Christmas Cake

As the holidays get closer, what lovely memories I have of Christmas in St Kitts; for It is not only Christmas.... It's Christmas and Carnival. From the eyes of a Child it was a time for special privileges, festivities and lots and lots to eat and drink. All the houses in the village were filled with different aromas; from some came the sent of roast pork others had the smell of ham and rice and pigeon peas. There was definitely no mistaking the sent of fruit or rum cake in the oven and fudge on the stove. During the festivity of Christmas and carnival we would go from house to house each one offered us a bit of fruit cake and sorrel. Sometimes we would go home with food and sweets from several different homes all in the merriment of the season.

Cake:

1 lb butter, room temperature 2 cups raisins

1 cup brown sugar 2 cups currants

8 eggs (soaked in warm water) 1 cup dried cherries

4 cups flour 1 cup candied citrus peel

2 tsp baking powder 2 cups mixed dried fruit

2 tsp nutmeg 2 cups rum

1 tbsp cinnamon 2 cup ginger wine or port wine

1 tsp ground cloves 1 cup brandy

1 tsp ground allspice

2 1/2 tsp. almond essence

2 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

2 lime peel

3/4 - 1 cup dark molasses or cane syrup

1 cup rum, brandy or Stones Ginger Wine

Fruit: At least two days before baking, combine raisin, currants, cherries, citrus peel, dried fruit, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, rum, wine and brandy in a glass jar, cover tightly. When ready to bake, using a food processor or a blender to grind the soaked fruit and spices to a rough paste.

Cake: Preheat oven to 250F. Line four 8" round cake pans with two layers of waxed paper, greasing both layers. In a larger bowl cream together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well between each addition. Sift the flour and baking powder together. With a wooden Spoon, fold in the fruit alternatively with the flour and essences. Add browning to a deep brown color. Pour mixture in prepared baking pans and cook for 3-4 hours or till a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cakes from oven, pierce with a skewer and pour a 1/4 of rum, brandy or ginger wine over each cake while still warm. Wrap cake in several layers of waxed paper then in foil and store for a month for best flavor. During the month, skewer again and pour rum, brandy or ginger wine over, re wrap.

The most popular drink throughout the Caribbean during the Christmas holidays is sorrel. I can clearly remember the weeks leading up to the holidays when I would cut the sorrel stems. We would tie them up in parcels to sell to the neighbors, dried some for later use and replanting and the rest we used to make our own sorrel drink. Here is a recipe.

2 lb sorrel sepals 2 gall boiling water

2 orange peel dried 5 lbs sugar

2 oz ginger handful whole cloves

6 cinnamon sticks handful rice

1/2 pint rum

Put the dried sorrel, crushed ginger, orange peel, cinnamon and clove in a large pot or jar and pour the boiling water over it. Allow to cool and cover for three days. Strain the liquid and add the sugar, some more clove and cinnamon sticks, rice and rum. Cover for another three days. Using a Sieve and cheese cloth, strain and bottled Refrigerate and served with crushed ice.

Extremely tasty with black cake and a must have during the Christmas time in the Caribbean.