Cheat’s Christmas Cake

Early Bird

I like to start making my Christmas cakes early, traditional West Indian great cakes and fruit cakes can be made years in advance.  This Christmas cake is for people who want to make a Christmas cake a few months before and have enough booze to booze it up so Christmas guests will be too merry to realise it may not be the real deal!  Anyway it was provided by Levi Roots so I can guarantee it’s legit.  Everything from Kamaria’s Kitchen is tried, tested and most importantly eaten… Lol!

This recipe was taken from Levi Roots’ Reggae Reggae Cookbook ( Harper Collins Publishers, 2009).

Ingredients:

250g mixed dried fruit, finely grated zest of a lemon, 300ml dark rum, 250g butter (cut into small cubes and a bit left over for greasing, 225g molasses sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla essence, 3 medium eggs, 250g self – raising flour, 1 tbsp ground mixed all spice, 1/2 tsp ground all spice, 4 tbsps brandy.

Method:

1. Put the dried fruit and lemon zest in a large jar.  Pour in some rum and leave the fruit to macerate for as long as you have.
2. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
3. Grease and line the base and sides of an 8 inch cake tin.
4. Put the butter, sugar and vanilla essence into a large bowl.
5. Beat well until light and fluffy.
6. Gradually add the eggs and tbsps of flour to stop the mixture from curdling.
7. Sift in the remaining flour and spice.
8. Gently fold the mixture.
9. Spoon the mixture into the tin.
10. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
11. Pour over the brandy and leave it to cool in the tin.
12. Turn the cake out of the tin and keep wrapped in foil.