Rum cake Rum cake A rum cake is a type of dessert cake which contains rum. In most of the Caribbean, rum cakes are a traditional holiday season dessert, descended from the holiday puddings (such as figgy pudding). Traditionally, dried fruit is soaked in rum for months and then added to dough prepared with sugar which has been caramelized by boiling in water. The result, also known as "black cake", is similar to a fruitcake, with a lighter texture. In Trinidad and Tobago, fruits are preserved in cherry brandy to be used in the making of black cake. Black cake is traditionally
Rum ABV [86 proof]. A refined cane spirit has also been produced in South Africa since the 1950s, simply known as cane. Within Europe, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, a similar spirit made from sugar beet is known as Tuzemak. In Germany, a cheap substitute for genuine dark rum is called "Rum-Verschnitt" (literally: blended or "cut" rum). This distilled drink is made of genuine dark rum (often from Jamaica), rectified spirit, and water. Very often, caramel coloring is used, too. The relative amount of genuine rum it contains can be quite low, since the legal minimum is at only 5%.