Reviewed: Apr. 24, 2012

I have used this recipe several times now with success. Tips to add are ensuring butter & sugar are creamed properly & I add an extra egg. I use dark sugar rather than white & use molasses and gravy browning to get a darker colour. An extra half cup of flour ensures my spoon stands up in the mixture and I alternate adding blended fruit and flour, a 1/3rd at a time. Mix well but don't over mix. A large pan of water in the bottom of the oven helps moisture & getting an even oven temperature which stops the cake from splitting on top. Oven shouldn't be too hot, I reduce the temperature by 50 degrees & bake for extra 20mins. Don't be tempted to open the oven door before it's at least half cooked. Doesn't rise much so can fill the pan to 3/4. I make in advance & baste the cake with a mix of rum & Red Label wine. Excellent recipe!

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Reviewer:

Privatebanking

Reviewed: Apr. 23, 2012

I made it and it came out perfectly. The only thing I will change when I make it again is to blend the fruits a little. The prep time was more than 20mins for me but overall it is a thumbs up.

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sharron177

Reviewed: Feb. 1, 2012

Love this recipe! I've used this recipe 3 times. I used a lot more fruit peels than dried fruit. Added a bit more molasses and rum. And I've blessed the finished cake by brushing extra rum.

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Toni

Reviewed: Jan. 6, 2012

I tried this recipe for the first time this xmas. I began soaking the fruits about a month prior to xmas. Be sure to seal it with plastic seal if you are soaking the fruits to keep the flavour in the fruit. (I had sealed one set of fruits with foil paper and they lost some flavour, the one sealed by plastic wrap didnt.) I followed some of the reviews and added 1/2 cup of flour to the recipe and 1/2 cup of rum, also 1/4 bottle of Grace browning. I loved the cake! When I first tried it, it seemed on the bland side. I poured Red Label Wine on the cake, and a little everyday after that and the flavour of the cake came right out. Next time, I will try brushing some wine on while its baking as one of the other reviewers had said. The consistency was perfect, the colour was perfect (a nice dark brown colour), and relatives LOVED the cake (I had drizzled wine on it before serving). I used Red Label wine as some Jamaicans swear by it. I didnt add the 2 cups of wine to the recipe other than what the fruits were soaking in as they were soaking in a lot of wine and I had recently added more to the soaking fruits (two days before). Im not sure if that is the reason why it was a little bland at first but as I said, drizzling wine on the cake after baking, made a big difference. Also, I cooked the cake in another pan that had a little water in it to keep the cake moist. In future, I will add 3/4 cups rum instead of 1/2 cup rum to the original recipe as I could only taste a trace of rum.

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Reviewed: Dec. 25, 2011

Best best Recipe ever... i make this using a serving for 15....i also blended the fruit mix as i dont really like whole fruit pieces in cake i then soaked fruit over night in mulled red wine, i then boiled and simmered it in in the morning for a couple of hours. i couldn't find molasses so i used dark treacle instead... the cake isnt dark/black as such, but it did go very very dark brown... i sprinkled wine rum about 60 minutes onto the cake whilst it was baking.. the cake was moist, fruity, you cud taste the fruit in the wine, the rum.... perfect! this is a keeper for me and i feel great that i can make this cake with such success!

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Aliaa_2010

Reviewed: Dec. 24, 2011

I've made this 3 times now and I can clear up some of the questions everyone is having so that it will turn out well and be delicious! Don't add any more wine than the 2 cups -she only means the wine that is left over in the fruit. I've never added the rum so if you do you may need a little more flour. My Jamaican boyfriend's mom told me that the batter should be thick -stick a wooden spoon into it and it should stay standing (otherwise add more flour). The second time I made it (of course the time I served it to my boyfriend's mom), I totally didn't bake it long enough but the toothpick had come out clean. Here's a better test: touch the top of the cake and it should bounce back when it's done. Good luck and enjoy.

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Reviewer:

lcarrots

Reviewed: Dec. 8, 2011

I tried this recipe Dec' 2010 and shared w/ friends of mine who are Jamaican (I am not, but my stepparent is). I thought it came out well. My friend's father from Jamaican agreed it was pretty good, but he said not to add orange peel (Jamaican fruit cake doesn't use orange peel, but I buy the mixed candied fruit to save money). He also said to use Jamaican rum. I am not a rum drinker so I am can't really appreciating the differences in taste between, Jamaican, Virgin Island or Puerto Rican rum. I thought it was pretty good though I am not a big fruit cake lover. I do it in memory of my mother (she mad a fantastic fruitcake). I am trying it again this year in about a week. My stepfather who is Jamaican, also said I should have started soaking the fruit no later than the summer. I'll try to remember that next summer but really, who is thinking about fruit cake in July:)

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tdstrick

Reviewed: Feb. 6, 2011

This is such a WOW cake! My fiancé's from Westmoreland, Jamaica...and this recipe is the closest (95% to the real Jamaican thing) and the BEST he's ever tasted ever since he's been in Canada. I'm so glad I found it! Plus everyone who had a taste of this cake couldn't get enough of it. I had to make it 2 more times by request the 1st time I tried it. Also, it is very simple to make...just follow the directions with the right ingredients, nothing more and nothing less...et voilà!!! Bon appétit!! And thank you Sharon!

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LifeIsPrecious

Reviewed: Jan. 13, 2011

I presented my family with this delicious rum cake on Christmas Day. Suffice it to say that my family "tore it up!!" This is my 2nd time time making a rum cake. The only problem I experienced, was that the 2 - 9 inch pan called for the recipe was not big enough. I had to use a 13x9" and a 10" pan to hold all the batter.

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Evey

Reviewed: Dec. 15, 2010

I have just made this "cake" after much anticipation. I was really looking forward to a good-tasting fruit cake; however, what came out of the oven was a tasteless, greasy imitation of a cake. The molasses flavour overpowers everything else and it does not have the consistency of "cake" at all. I am soooo disappointed its not even funny. I have a recipe for christmas pudding that I normally follow but I am tired of it and thought I would try this one. Never again...a total waste of time and energy to bake!!

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