Bake and Make Up: Jamaican Rum Cake

In OneTV’s new series Bake and Make Up, a once inseparable twosome – childhood friends, past loves, long-lost family – are given the chance to reunite and rekindle their relationship through baking. By bringing two people together to create a delicious and personally meaningful dessert, they can find their way back to each other once again.

Marsha and Mable met at work. They bonded over their grandchildren and began bringing their families together for holiday dinners. The dynamic duo felt more like family than friends, until a disagreement left each of them feeling distant and betrayed. Marsha hopes that baking the traditional Jamaican Rum Cake featured in their family gatherings will mend the misunderstanding that has kept them apart all these years.

See their recipe below!
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Jamaican Rum Cake

Ingredients:

4 lbs Macerated fruit: prunes, dark raisins, currants, sour cherries, orange peel, lemon peel in Red Label wine and dark rum mixture.

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup boiling water

2 cups unsalted butter

3 ½ cups dark muscovado sugar

10 eggs

2 limes, zested

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon Angostura bitters

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions:

1. Working in batches, transfer soaked fruit to a blender. Slowly blend into a paste, ensuring that some of the fruit remains intact. If needed, add more rum to thin the consistency. Continue this process until all of the fruit has been blended. Cover  with plastic wrap and set aside.
2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat, add the granulated sugar and stir until melted. Continue stirring until the sugar darkens. While mixture darkens, bring water in an electric kettle to a boil
3. When the sugar is almost black (very deep brown), carefully stir ½ cup of boiling water. WARNING: Keep hands and face away from the pot, as the mixture will sputter and let off steam.
4. Turn off heat and allow it to settle.
5. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and muscovado sugar until fluffy and pale.
7. Add eggs one at a time, mixing between additions. Add lime zest, vanilla extract, almond extract, and bitters. Mix well and transfer wet ingredients to a very large bowl.
8. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.
9. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
10. Stir in the fruit paste and a 1/4 cup of the burnt sugar. The batter should be dark brown; if it’s too light add in more burnt sugar a tablespoon at a time.
11. Divide batter among three 8-inch prepared cake pans, filling each almost to the top.
12. Bake for one hour at 250°F. Reduce heat to 225°F and continue to bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until an inserted tester comes out clean.
13. Allow the cakes to cool on a wire rack.
14. After about 10 minutes, brush the top of the cakes with rum and allow it to soak in. Continue this process about every 30 minutes while the cakes cool.
15. Slice and dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!