Black Christmas Recipes

BLACK CHRISTMAS

Steps:

• Shake well from top to bottom.
• Strain into a frozen martini glass.
• Add the zest of a fresh orange and serve.

BLACK CAKE

Steps:

• At least 2 days before baking, combine prunes, raisins, currants, cherries, candied peel, rum and brandy in a glass jar or sturdy plastic container. Cover tightly; shake or stir occasionally.
• When ready to bake, put soaked fruit and almonds in a blender or food processor; work in batches that the machine can handle. Grind to a rough paste, leaving some chunks of fruit intact. Add a little brandy or wine if needed to loosen mixture in the machine.
• If burning sugar, place a deep, heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Add 1 cup white or light brown sugar, and melt, stirring with a wooden spoon. Stir, letting sugar darken. (It will smoke.) When sugar is almost black, stir in 1/4 cup boiling water. (It will splatter.) Turn off heat.
• Heat oven to 250 degrees. Butter three 9-inch or four 8-inch cake pans; line bottoms with a double layer of parchment or wax paper.
• In a mixer, cream butter and 1 pound light or dark brown sugar until smooth and fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time, then lime zest, vanilla and bitters. Transfer mixture to a very large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Fold dry ingredients into butter mixture. Stir in fruit paste and 1/4 cup burnt sugar or molasses. Batter should be a medium-dark brown; if too light, add a tablespoon or two of burnt sugar or molasses.
• Divide among prepared pans; cakes will not rise much, so fill pans almost to top. Bake 1 hour, and reduce heat to 225 degrees; bake 2 to 3 hours longer, until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Remove to a rack.
• While cakes are hot, brush tops with rum and let soak in. Repeat while cakes cool; they will absorb about 4 tablespoons total. When cakes are completely cool, they can be turned out and served. To keep longer, wrap cakes tightly in wax or parchment paper, then in foil. Store in a cool, dry place for up to 1 month.

CARIBBEAN CHRISTMAS CAKE (KNOWN AS BLACK CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F; spray a nine-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla and browning until soft and creamy.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
• In a third bowl, beat the eggs with the rum.
• Add egg mixture to butter mixture and thoroughly combine, then stir in zest, fruit and nuts.
• Fold in flour mixture; do not overbeat.
• Put batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for approximately 90 minutes, or until cake tests done; may need longer.
• Remove cake from pan when cool.

TRINIDAD BLACK CAKE

Steps:

• Place raisins, currants, prunes, and mixed peel in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large jar.
• Pour cherry brandy, 1/2 cup brown sugar, dark rum, and mixed spice into the jar; mix well and seal. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until flavors blend, 2 weeks to 3 months.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
• Combine butter and 1 3/4 cup brown sugar in a bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs until smooth. Beat in raisin mixture until evenly incorporated. Fold in flour and vanilla extract gradually until batter is smooth and falls off the back of a lifted spoon.
• Divide batter between the prepared cake pans. Cover cake pans loosely with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cakes are firm and spring back when lightly pressed, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Cool cakes in the pans, 8 hours to overnight. Wrap in aluminum foil to keep moist.