CARIBBEAN CHRISTMAS BLACK CAKE

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CARIBBEAN CHRISTMAS BLACK CAKE image

Categories     Cake     Fruit     Dessert     Christmas

Yield 2 cakes

Number Of Ingredients 23

1 lb Raisins; minced
1 lb Prunes, pitted; minced
1 lb Currants, dried; minced
1 lb Cherries, glacéd; minced
6 oz Lemon peel, glacéd; minced
6 oz Orange peel, glacéd; minced
3/4 litre Passover wine
-(Manischewitz is good)
3/4 litre Rum, dark
2 lb dark brown sugar
4 1/4 c cake flour
4 ts Baking powder
1/2 ts Nutmeg, grated
1/2 ts Cinnamon
2 c Butter, sweet; softened
10 lg Egg
1 tb Vanilla
1 1/2 c Almond paste; if desired
-----------------------------------ICING-----------------------------------
2 lb Sugar, confectioners; sifted
6 lg Egg white; room temp
2 tb Lemon juice
Dragees; for decoration

Steps:

  • In a large bowl, mix all the fruits thoroughly with the wine and the rum. Let the fruit sit covered at room temperature for 2 wks. In a heavy skillet combine 1 lb. brown sugar & 1 C. water. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved & gently boil the syrup, swirling the skillet occasionally for a few mins or until it is reduced to 1 3/4 C. Let the syrup cool. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon & nutmeg 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 1 at a time. Beat in the vanilla, the flour mixture & 1 1/3 C. of the burnt sugar syrup. In another large bowl, combine well the flour & fruit mixture & divide the batter between 2 buttered & floured 10" spring form pans. Bake the cakes in the middle of a preheated 350 F oven for 2 hrs or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out with some crumbs adhering to it. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a rack, remove the sides & 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. Roll out and fit the remaining almond paste onto the remaining cake in the same manner. ICING: Using an electric mixer, beat 4 C. of confectioners' sugar with the egg whites & lemon juice until the mixture will hold a soft peak. Beat in the remaining sugar & beat the icing until it will hold a stiff peak. Transfer 2 cups of the icing to a pastry bag fitted with a tip, spread the remaining icing on the tops & sides of the cakes with a long metal spatula & pipe the icing in the pastry bag onto the cakes. Arrange the drages on the cakes.

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