Black Cake is a rich and rum-laden fruit cake, without which no celebration in the Caribbean would be complete. It is not jet black as its name suggests, but the dried fruit and the generous proportion of ‘burnt sugar’ generally used to colour it make it dark. I use treacle or molasses because I have learned from experience that burnt sugar usually leads to burnt pots, and it can give a very unpleasant taste if not done properly.
How this rich fruit cake came into being is anybody’s guess. My pet theory is that some long-gone colonial cook, in a fit of either rebellion or adventurousness, used the mince pie filling to make a cake. The whole manner of preparation points to this and it also bears a striking resemblance to the Scottish Black Bun. Black Cake is definitely not a cake to be made on the spur of the moment, unless you always have a supply of Black Cake Fruit to hand. The dried fruit must be minced and steeped in rum and left for at least 1 week to mature. One month is even better and it can be kept for more than a year if properly stored.
In Guyana in the 1970s, a ban was imposed on most imported items, ostensibly to promote self-sufficiency whilst admirably concealing a lack of foreign exchange. Imported foodstuffs were the first to go and the recipe for Black Cake took a new twist. Local fruits like carambola (star fruit) and papaya were preserved and used to replace the unobtainable currants and raisins. This process is particularly tedious, involving several sun dryings and boilings in thick syrup, but it made a never-to-be-forgotten cake. One of my aunts was an acknowledged expert and her cakes travelled the world. Each cake had its own personality, as the fruit was prepared at home, and the local fruit imparted an underlying tartness that contrasted very favourably with the richness. In recent years, the ban has been lifted and most people have gone back to using imported dried fruit. This makes a truly excellent cake but, regrettably, the tang of the Black Cake of the 1970s and 1980s has perhaps gone forever.
As with most fruit cakes, the flavour of this cake improves after a week or two. It will keep for at least 2 months in an airtight container in a cool place. If you want to ice the cake with Royal icing for a special occasion, first cover it with marzipan at least 1 cm/½ in thick to avoid discolouration.
150 g/5½ oz/scant 1½ sticks butter, softened
150 g/5½ oz/¾ cup soft dark brown sugar
2 tbsp dark treacle (molasses)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 jar Black Cake Fruit (see opposite)
150 g/5½ oz/1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp mixed spice (or ½ tsp cinnamon; ¼ tsp cardamom; ¼ tsp nutmeg)
¼ tsp salt
100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup ruby port, warmed
Preheat the oven to 160˚C/325˚F/Gas Mark 3. Grease the tin and line the bottom and sides with a double thickness of baking parchment.
Beat the softened butter until smooth. Add the sugar and treacle, then cream until light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg in three batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition and beating well. Add the fruit and mix well.
Sift the flour, mixed spice and salt together and fold into the mixture, then transfer the mixture to the prepared tin.
Bake in the oven for about 2 hours. After 1 hour, reduce the heat to 140°C/275°F/Gas Mark 1 and cover the top with a folded sheet of baking parchment.
Checking for doneness is tricky with Black Cake because the fruit keeps the cake a bit sticky. You have to look very carefully to see whether it is uncooked batter or just fruit adhering to the skewer.
As soon as you remove the cooked cake from the oven, prick with a skewer in numerous places. Pour the warmed port evenly over the top. Leave to cool in the tin.
Store in a non-corrosive container. Do not freeze.
250 g/9 oz/generous ⅓ cup raisins
250 g/9 oz/1⅔ cups currants
250 g/9 oz/1⅓ cups sultanas (golden raisins)
250 g/9 oz candied orange peel
100 g/3½ oz/½ cup glacé (candied) cherries or 100 g/3½ oz/scant ⅔ cup dried cranberries
100 g/3½ oz/generous ½ cup candied citron
250 g/9 oz/generous 1 cup pitted prunes
650 ml/22 fl oz/scant 2¾ cups dark Caribbean rum
For the Black Cake Fruit, wash and thoroughly dry the raisins, currants, sultanas and prunes. I always do this the evening before mincing and spread them out well on paper towels.
