mixture is then either added whole or blended and turned into a delicious cake.
The process of making the cake is what makes it so special and delicious. Many bakers even sell the cakes during the Holidays, and it's worth every penny. Depending on who makes the cake, some are more cake-like, with actual whole or cut dried fruits in the cake. Others are well blended and come with a more pudding-like consistency. I like the latter and it's what I'm sharing with you today.
Be sure to try my Caribbean Rum Cake and Jamaican Sorrel Drink too.
Ingredients for Black Cake
Before jumping into the process, I want to mention the ingredients that are needed for this cake. Some ingredients need to be made/bought/prepared in advance.
- Dried fruits - traditionally, the dried fruits used in the recipe included dried pitted prunes, currants, dried cherries, and raisins. I replaced the currants with golden raisins.
- Red sweet wine - Red Label Wine, a Jamaican wine, is the wine generally used in this recipe. However, any sweet dessert wine can be used as a substitute. I used Manischewitz Concord grape wine.
- Butter, Flour, Sugar, Breadcrumbs, Eggs, and Baking Powder - these are the basic cake ingredients that will give your cake structure. The breadcrumbs are added to keep this cake super moist.
- Spices, Lime, and Extracts - These add flavor to the cake.
- Burnt Sugar and Browning - These are what cause your cake to turn black. Browning and Burnt Sugar can both be found either online or in a Caribbean market.
How to make Jamaican Black Cake
First, you'll need to start by combining your dried fruits and wine in advance for at least 5 days. Fruits can be soaked much longer, up to 4-6 months, but 5 days is enough for me. You'll notice that the longer your fruits sit, the more wine they will absorb, meaning you may need to add more wine the longer they sit to cover the fruits.
When it's time to bake your cake, gather all your ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (121 °C). Prepare a 10-inch baking pan by lining it with a cake pan liner and greasing the sides. Set aside.
Blend the wine and fruit mixture in a blender until smooth. Set aside.
Mix the all-purpose flour, plain breadcrumbs, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt in a bowl, then set it aside.
Cream the butter and dark brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until fluffy, for about 3 minutes.
Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Then, mix in the lime juice and zest, as well as the vanilla extract and almond extract, to the butter mixture and combine until smooth. Mix in the flour mixture until combined.
Fold in the blended fruit and wine mixture, the browning, and the burnt sugar until fully combined. You'll notice how dark the cake batter gets once the browning and burnt sugar are added. The cake will also get darker as it bakes.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 2 and a half hours, until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.
Allow cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and place it on a serving platter. Pour ¼ cup of the red dessert wine over the cake. Allow the cake to continue cooling overnight. The cake will continue to soak up the liquid that was poured on top.
Serve and enjoy.
Notes on Jamaican Black Cake
- I was able to find all the ingredients for this cake at my local grocery store and the island grocery store in my city. Browning and burnt sugar are available online if you don't have a local grocery store on your island.
- Some people soak their fruits in rum in addition to wine. I don't.
- You can also make your own burnt sugar for this recipe if you prefer.
- Store Black Cake at room temperature for a few days. It only lasts 1-2 days in our household.
- You can bake in smaller pans and give away as gifts. If baking in smaller pans, your cakes will bake much faster.
- Please remember to bake this cake on low, 250 degrees Fahrenheit (120 °C) if you like the softer pudding-like cake.
Looking for more Jamaican Holiday Recipes. Try these out:
Jamaican Black Cake
Ingredients
Equipment
Instructions
- Combine prunes, raisins, golden raisins, dried cherries, and 2 ½ cups of sweet red wine in an airtight container. Cover and let sit for at least 5 days or up to a few months. If storing longer than a few days, you will need to add more wine to the mixture to cover the fruits as the fruit will soak up the wine over time.
- When ready to bake, add the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (121C) and prepare a 10-inch baking pan by using a pan liner and greasing the sides. Set aside.
- Mix the all-purpose flour, plain breadcrumbs, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and dark brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until fluffy, for about 3 minutes on medium speed.
- Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the lime juice and zest, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Mix in the flour mixture until combined. Fold in the blended fruit mixture, the browning, and burnt sugar until fully combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 2 and half hours, until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove and pour ¼ cup of the sweet red wine over the cake. Allow the cake to continue cooling overnight. The cake will continue to soak up the liquid that was poured on top.
- Serve and enjoy.
Nutrition
Notes
- This cake can be baked in a smaller pan if needed. If using a 9-inch baking pan, you’ll have leftover batter to make a smaller cake. Smaller cakes will cook faster.
- You could also make your own burnt sugar for this recipe if you choose to do so.
- Black Cake is generally stored at room temperature. It will last for a few days.
- To add some rum to this cake, I suggest reducing the wine amount to 2 cups, and using ¾ cup of rum to soak the fruit. If using rum, use Jamaican white rum, like Wray & Nephew, but a dark/spiced rum should work too.
Susan says
Hi Tanya,
I am preparing to make this cake and have been soaking the fruits for a few weeks. I have a question regarding the burnt sugar and the browning. I have a browning & seasoning sauce will that work or do I need a plain browning sauce? Also, can molassses be used to substitute either the burnt sugar or the browning sauce?
Tanya says
Hi Susan, I would use just the browning sauce rather than the browning and seasoning. The browning and seasoning has many other flavoring that will likely interfere with the sweetness of the cake. You could use some molasses if you don’t have the burnt sugar but do note that burnt sugar is runnier and darker than molasses.
