Every time I post a cake recipe on the blog I get several requests for Colombia’s most famous cake, which we call different names like “black cake,” “wine cake,” “wedding cake,” among others. It is so popular that it’s the one cake that is served for many special events like baptisms, first communions, weddings and holidays, like Christmas. And if you feel that you may have seen a similar version before, you’re not mistaken, because other countries, like Jamaica and Venezuela, also have their own versions of black cake. Before I started making this cake, all I would hear from people was how difficult and time consuming it was, so I deliberately stayed away from making it for years. And then when I tried it, I saw that it was not as hard to make as people said it was. Yes, the texture is a bit different to work with and the mix of nuts and dry fruit can make it a bit dense, but it really is no different than making other cakes or breads, like carrot cake or pumpkin bread.

And if you have followed my blog for a while you will know that I’m all about making things easier, so for this recipe I do not soak my dry fruit in wine for weeks in advance the way some other people do. best wine 2007I find that it’s not necessary at all and that the liquid it retains makes it kind of sink to the bottom. top selling wine companiesAnother tip is to use only burnt sugar or caramel color so you can get that very dark, almost black color. best prices for rose wineI have seen recipes that call for molasses or dark chocolate but they only give the cake a dark brown color, which is not typical for this recipe. best italian wine blog

And one last thing, try to get a good quality sweet red wine, and no, it doesn’t have to be expensive because you’re just using it for a recipe, but then again, you don’t want to ruin your cake with some cheap wine you found on sale. best wine storage unitsMy favorite wine to use is ruby Port, which has a sweet, red berry taste that goes really great with this dark, decadent cake.best cheese for red blend wine For the dry fruit mix: 1 cup pitted prunes ¼ cup pecans or walnuts 1 cup figs in syrup (brevas en almíbar) 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg ¼ teaspoon ground cloves 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature 2 cups white sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1½ teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water

2 teaspoons lemon zest (you can also use orange zest) 5 eggs at room temperature 3 tablespoons burnt sugar or caramel color ¼ cup (60 ml) rum 1 cup (240 ml) sweet red wine (ex.: ruby Porto) 1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. 2. In a food processor chop the raisins, prunes, almonds and pecans into small pieces. Then, chop the figs with a small knife and mix them in with the rest of the dry fruit. 3. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and salt. 4. In a large mixing bowl, cream the unsalted butter with the sugar on medium to high speed, about 3-5 minutes. Add the vanilla, instant coffee and lemon zest and mix again. Beat in 2-3 eggs, one at a time. Then add ½ of the amount of flour and mix again, starting on low speed. Now, beat in the rest of the eggs, again, one at a time. Finish with the rest of the flour. Scrape the inside of the bowl to make sure everything is well incorporated. Finally, add the burnt sugar and mix well.

Scrape the bowl one more time and mix again to blend everything well. 5. Mix the chopped dry fruit with the cake batter using your hands and make sure the dry fruit is well distributed. Pour batter into a prepared baking pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1¼ – 1¾ hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the aluminum foil after 1 hour of baking. Once the cake is ready, let it rest inside the pan for about 10 minutes. 6. In the meantime, mix the rum and the wine in a separate container. Then, remove the cake from the baking pan and place it on a sheet of aluminum foil. Pour the wine slowly all over the cake, cover with plastic wrap and then tuck in the aluminum foil so the cake doesn’t dry out. Let the cake sit at room temperature for at least 3-5 days before serving. Watch me make the Colombian Black Cake on YouTube: Want more Sweet y Salado? Like me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel

Black Cake (Jamaican Fruitcake) reviews1 commentingredients1 pound raisins, minced1 pound prunes, pitted, minced1 pound dried currants, minced1 pound glace cherries, minced6 ounces glace lemon peel, minced6 ounces glace orange peel, minced3/4 liter Passover wine3/4 liter dark rum2 pounds dark brown sugar1 cup water4 1/4 cups cake flour4 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg1/2 teaspoon cinnamon2 cups sweet butter, softened10 large eggs1 tablespoon vanilla extract1 1/2 cup almond paste, if desireddirectionsIn a large bowl, mix all the fruits thoroughly with the wine and the rum; let the fruit macerate, covered, at room temperature for at least two weeks. In a heavy skillet combine half of the brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and gently boil the syrup, swirling the skillet occasionally, for a few minutes, or until it is reduced to 1-3/4 cups. Let the syrup cool; Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg together into a bowl.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream together the remaining brown sugar and the butter until it is fluffy; then beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, the flour mixture, and 1-1/3 cups of the burnt sugar syrup, reserving the remaining syrup for another use. In another large bowl, combine well the flour mixture and the fruit mixture and divide the batter between two buttered and floured 10" springform pans. Bake the cakes in the middle of a preheated 350 degrees F oven for two hours, or until a tooth pick inserted in the centers comes out with some crumbs adhering to it. (The centers of these cakes will be quite moist.) Let the cakes cool in the pans on a rack, remove the sides and bottoms of the pans, and wrap the cakes in foil or wax paper. Let the cakes stand at room temperature for a week. Roll out half the almond paste between sheets of plastic wrap to form a 10" round and remove the top sheet of plastic wrap. Fit the almond paste layer over one cake, trimming the edge if necessary, and remove the other sheet of plastic wrap.