You might call it Great Cake, Black Cake, Christmas Cake, Rum-fruit Cake – whatever you like, many folks believe that without this cake, there is no Christmas. It is a cake rich with nostalgia, and steeped in tradition, with a colonial past. It is not a cake I make every Christmas holiday, but I can boast that I have premium rum-soaked fruits all year, every year, some as old as 8 years. I use the boozed fruits to make various other types of sweet treats and that is where the subject of today’s column comes in.
I have a basic Quick Bread recipe that I alter and vary to make a variety of sweet and savoury breads and other baked goods. I used the base to make a rum-soaked-fruit (Quick) bread and it turned out so well that I see myself making it a few times during the year. Here’s the thing.
I like Black Cake in very small quantities, mainly because I am not really a cake person. Also, the richness of the cake is too much for me. One small slice of the cake and I am completely satisfied for the entire season! However, when I made the Quick Bread with the rummy fruits, I was astonished at how rich the flavour was, it smelt like Christmas Cake, it had the flavour of Christmas Cake, but the big difference was the texture – it was light.