Use a meat grinder fitted with a coarse disc to mince the dried and candied fruit. A food processor will also work, but pulse in bursts, or the texture will be too mushy.
Mix the minced fruit with the rum and spoon into three 500-ml/17-fl oz/2-cup spring-clip sterilizing jars or similar vessels. Store in a cool dry place for up to 1 year.
This recipe is based on a homely cake from Surinam, and is actually a cross between a cake and a tart. It uses pineapple jam (see p. 235) and has a deliciously tropical flavour. It is best served fresh, perhaps with a little crème fraîche or whipped cream on the side. It may also be frozen, but the citrus taste will become quite dominant.
150 g/5½ oz/1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp icing (confectioner’s) sugar
75 g/2¾ oz/scant ¾ stick butter, chilled, cubed
1 egg yolk
2–3 tbsp cold water
150 g/5½ oz/1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
3 eggs, plus 1 egg white
grated zest of ½ lime or ¼ lemon
150 g/5½ oz/¾ cup caster (superfine) sugar
75 g/2¾ oz/scant ¾ stick butter, melted and cooled slightly
about 250 g/9 oz/¾ cup pineapple jam (p. 235)
24-cm/9-in round springform tin
For the pastry, sift the flour, salt and icing sugar into a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively, pulse in a food processor up to this stage and transfer to a bowl.
Mix the egg yolk with 2 tbsp water, then add to the flour mixture and bring it together with your fingertips to make a smooth pastry. Add extra water if necessary. Shape into a ball, then wrap it in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and let it rest in a cool place for about 30 minutes.
Roll the pastry between two sheets of clingfilm to a 28-cm/11-in circle. Grease the tin, then line with the pastry, pressing the edges against the side.
For the cake, sift the flour with the baking powder and salt and set aside.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/Gas Mark 4.
Use an electric mixer to whisk the eggs and extra egg white, caster sugar and lime or lemon zest until thick and pale. Gently fold in the flour mixture in two batches, using a balloon whisk. Add the melted butter with the second batch of flour and mix just until there are no more streaks of flour or butter apparent in the batter.
Spread the pineapple jam evenly over the pastry and top with the cake batter.
Level the top and bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown. When you press the top with a fingertip, the indentation you create should slowly regain its original shape. Leave to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then release the clip and transfer the tart to a wire rack to cool.
Several years ago, the only difference between the bananas available in Western countries was the exporter’s sticker. That has all changed now and it is easy to buy different varieties in several shapes and sizes. However, bananas are poor travellers, especially in the tropical heat with no proper temperature-controlled transportation. As a result, some kinds tend to be bound to a particular region. My grandparents often had a huge bunch of ‘long bananas’ hanging in a dark store room, and these would be broken off as they ripened. They were called long, but this is relative: they were the longest bananas grown in Guyana and were slim and elegant but only about half the size of the bananas available in Western supermarkets. They were considered better than their plumper and shorter bright yellow cousins, probably because they were less common. My other grandmother had a thick red-skinned variety in her kitchen garden and, as far as I can remember, she used them only for cooking. They were not plantains – which are cooking bananas with a higher starch content and less sugar, and eaten both green and ripe – but she thought they were better for cooking than eating raw. My own favourite are the ‘sweet figs’, tiny yellow bananas no bigger than your little finger, with a marvellous flavour. They used to be brought out by boat from the province of Essequibo and have never been very widely available, even in Guyana.
It always surprises me to see people peeling and eating bananas that still have a greenish tinge to the skin. These lack the flavour of a fully ripe banana and I have remarked on this on several occasions, only to be told – paradoxically in my opinion – that they become too sweet if left longer. However you usually like yours, leave them to ripen well for this recipe; they will have much more flavour. This cake is lighter in texture than the following recipe, Banana Loaf (see opposite). It is at its lightest on the day of baking, but it will keep for a few days in a cool place and can also be frozen.
