Rummy Christmas Fruit Cake

Invite Christmas into your home at any time with this rummy fruit cake that packs a punch in both flavours and aroma before, during and after it bakes. This is the go-to cake for a taste of Trinbago Christmas. The home-made browning adds subtle flavour and beautiful colouring. It is infused with Trinidad and Tobago’s local rum, sherry brandy and Angostura Aromatic Bitters. It delights the senses and satisfies the soul!

Rummy Christmas Fruit Cake

Ingredients

• 340g Unsalted Butter (room temperature of 19°C)
• 310g Granulated Sugar
• 340g Flour – AP
• ¾ tsp Cinnamon powder
• ¾ tsp Grated Nutmeg – Fresh
• ½ tsp salt
• 20g (4 ½ tsp) Baking Powder
• 5 Eggs (whole)
• 225ml Browning – more viscous than watery
• 1300g- 1350g (4- 4 ½ cup) Fruit Mix
• 6- 8 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitter
• 250ml Rum and Sherry Brandy Mix (one (1) part rum to two (2) parts sherry)

Method

1. Cream the butter, sugar and salt until fluffy (7 minutes).
2. Add the eggs one at a time and mix for one (1) minute after each addition.
3. Mix in browning until batter is even in colour.
4. Gently fold in the flour in 2-3 parts, taking care not to over mix. Mix the angostura bitters with the fruit and fold into batter until evenly distributed.
5. Preheat oven to 175°C/ 350° F.
6. Deposit batter into two (2) prepared 8” pans and knock pans against worktable to dispel trapped air pockets.
7. Test cake for doneness after forty-five (45) minutes with a wooden pick inserted in centre of the cake.
8. Upon testing, pour ¼ cup (60ml) rum and sherry brandy mix over each cake before returning to oven to finish baking ten to fifteen (10-15) minutes.
9. Immediately after cakes are removed from the oven, place on cooling racks and run a sharp knife along the sides.
10. Pour ¼ cup more of the rum and sherry mix and let cool completely in the pans (Cake is moist and delicate from the rum mix and the added moisture needs time to settle).
11. When completely cooled, turn out and cling wrap.
12. Place the wrapped cakes into clean pans; cover and moisten with a rum and sherry brandy mix daily or as needed until the fourth day after it was baked.
13. Eat with relish!

NB: The time delay to eat after baking is to ensure the alcohol can penetrate the layers of the cake as evenly as possible when the cake is moistened. However, this is subjective and optional. If the cake is stored for long periods, spritz with alcohol ever so often to maintain moistness.