Black Cake

Ingredients

3 oz dried fruit, mango, papaya (pawpaw), pineapple, red cherries 

2 oz raisins, currants, chopped dates 

3 eggs 

2 teaspoons (tsp) vanilla (optional) 

2 tsp browning sauce 

1-1½ cups dark rum 

1¼ cups flour 

1 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 

½ cup (1 stick) softened butter 

½ cup chopped pecans 

½ tsp almond extract (optional) 

½ tsp ground nutmeg 

¼ tsp ground cloves 

¼ tsp salt 

Confectioners sugar icing 

Finely chop dried mango, papaya (pawpaw), pineapple and red cherries. 

Place in a large bowl with the remaining fruits. 

Pour enough rum over to cover; Then cover and allow to stand overnight or in a refrigerator for about one week or longer. 

Line bottom of 9x5x3 loaf pan with wax paper. 

Grease paper and sides of pan; Then dust with flour. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy. 

Add eggs one at a time, beating in vanilla, almond extract, and browning sauce if desired. 

Drain fruits, reserving the rum. Measure ¼ cup rum and reserve remainder (if necessary, add additional rum to make a ¼ cup. 

Sift together the dry ingredients. 

Add ingredients to mixer bowl alternatively with the ¼ cup rum, beating just until there is a combined fold in fruits and nuts. 

Turn into prepared pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes; Then let it cool on a wire rack. 

If desired, soak cheesecloth in rum and wrap the cloth around the cake.