300 g/10½ oz ripe bananas (about 2 large)
juice of ½ lime or ¼ lemon
250 g/9 oz/1⅔ cups plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
175 g/6 oz/scant 1¾ sticks butter, well softened
200 g/7 oz/1 cup caster (superfine) sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
20-cm/8-in square tin
Peel and slice the bananas and mash them with the lime or lemon juice on a plate. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 160˚C/325˚F/Gas Mark 3. Grease the tin, then line the base with baking parchment and dust with flour.
Sift the flour with the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and nutmeg in a bowl.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat the eggs lightly with the vanilla, then add to the mixture, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix the bananas into the creamed mixture and add the dry ingredients in three batches, using a balloon whisk to blend it in gently.
Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and bake for 35–40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Invert the cake onto a wire rack, remove the baking paper and leave to cool.
This banana loaf, with chocolate and walnuts, makes a delicious teatime treat. It will keep for a few days in a cool place and can also be frozen in separately wrapped portions for lunchbox treats. There will be a lot of batter in the tin compared with other cakes, but don’t be alarmed – it won’t spill over.
200 g/7 oz very ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
2 tsp lime or lemon juice
200 g/7 oz/1⅓ cups plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
125 g/4½ oz/generous 1 stick butter, softened
125 g/4½ oz/generous ½ cup (solidly packed) soft dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
25 g/1 oz/¼ cup walnuts, chopped
55 g/2 oz/2 squares dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
450-g/1-lb loaf tin
Peel and slice the bananas and mash them with the lime or lemon juice on a plate. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 160˚C/325˚F/Gas Mark 3. Grease the tin and line with baking parchment.
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a bowl.
Cream the butter and sugar together until lightened in colour and smooth in texture. Lightly beat the egg and vanilla extract together, then add to the mixture and beat well. Mix the bananas into the creamed mixture and add the flour mixture in three batches, using a balloon whisk to blend it in gently.
Fold in the walnuts and chocolate with the last batch of flour.
Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack. Remove the baking paper and leave to cool completely.
Chile is home to a fairly large community of German settlers and their descendants. This Chilean cake, whose Germanic origin is reflected in its name, is out of the ordinary. When it is cut, you see three layers of cake enclosing two bands of creamy apple mixture, which can be gooey or custard-like in places, depending on how the batter and fruit have been distributed. It makes a wonderful pudding served while still warm from the oven and is equally delicious when it cools and sets. This cake will keep at cool room temperature for up to 4 days.
650 g/1 lb 7 oz tart apples, prepared weight (about 5 medium-sized apples)
75 g/2¾ oz/generous ⅓ cup granulated sugar
100 ml/3½ fl oz/½ cup double (heavy) cream
300 g/10½ oz/2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
2½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
150 g/5½ oz/scant 1½ sticks butter, softened
225 g/8 oz/generous 1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
5 tbsp rum
5 tbsp water
24-cm/9-in springform tin, at least 7 cm/2¾ in high
Peel and core the apples. Cut each apple into 8 parts and slice thinly. Put the sliced apples in a bowl and mix in the sugar and cream. Set aside until needed.
For the cake, sift the flour with the baking powder and salt and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 160˚C/325˚F/Gas Mark 3. Grease the tin and dust with flour.
Beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the beaten egg in four batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating well after each addition. Fold in the flour in four batches, adding the rum and water with the third batch. Gently fold in the last batch of flour and stop mixing as soon as it is incorporated.
You will need to divide the batter into three lots. Unless you have a very accurate eye and are very good at averaging these things, weigh them, because the layering depends on an even distribution of batter and fruit. Weigh two batches of batter, each 325 g/11½ oz, into two bowls.
Transfer the batter left in the mixing bowl to the prepared tin. Level the top. Spread one batch of apple mixture evenly on top of this, leaving about 1 cm/½ in free around the edge. Add another batch of cake batter and level it. Spread the second batch of apple mixture evenly on top of this, and top with the third and final batch of batter. It will be quite a full tin, but the batter will not spill out while baking.
