Black Cake
A rich, fruit-soaked celebration of spice and Caribbean tradition — balanced with a smoother, lighter crumb for a modern take on the classic black cake. Deeply flavorful, gently boozy, and baked with the kind of love that tastes like home
Ingredients
Dry
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground clove
Creaming Base
- 1 lb 4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ¾ cups brown sugar balances sweetness and depth without making it overly dense
Wet / Flavor
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- ½ tsp almond essence
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp orange juice
- 1 tbsp browning adjust if you want darker
Fruits
- 2 cups blended fruit mixture Add extra wine/rum (1–4 tbsp) to loosen if needed
- 2 oz port wine or rum added to the batter optional, for moisture + flavor
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C).
- Grease your baking pans with butter(unsalted)/shortening, then lightly dust with flour. Tap out excess. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove. Set aside
Cream butter and sugar
- Cream softened butter for 1-2 minutes. Add brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy, 4–5 minutes.
- This step is key — good creaming traps air and keeps the cake tender, not heavy.
Add eggs and flavorings
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Stir in almond essence, vanilla, and orange juice.
Incorporate blended fruits & browning
- Add the blended fruit mixture and browning. Mix until smooth and uniform.
- Adjust for a darker finish
Fold together
- Gently fold dry ingredients into the fruit mixture using a spatula.
- Mix only until no streaks of flour remain — overmixing can make the cake tough.
- Add a slash of port wine/rum to gently loosen the batter
Bake
- Spoon into prepared pan(s) and smooth the top.
- Bake for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, until a skewer comes out mostly clean.
Finish with rum
- While warm, pour 2-3 ounces of rum or port wine.
- Cover the cake while still in the pan with a plate or foil and let it cool completely
- The trapped steam plus the liquor helps lock in that signature black-cake moisture.
- Once cool, wrap tightly in parchment paper and plastic wrap or foil and let it “rest” overnight or up to several days. This cake deepens in flavor as it “rest”.
Notes
Chrissy’s Baking Notes
- Pan Size + Filling: Recipe yields (2) 9-inch cakes.
- Fill pans halfway to avoid overflow and promote even baking.
- Cake is done when the center is set and a toothpick comes out mostly clean (a little moisture is okay for black cake).
- Keeping Your Black Cake Moist: cover the pan with a plate or tightly with foil and allow the cake to cool completely inside the pan. This step keeps the cake soft, velvety, and moist for days, which is exactly what we want in a black cake.
- Flavor layering: The touch of orange juice brightens the warm spices and enhances the rum-fruit aroma.
- Storage: Wrap in parchment, then plastic wrap, and place in an airtight container.
Store in a cool spot — stays moist for months. - Keeps for up to 3 weeks refrigerated (or longer if “fed” occasionally with rum/wine).