Strawberry Sorrel Black Cake Recipe

This Jamaican Christmas cake starts with raisins, prunes and currants soaked in Red Label Wine and Jamaican rum months ahead. On baking day, fresh strawberries simmered with sorrel bring a bright, tart note to the rich fruit cake. A little rose water perfumes the batter, and a tablespoon of Stone’s Original Green Ginger Wine adds a warm ginger finish that fits right in with the cinnamon and nutmeg. I’d include it at that amount to keep the strawberry and sorrel flavors distinct.

Yield One 9-inch cake, about 12–14 slices

Oven 300°F (150°C)

Bake time About 85–110 minutes

Ingredients

Fruit to soak months ahead

If you already have a jar going, use 450 g (about 1¾ cups) of thick blended soaked fruit and skip the fruit-soaking ingredients.

• 1 cup (150 g) raisins

• ½ cup (75 g) pitted prunes, chopped

• ½ cup (75 g) dried currants

• ½ cup (120 ml) Jamaican Red Label Wine, plus more as needed

• ¼ cup (60 ml) Jamaican dark rum, plus more as needed

Strawberry-sorrel reduction

• 1 lb (450 g) fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped

• 2 tablespoons dried Jamaican sorrel (hibiscus)

• ⅓ cup (80 ml) boiling water

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Cake batter

• ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened

• ¾ cup packed (150 g) dark brown sugar

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• ½ teaspoon almond extract

• ½ teaspoon food-grade rose water

• Finely grated zest of 1 lime

• 1 tablespoon Stone’s Original Green Ginger Wine, optional

• 1 tablespoon Jamaican cake browning, plus more by the teaspoon for a darker cake

• 1¾ cups (210 g) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

• ½ teaspoon ground allspice

• ½ teaspoon fine salt

• 2 tablespoons Jamaican dark rum or Red Label Wine, for brushing the baked cake

Method

1. Start the fruit months before Christmas. Put the raisins, prunes and currants in a clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Pour in the Red Label Wine and rum, adding more in the same proportions as needed to cover the fruit. Seal and refrigerate. Check the jar periodically and top up with wine and rum as needed to keep the fruit submerged. On baking day, scoop out the soaked fruit and blend it with just enough of its soaking liquid to make a thick, spoonable paste. Measure 450 g (about 1¾ cups) for the cake.

   
   

2. Make the strawberry-sorrel reduction. Steep the dried sorrel in the boiling water for 10 minutes, then strain. Combine the sorrel tea, strawberries and sugar in a wide saucepan. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for about 20–30 minutes, stirring and mashing the berries as they soften. When a spatula dragged across the bottom leaves a trail for a second or two, take the pan off the heat. Cool completely. Measure ½ cup (about 130 g) for the batter and refrigerate the rest for serving.

   
   

3. Prepare the pan and dry ingredients. Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Grease a 9-inch round cake pan at least 3 inches deep and line the bottom and sides with parchment. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt.

   
   

4. Mix the batter. Beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla, almond extract, rose water, lime zest, cake browning and the splash of ginger wine. Stir in the soaked fruit paste and the measured strawberry-sorrel reduction. Fold in the dry ingredients just until the flour disappears.

   
   

5. Bake the cake. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and bake for about 85–110 minutes. Start checking at 85 minutes. The center should be set, and a skewer inserted in the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs. If the top darkens before the center is done, cover it loosely with foil and continue baking.

   
   

6. Brush, rest and serve. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then brush the top with the rum or Red Label Wine. Cool completely before turning it out. Wrap and refrigerate overnight for cleaner slices. Bring the cake to room temperature and spoon a little of the reserved strawberry-sorrel reduction over each slice.

Baker’s tips. 

1. Keep the rose water at ½ teaspoon for the first bake. It should give the cake a light floral note, with the strawberries coming through most clearly in the spoonful of sauce over each slice.

   
   

2. Reduce the strawberries until they’re thick enough to spoon like jam. That step concentrates their flavor and keeps the cake from turning gummy. Use cake browning for the deep color and add it gradually, since the strength varies by brand.