Level the top and bake for 1½ hours, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 15–20 minutes, then release the clip and transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
This kind of apple tart is probably the most popular baked item in Holland and is made at home or bought from the baker or supermarket. It is difficult to define it in one word because it is not a pie, nor a tart, nor quite a cake, but a bit of all three. A literal translation is no help either, as the Dutch word neatly covers all the possibilities. The pastry is sweetened and leavened, and the apples should be firm and tart to hold their shape and contrast with the pastry. In Holland, the Goudrenet (Golden Reinette) is often used. Appeltaart is usually enjoyed with coffee, but it also makes a good dessert served at room temperature or slightly warm with sweetened whipped cream.
This kind of apple tart is probably the most popular baked item in Holland and is made at home or bought from the baker or supermarket. It is difficult to define it in one word because it is not a pie, nor a tart, nor quite a cake, but a bit of all three. A literal translation is no help either, as the Dutch word neatly covers all the possibilities. The pastry is sweetened and leavened, and the apples should be firm and tart to hold their shape and contrast with the pastry. In Holland, the Goudrenet (Golden Reinette) is often used. Appeltaart is usually enjoyed with coffee, but it also makes a good dessert served at room temperature or slightly warm with sweetened whipped cream.
300 g/10½ oz/2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
200 g/7 oz/1¾ sticks butter, chilled and cubed
150 g/5½ oz/¾ cup caster (superfine) sugar
1 egg, well beaten with 1 tbsp water
zest of ½ lemon
4 large tart apples
juice of ½ lemon
75 g/2¾ oz/generous ⅓ cup granulated sugar
50 g/1¾ oz/scant ⅓ cup raisins
50 g/1¾ oz/⅓ cup currants
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
24-cm/9-in springform tin
For the pastry, mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, then mix in the sugar. You can use a food processor up to this point.
Reserve 1 tbsp of the beaten egg. Add the rest of the egg with the lemon zest to the mixture and knead lightly with the fingertips to bring the pastry together in a ball. Cover the bowl with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and set aside at cool room temperature.
Peel, quarter and core the apples. Slice them just under 1 cm/½ in thick and mix well with the remaining ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/Gas Mark 4. Grease the tin and dust with flour.
Shape two-thirds of the pastry into a disc and flatten it out into the tin with the heel of your hand so that the bottom is fairly evenly covered and the sides come up to about 3 cm/1¼ in. Use the rest of the pastry to make about 12 ropes, to fit across the top of the tart. If they break, simply press the pastry back together and continue. This pastry responds well to rough treatment.
Stir the apple mixture well, then use it to fill the pastry case. Use the ropes to make a lattice pattern on top of the apples. Brush the ropes with the reserved egg and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3 and bake for a further 40–50 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes.
Use a flexible spatula to loosen the sides from the tin, then release the clip and transfer the tart to a wire rack to cool. To avoid breakage, it is best to leave the tart on the springform base.
In Central Europe, fresh cherries are often used in cakes. The cherries are not stoned and are simply scattered over the top of the cake. This has triple benefits. The first is that there is no extra work involved in removing the stones; the second is that the stones add a slight almond undertone to the flavour; and the third is that they don’t sink to the bottom nearly as far or as fast as bottled or even freshly stoned cherries, so there is quite a good distribution in the finished cake. The only small drawback is the stones left in your mouth. Discreet use of a table napkin should do the trick.
225 g/8 oz/1½ cups plain (all-purpose) flour
¼ tsp salt
1½ tsp baking powder
200 g/7 oz/1¾ sticks butter, softened
200 g/7 oz/1 cup caster (superfine) sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1½ tbsp Kirsch
300–350 g/10–12 oz fresh cherries, with stones (pits) left in
24-cm/9-in springform tin
Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/Gas Mark 4. Grease the tin and line the base with baking parchment, then dust with flour.
Sift the flour with the salt and baking powder and set aside.
Beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar, then cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in three batches, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the Kirsch with the last batch of egg. Fold in the flour in three batches.
Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and scatter the cherries on top. Bake the cake for 45–50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then loosen the edges and carefully turn out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Pictured on p. 119.
