Title: Christmas cake west indian style
 Categories: Cakes, Caribbean, Christmas
      Yield: 1 Servings
 
           ---Fruit Mixture---
      1 c  Raisins
      1 c  Currants
    1/2 c  Candied cherries
    1/2 c  Candied citrus peel
      1 c  Mixed dried fruit
      1 c  Rum
      1 c  Sweet sherry or port wine
           ---Cake---
    1/2 lb Butter; at room temperature
    1/2 c  Brown sugar
      4    Eggs
      2 c  Flour
      1 ts Baking powder
      1 ts Ground ginger
      1 ts Ground nutmeg
      3 ts Ground cinnamon
    1/2 ts Ground cloves
    1/2 ts Ground allspice
  2 1/2 ts Lemon essence
  2 1/2 ts Almond essence
      1 ts Vanilla essence
    1/4 c  Brown food coloring; up to
           -1/2 cup
    1/2 c  Rum
           Additional rum for basting
           -during storage
 
  Fruit Mixture: Mix together all the ingredients and store in a tightly
  sealed jar for at least 1 month
  
  The Cake: Prepare a 10" deep round cake baking tin or a 13" x 9"
  baking tin by lining it with two layers of waxed paper, greasing
  between the layers. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. In a large bowl,
  cream together the butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy.
  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Sift
  the flour, baking powder and all the dry spices together. Add the
  lemon essence, almond essence and vanilla essence to the fruit
  mixture. By hand, stir tablespoonsful of the flour mixture and the
  fruit mixture alternately into the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Add
  the browning gradually, stirring until a deepish brown colour is
  reached. Turn the cake mixture into the baking tin, smooth the top
  and bake in the oven for 3-4 hours or until a skewer or wooden
  toothpick, inserted, comes out clean. This can take an additional
  hour or two. Remove the cake from the oven, prick it all over with a
  skewer or toothpick and pour the rum all over it. Remove the cake
  from the tin when it is cool, wrap it tightly in waxed paper, place
  it in an airtight container and leave for a month for best flavour.
  Every week, prick the cake with a skewer and pour on about 1
  tablespoon of rum. (Makes one 5 pound cake. )
  
  Serve with Hard Rum Sauce.
  
  Full recipe name is Laurel-Ann's Wedding Cake or Christmas Cake West
  Indian Style
  
  Recipe