Jamaican Rum Cake (Easy Jamaican-Inspired Fruitcake)

🧂 Ingredients

• 2 lbs mixed peel

  (I used the Old English Fruit Cake Mix from Paradise Candied Fruit - plus dried fruits like sultanas, cherries, raisins, or prunes)
• 1 cup dark rum

  (such as Wray and Nephew, Appleton Estate, Myer's Dark Rum, Bacardi, Plantation, or Captain Morgan - more as needed, to soak the fruit)
• 1 cup port wine

  (or a dark sweet wine - more as needed, to soak the fruit)
• 1 ¼ cups butter

  (20 tablespoons or 2 ½ sticks butter)
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoon mixed spice

  (see recipe [https://bakeitwithlove.com/british-mixed-spice-blend/])
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon orange peel
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1-3 tablespoon browning

  (or burnt brown sugar)
• 2 tablespoon molasses
• 1 lime

  (zest and juice)
• ¼ cup rum

  (dark rum or coconut rum)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon orange extract

  (or almond extract, or coconut extract)

Instructions

• 1 Soak your fruit in advance. Place mixed peel, sultanas (golden raisins), and
  dried cherries in a medium bowl or storage container and cover with rum (or a
  combination of rum and port wine). Set aside in a cool place to allow the fruit
  to soak up the alcohol.
• 2 Preheat your oven to 325°F (163°C) and prepare a 10-inch springform pan with a
  layer of parchment paper in the bottom. Spray the pan and parchment paper with
  non-stick baking spray.
• 3 Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• 4 Add the eggs into the creamed butter and sugar 1-2 at a time. For the final egg,
  add a tablespoon of the flour with the egg to prevent the mixture from breaking
  or 'curdling'.
• 5 Add the baking powder, mixed spice, cinnamon, and orange peel to the butter
  mixture and combine.
• 6 Add the flour. Mix until the flour is incorporated to the wet ingredients and
  thick batter is formed.
• 7 Add the molasses and browning (or burnt brown sugar) to the batter and combine.
• 8 Add the drained soaked fruit (including the mixed peel, sultanas, dried
  cherries), lime zest and juice, rum, vanilla extract, and orange extract. Mix to
  combine. The fruit should be evenly distributed in the batter when ready to
  bake. *The batter should be thick enough that a spoon will stay upright. If it
  is not, add a bit more flour a tablespoon at a time to thicken the batter
  consistency.
• 9 Transfer the rum cake batter to your prepared springform pan and smooth the top
  of the batter.
• 10 Bake in the center of the middle oven rack at 325°F (163°C) for 1 hour 45
  minutes, or until a knife or cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the
  center of the cake.
• 11 Remove the baked Jamaican rum cake when done and allow to cool in the pan for
  about 10 minutes before removing the springform round. If desired, poke the cake
  with a toothpick and soak with more rum or port wine while still warm. Allow the
  cake to cool completely before serving.
• 12 In a small non-stick frying pan or skillet heat about a ½ cup of shredded
  coconut (sweetened) over medium heat. Keep the coconut moving once it starts
  browning. Immediately remove your pan from heat when the coconut is golden
  brown. Transfer toasted coconut into a small bowl to stop the toasting process.
• 13 In a small bowl, combine 1 ½ cups confectioners sugar with 2 tablespoons of karo
  light corn syrup, 1 tablespoon of heavy cream, and a teaspoon of coconut extract
  (or vanilla extract). Mix until the icing is smooth and fairly thick. Adjust the
  thickness by adding more sugar to thicken, or more heavy cream to thin.
• 14 Apply the icing to the center of the top of the cake. Use an offset spatula to
  spread the icing in a thin, even layer toward the cake edges. Sprinkle with
  toasted coconut.

Nutrition Info