Hello Everyone!

I finally made the decision to set up a blog last night, so here I am ready to let everyone into my head. It Christmas Time and when I should be singing Deck the halls, I have yet to Deck the halls but the good news is at least I have the floors down, the walls painted and the tree is up. Funny enough my cousin in France and I have a date to make Black Cake over the phone. I know sounds crazy right? But you're probably asking;What is Black cake? Traditional Christmas fare from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, its also used as wedding cake. It's a heavy fruit cake made with red wine, brandy and rum. For those of you who are curious and would like to try it out, here is my Aunty Patsy's recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb EACH butter ,sugar and flour

6 eggs

2tsp. b/powder

1/2 bottle browning

cinnamon/pumpkin pie spice

vanilla essence(your preference)

1 1/2-2lbs dried fruit soaked for a few days earlier in a mixture of wine(red) and brandy(enough to cover the fruit in the container)

METHOD

Cream butter and sugar.add eggs(beaten or otherwise),flour with b/powder and spices.

Add browning to taste(colour).

In a blender, crush half the soaked fruits.

Add this mush and the rest of the fruits to the batter.

Pour into greased and floured tins and bake in a 350 degree oven until a toothpick comes out clean.

N.B. Cracked (not ground) nuts are an option. Double recipe if necessary.

So Merry Christmas, I'll let you know how the baking goes.