Jamaican Black Fruit Cake

Jamaican Black Cake is a rich, dense, moist, and intensely flavored fruitcake, famous for its deep dark color, achieved with rum-soaked fruits (raisins, prunes, cherries) and burnt sugar (browning), blended into a pudding-like texture, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and often brushed with more rum, making it a celebratory staple for Christmas and weddings.

Key Characteristics:
Texture: Dense, moist, and "pudding-like," not crumbly, with a rich, chewy consistency.
Flavor: Deeply fruity, spicy (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice), and boozy from long soaking in dark rum and red wine, with notes of caramel from the burnt sugar.

Appearance: Very dark brown or black, sometimes appearing like chocolate cake but with a distinct flavor.

Ingredients: Features finely chopped or pureed dried fruits (raisins, currants, prunes, cherries) soaked in rum/wine, butter, brown sugar, eggs, flour, spices, and browning sauce.

Preparation: A labor of love, involving soaking fruits for weeks or months, blending them into a paste, and often brushing the baked cake with more alcohol.

Occasion: A beloved dessert for Christmas, weddings, and other special celebrations in the Caribbean.

Fruit Prep: Jamaican Black Cake purees the soaked fruits into a paste, rather than leaving distinct chunks.

Color: Uses burnt sugar (browning) for its signature dark color.
Alcohol: Features a much stronger presence of rum and wine, significantly impacting the flavor.