What Is A Jamaican Black Cake?

Are you interested in a Jamaican black cake? Want to know what is in a Jamaican black cake? Or how to make one? Check out this page to find out!

What Is A Jamaican Black Cake?

The Jamaican black cake, also known as Jamaican rum cake, is a traditional cake with origins from Jamaica. These black cakes are not everyday cakes but are typically used for weddings, birthdays, graduation parties, Christmas and special events of that nature.

Jamaican black cakes can range from a dark brown color to an almost black cake depending on the quantity of ingredients used.

What gives the cake it's distinct taste are the rum-soaked fruits used to make it.  These fruits can be soaked in a handful of different alcohols, with each one giving the cake a distinct taste.  Some alcohols used to make a Jamaican black cake are rum, brandy, and red wine.

What Ingredients Are In A Jamaican Black Cake?

So the main ingredients in the cake are fruits soaked in rum.  These fruits include cherries, raisins, orange or lemon peel, prunes, figs, blackberries. These fruits are typically blended up but you will sometimes find whole cherries and raisins in the cake.

Then that fruit mix is added to a prepared (from scratch) cake batter with darkening such as burnt sugar or molasses to give it a dark or black color. You can eat it with royal icing or a rum-vanilla glaze to add a little sweetness as this cake is not too sweet on it's own.

If you search Google, you will find a handful of recipes out there, but this one is probably the best one that I've seen: Jamaican black cake recipe from the Cooking Channel