Carib-fusion Rum Cake

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried fruit (dates, prunes, currants, raisins, dried cherries), chopped
• 1 cup Appleton dark rum
• 1 cup Appleton white rum
• 8 eggs
• ¾ cup flour
• ½ tsp each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice
• ¼ tsp star anise
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Zest of ½ lime
• ¾ cup dry bread crumbs
• ½ lb butter
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup gravy browning sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp almond extract

Instructions

1. Up to two weeks ahead, place chopped fruit in an airtight jar. Cover with rum and let stand for at least 24 hours and no more than two weeks. The longer it soaks the more potent your cake will be.
2. Preheat oven to 300°F. Fill a broiler pan with water and place on bottom rack of oven. Line an 8-inch round baking tin with parchment paper or grease well with butter.
3. Process the fruit and rum in a blender or food processor into a coarse purée.
4. Beat the eggs using a stand mixer or hand mixer until very light and frothy, about 10 minutes. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, ground spices, salt, baking powder, lime zest and bread crumbs. Set aside.
5. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the texture is light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add beaten eggs to butter mixture, mixing well.
6. Then fold in fruit, browning sauce, cream and almond extract, stirring until combined.
7. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix well. The batter will be thick.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for two hours or until a tester comes out clean. Cool completely before serving.
9. Optional: Pour another ½ cup dark rum over the cake after it has cooled. Allow to soak in. Remove from pan, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container. The cake can be stored for up to a month or frozen for six months.