Black Cake is the crown jewel of holiday baking, a decadent fruitcake that transforms simple dried fruits into a moist, spicy, and boozy masterpiece. This recipe combines raisins, prunes, currants, and glacé cherries with a robust blend of Manischewitz wine and dark rum, allowing the fruits to macerate for weeks to develop deep, complex flavors. The batter is enriched with butter, eggs, and burnt sugar syrup, giving the cake its signature dark color and tender crumb. Finished with layers of almond paste and smooth royal icing, this cake is perfect for Christmas, New Year’s, or any special celebration where you want to impress guests with a timeless, luxurious dessert.
Black Cake: COLLECTION
Description
Black Cake is the crown jewel of holiday baking, a decadent fruitcake that transforms simple dried fruits into a moist, spicy, and boozy masterpiece. This recipe combines raisins, prunes, currants, and glacé cherries with a robust blend of Manischewitz wine and dark rum, allowing the fruits to macerate for weeks to develop deep, complex flavors. The batter is enriched with butter, eggs, and burnt sugar syrup, giving the cake its signature dark color and tender crumb. Finished with layers of almond paste and smooth royal icing, this cake is perfect for Christmas, New Year's, or any special celebration where you want to impress guests with a timeless, luxurious dessert.Ingredients
Directions
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In a large bowl, combine the raisins, prunes, currants, cherries, lemon peel, and orange peel. Pour the wine and rum over the fruit, stir to coat, cover, and let macerate at room temperature for at least 2 weeks, stirring occasionally.
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To make the burnt sugar syrup: In a heavy skillet, combine 1 pound of the brown sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Boil, swirling the skillet occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes or until reduced to 1 3/4 cups and dark in color. Let cool and reserve.
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In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside.
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In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the remaining 1 pound of brown sugar and the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
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Add the flour mixture and 1 1/3 cups of the reserved burnt sugar syrup to the butter mixture. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining burnt sugar syrup with the macerated fruit mixture. Fold the fruit mixture into the batter until just combined.
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Divide the batter evenly between 2 buttered and floured 10-inch springform pans.
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Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour 50 minutes to 2 hours, or until the cakes are set and a tester inserted in the centers comes out with some crumbs adhering to it. The centers will be quite moist.
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Let the cakes cool in the pans on a rack. Remove the sides and bottoms of the pans and wrap the cakes tightly in foil or wax paper. Let stand at room temperature for 1 week to allow flavors to meld.
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Roll out half the almond paste between sheets of plastic wrap to form a 10-inch round. Remove the top sheet of plastic wrap, fit the almond paste layer over one cake, trimming the edge if necessary, and remove the other sheet of plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining almond paste and cake.
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To make the icing: In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat 4 cups of the confectioners' sugar, the egg whites, and the lemon juice for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the mixture holds soft peaks. Beat in the remaining 3 cups of confectioners' sugar and beat until the icing holds stiff peaks.
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Transfer 2 cups of the icing to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip. Spread the remaining icing on the tops and sides of the cakes with a long metal spatula. Pipe the icing decoratively onto the cakes and arrange the silver dragees on top.
Note
Storage: Wrap the finished cakes tightly in plastic wrap. Store at room temperature for up to several months. Do not refrigerate, as the cold can dry out the cake.
Substitutions: If you cannot find Manischewitz wine, use any sweet red dessert wine or port. Dark rum can be substituted with dark rum-flavored extract mixed with water, though the flavor will be less complex.
Tips: For a deeper color, you can add 3 ounces of burnt sugar or 6 ounces of gravy coloring to the batter before baking, as mentioned in the original source notes.
Variations: Some traditional recipes call for soaking the fruit in tawny port instead of wine and rum. You can also brush the cooled cakes with additional port or rum before icing for extra moisture.
