What’s Christmas without Christmas Cake? Just Christmas?  Well how about a St. Kitts and Nevis Christmas without Black Cake? Definitely a not Christmas at all!

We searched long and hard for a local who would be willing and eager to share probably his/her most treasured secret; The Black Cake Recipe.

Meet our very own local “Cake Boss”, Mrs. Maurisha Walters.  She is a Library Technician 3 at Gingerland Public Library in Nevis, but has a passion for baking and does so in her spare time. Risha welcomed me into her home and gave me a brief interview while allowing me to watch her work her Christmas cake magic.

Interviewer: Who taught you to bake? Did you go to culinary school?

Risha: My mother taught me to bake; as children we had no choice but to help in the kitchen. I was baking from the tender age of eight (8) years. She taught us to bake and she taught us to cook. If you came a little earlier you would have met her, she’s always here. (laughter)

Interviewer: Do you teach your children now to bake?

Risha: Yes I do. My eldest baked a plain cake for me once. I instructed him and he did a very good job.

Interviewer: Tell me about the awards you won.

Risha: I won trophies in the Nevis Agriculture Fruit Festival (2013) for two categories after entering for the first time. I won the light fruit category with a coconut custard cake as well as the heavy fruit category with a black cake. The black cake was decorated with the Flag of Nevis. All the fruit were made from scratch by my mother. She used wax apples for raisins, the skin of the water melon to make mixed peel, green paw paw in the place of cherries and star apples as part of the mixed fruit.

Interviewer: So you are a cake boss then! That is a great achievement.

Risha: Oh no, no cake boss. (smiles shyly)

Mrs. Walters is pretty humble with her accomplishments, but she is a Cake Boss in our books! See below for her special Christmas Cake recipe. She advises though that the key to having the best tasting black cake is love in your heart. So…lets start with love being the very first ingredient.

 

Ingredients (1lb black cake)

• 1lb butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1lb flour
• 6tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup gravy browning
• 3lbs raisins (pre soaked in wine)
• 1/2 lb mix peels
• 1/2 lb cherries
• 5tsp vanilla essence
• wine

 

Step 1: Cream Butter and Sugar

Step 2: Add browning and essence to mixture

 

Step 3: Mix the dry ingredients then add periodically to the mixture

Step 4: Chop some of the fruits and leave some as a whole. Add to cake and mix well.

Step 5: Add wine until desired texture is achieved

Step 6: Mix Well

Step 7: Grease and flour pans then pour mixture into pan

Step 8: Place in oven heated to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Alternate to 250 degrees fahrenheit periodically.

Step 9: Bake for  45 mins to an hour. Pour wine over cake while still hot. Leave in pan until cooled before removing.

 

 

Maurisha is also gifted in making and decorating birthday cakes. Give her a call when you are ready for that fabulous birthday cake!

She may be contacted via email at mrs_unity@hotmail.com or check her out on Facebook, “Risha Sutton Walters”.