Belizean Christmas 101: How To Make White + Black Fruitcake

Words and Photos by Andrea K Castillo

This year we’ve taken our annual spotlight on Caribbean cooking and traditions during the holiday season to Belize. Every week until Christmas, journalist and rum drink purveyor Andrea K. Castillo will be sharing favorite family recipes from the Caribbean nation in the middle of Central America.

I began my Belizean Christmas series last week with the potent rum cream beverage, rum popo. In this installment, I bring you the beverage’s perfect pairing: White and black fruitcake.

Belize, being a part of the British Caribbean, has adopted many English traditions, fruitcake being one of them. The recipe that we use is similar to that of a true English white and black fruitcake. It’s an evolved version of English Christmas pudding, a steamed desert with a dark color made possible by using dark sugar and stout, or brandy. However, Belizean black and white fruitcake is distinct as both are baked and moistened solely with rum (preferably, Belizean rum!), and fruits are not soaked in port wine, which is a constant in many recipes throughout the West Indies.

The cakes, over the years, have been held in quite high regard given the price of ingredients, and time expended to prepare and bake the perfect cake. It is indeed a perfect treat for the holiday season.

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.

WHITE CAKE
Yields 4 loaves.

Ingredients

1 lb butter
1 1/4 lb. white sugar
9 eggs
1 1/2 lb. flour
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. rum
2 tsp.lemon essence (or mixed essence)
1 lb. each: raisins, pecans, citron, maraschino cherries, and mixed peel. 1 egg and flour for fruit

Tools

Large standing mixer, or hand mixer with large mixing bowl
1 c. dry measuring cup
1 tbsp.
1 tsp.
4 loaf pans
1 roll of wax paper

Process

• Cream butter with sugar; add eggs one at a time.
• Add flour and baking powder alternatively with evaporated milk, rum and essence.
• Mix fruit in a separate dish with egg and flour then add to the batter.
• Line pans with wax paper and fill 3/4 full.
• Bake in very slow oven at 275 degrees F for about 3 hours.

BLACK CAKE
Yields approximately 5 loaves.

Ingredients

1 lb butter
2 lbs. brown sugar
8 eggs
2 lbs. flour
1 pt. stout (preferably Guinness)
1 qt. rum
1/2 pt. caramel coloring (Blue Mountain Country Burnt Sugar is best)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 lb. brown sugar for stewing fruit.
1 lb. each: raisins, prunes, currants, dates, pecans, citron, maraschino cherries, and mixed peel.

Tools

Large pot for stewing fruit
Large standing mixer, or hand mixer with large mixing bowl
1 c. dry measuring cup
1 tbsp.
1 tsp.
5 loaf pans
1 roll of wax paper

Process
• Stew all fruit along with 1 lb. brown sugar, and rum until liquid becomes a thick syrup. It is suggested to cool completely overnight, but can still be used properly if cooled prior to mixture.
• In large mixing bowl, cream butter with 2 lbs. brown sugar, and add eggs one at a time.
• Add flour, baking powder and spices alternately with stout and caramel coloring.
• Fold the stewed fruit into the mixture.
• Line cake pans with wax paper and fill 3/4 full.
• Bake in very slow oven at 275 degrees F for about 3 hours.

And this is what the baked cakes will look like.

To keep cakes moist, it is suggested to add rum every other week to the cakes. Poke holes into the top of the cake with a toothpick, and slowly pour rum over the loaf until it is absorbed. Alternately, some folks begin soaking their fruits in rum months in advance so they reach their desired potency well before the holiday season.

Whatever you fancy, both methods will produce an enviable fruitcake for your family this Christmas season! Pair with egg nog for the kiddies, or rum popo for the adults.