Alternatively called rum cake, fruit cake or great cake, this dessert most likely came to the Caribbean in the 18th century with English and Irish colonizers, who substituted local rum for whiskey in their traditional Christmas fruitcake. At some point, burnt sugar syrup was added, turning the cake almost black. It has been a West Indian holiday staple, as well as the go-to wedding cake, for centuries. The recipe for black cake is so storied it has even inspired a best-selling novel that has been adapted into a series on Hulu. Black cake baking is a cottage industry in the West Indies that continues among Caribbean immigrants worldwide.

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Persons: —, citron, prunes, ”, Deborah Charles, “ Organizations: Hulu Locations: Caribbean, West Indian, West Indies