Belizean Christmas 101: How To Make White + Black Fruitcake

December 12, 2014


momfruitsandpecans

Making fruitcake has long been a labor of love for the women in my family. Every December, we assemble in my Grandma’s kitchen to make the cake. As a child, I would sit around and watch my Grandma, Mom, aunts and cousins prepare the fruitcake, patiently waiting for a bowl to lick batter from.

As I grew older, I moved up from licking the bowl pre-fruit, to mixing the batter, to baking the cakes themselves. I realized how much time and love was put into it each year at Christmastime. I really wanted to learn these skills as I felt if I didn’t learn how to prepare it, the tradition would disappear after my generation; call it a sense of responsibility if you will.

We usually make a very large batch as we send cakes to family members across the globe that may not be able to join us. This year, I prepared the cakes with Mama Cas (pictured above), and, with the recipes on the following pages, you too can make white and black fruitcake, Belizean-style.