Decadent Christmas Cake Recipe
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Ashley Haynes
- Posted on
Christmas cake is arguably the main character of Jamaican Christmas. The only other competitor in the food category is sorrel, but in the race for number one solid food in the 100 metre sprint to our bellies, Christmas cake comes in first place.
There are quite a few things that make up a true Jamaican Christmas, and to leave Christmas cake off the list would be a cardinal sin. Many people purchase their cakes from trusted companies, but it doesn’t hurt to use your own hands once in a while. Here is an easy recipe for a decadent Christmas cake.
The most important ingredient for this recipe is the soaked fruits. For the soaked fruits, you will need:
4 cups raisins
3 cups prunes
2 cups currants
1 cup cherries
Soak the cherries, currants, raisins, and chopped prunes in a glass container with white rum and red-label wine. Make sure you add enough liquid to cover the fruits. Seal and let it sit in the sealed jar for at least two weeks before preparation or up to one year.
If you don’t have fruits soaked for a year, you can just chop them finely and add alcohol then blend to achieve the desired result.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Unsalted butter (let sit out at room temperature for a few hours)
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 6 large eggs or 8 small eggs
- 2 tsp grated lemon/lime zest
- 2 1/2 – 3 cups flour (cake flour gives a more tender cake but all purpose can be used as well)
- 1 1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ginger powder
- 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Coriander powder (It is an ingredient that is sometimes used in mixed spice)
- 1/2 tsp Ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp Ground cloves
- 3 tsp Baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups soaked fruits
- 2 tbsps or more browning
- 4 tbsps lemon juice
- 2 tbsps vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp Almond essence
METHOD
- Mix sugar, and softened butter together. Using a hand mixer, mix ingredients together to get a fluffy and creamy texture.
- Lightly beat the eggs and gradually mix them in
- Add the lemon zest into the mix to get rid of the “eggy” smell
- In a separate bowl, sift in all the dry ingredients to remove large clumps and incorporate air into the mixture. Whisk to evenly distribute everything.
- For the wet ingredients, add browning, vanilla extract, lemon juice and almond essence to the fruit mix. For a black cake, add more browning but be careful as browning can be bitter.
- Carefully fold in the wet ingredients using a cut and fold motion to avoid over mixing. (Cut through the middle of the mixture and fold over).
For the Cake:
Bake the cake on the middle shelf of the oven and place a baking tray full of boiling hot water on the shelf below. The steam will rise and provide moisture while the cake bakes.
This recipe yields two cakes using two 9-inch cake tins
There you have it! A recipe for delicious, decadent, Christmas cake that is not too dry and not too wet, but just right.
Enjoy!