Susan says
@Tanya, thank you for your quick response.
Susan says
@Tanya, I found burnt sugar however can no find the browning sauce...any suggestions to substitute it.
Tanya says
Hey Susan, yes, you can make your browning by following my homemade recipe. https://www.myforkinglife.com/homemade-browning-sauce/
Lauren Connelly says
I have a bottle of sweet moscato wind that I’m looking to use up—would that work in place of the red wine?
Tanya says
Hi Lauren, I’ve had readers that have used white wine with good results. I think it’ll work fine. It may change the color and taste a little.
Sandra Fusco says
Hi Tanya, I love your site and use a lot of your recipes. Can I maybe add a touch of black food coloring and if batter is not dark enough due to making the homemade sauces, also what can I use in place of the liquor please.Thank you for everything..
Sandra F.
Tanya says
Hi Sandra, black coloring should work fine. As you stated, I would add a touch. To replace the liquor, you would want to cook it in grape juice before proceeding. Healthiersteps has an alcohol-free Jamaican fruit cake. https://healthiersteps.com/recipe/jamaican-christmas-cake-recipe-vegan-gluten-free/
Hope says
@Sandra Fusco,
Excited to find this cake, and can't wait to make it! I made a "Black Velvet Cake" (Normally known as Red Velvet, but I wanted to make it more "formal.") by substituting Black food coloring for the red. Had good friends over and served it for dessert. We still laugh 15 yrs later at the memory of the black teeth we smiled at each other with. Made a really funny memory, but unless you want black stained teeth I would stay away from dying a cake with black food coloring, lol.
Shelley n says
i would like to try this recipe but am not a fan of raisins. i wondered if i could use dried cranberries instead, if they would change the flavor profile overly much? please give much detail as i am very much a fledgling in the baking game.
thank you, Tanya!
Tanya says
Hi Shelley n, dried cranberries would likely chain the profile a lot and make it a little more tart. It should still be good though.
Lorna says
Great recipe! I used a fruit blend with cran-raspberry juice for a non-alcoholic version. I also made it in a muffin pan. It came out perfectly. For "muffins" just reduce the baking time.
Tanya says
Thanks Lorna! So happy you liked the recipe. Great idea to make muffins!
Querino de Freitas says
I AM GETTING THE DRIED FRUIT READY TO BE SOAKED,AT HOME MY AUNT USED TO MINCE THE FRUIT USING A OLD FASHIONED MINCER..THEN SHE WILL PLACE THE MINCE IN A POTTERY JAR,THEN POUR THE RUM AND CHERRY BRANDY OVER,MIX WITH WOODEN LONG SPOON,SEAL THE TOP, AND EVERY 2 WEEKS MORE RUM AND CHAERY BRANDY WOULD BE POURED OVER THE FRUIT,THE THIRD APPLICATION SHOULD BE EVERY 4/5 WEEKS UNTIL ITS TIME TO MAKE THE BLACK CAKE....THANKS QUERINO
Tanya says
Thank you Querino 🙂
Paul says
I thought browning and burnt sugar were the same thing
Tanya says
They're similair, but have different consistency and flavor. Browning generally has salt added. So if you add too much browning alone, your cake will have a different flavor.
Kathy says
Hello! Can't wait to make this cake! Do I need to refrigerate the soaking dried fruit? Imagine the alcohol "preserves" it if left on the counter but am wondering if I plan on soaking for a month or so if the refrigerator is better? Please advise (; Thank you!
Tanya says
Hi Kathy, great question. We soak it on the countertop. No need to refrigerate.
Tim says
Hi Tanya.
I just want to check - is that 121 degrees c for a fan oven?
All the best, Tim.
Tanya says
Hi Tim, the degrees are for a traditional, conventional oven rather than one with a fan.
Tim says
@Tanya, thanks Tanya.
Denise says
I made this cake twice this year and last year. Excellent recipe just like my grandma used to make. I love this recipe can't miss.
Tanya says
Thank you so much Denise! So glad you like the recipe.
Pat says
Hello, how many cups of blended fruit mixture do you put in? I already have some blended mix and would like to use it. Thanks.
Tanya says
Hi Pat, It comes out to about 4.5 cups of the blended fruit.
Janet says
I tried this recipe and it came out great loved the texture.
Thanks for sharing a great recipe for Jamaican fruit cake.
Tanya says
Thanks Janet! So happy you liked the recipe.
Rita says
I have been wanting a real recipe for Black Cake since reading the book Black Cake [https://www.amazon.com/Black-Cake-Novel-Charmaine-Wilkerson/dp/0593358333/ref=asc_df_0593358333/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=532387266470&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6254193309584106528&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032967&hvtargid=pla-1408453528702&psc=1] which was the best book I've read all year! Printing and trying! THANKS!
Tanya says
Thanks Rita! I'll have to check out this book.
Sheila says
In the article, you mention rum is also used in these cakes. Can I swap rum for the wine in this recipe and, is so, is it dark/spiced rum?
Tanya says
Hi Sheila, great questions. I wouldn't do a complete swap, as you still need some of the sweetness and flavor of the wine. I suggest reducing the wine amount to 2 cups, and using 3/4 cup of rum. I use Jamaican white rum, but a dark/spiced rum should work too.
Dee says
Hi Tanya,
I tried your Jamaican black cake tom up very good.
Tanya says
Thanks Dee, so happy you liked the recipe 🙂