Christmas Cake West Indian Style

***Fruit Mixture*** 1 cup raisins

1 cup currants

1/2 cup candied cherries

1/2 cup candied citrus peel

1 cup mixed dried fruit

1 cup rum

1 cup sweet sherry

or port wine ***Cake*** 1/2 pound butter -- at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

2 1/2 teaspoons lemon essence

2 1/2 teaspoons almond essence

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/4 cup brown food coloring -- up to 1/2 cup

1/2 cup 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