Recipes

Compere Lapin’s Caribbean Black Fruit Cake Recipe

December 17, 2025   |By
Fruit Cake
Photo provided by Compere Lapin

NEW ORLEANS – Fruit cake used to be an integral part of the holiday celebrations. Cultures all over the world have their own interpretation that they use during the season’s festivities.

Today, we have a recipe from Chef Nina Compton and Compere Lapin. Growing up on St. Lucia, holidays for Nina Compton meant Caribbean Black Fruit Cake with rum-soaked fruit and an array of island spices. A holiday staple for a Caribbean Christmas.

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Compere Lapin’s Caribbean Black Fruit Cake Recipe

0.0 from 0 votes
Course: Dessert
Servings

1

pound cake
Cooking time

3

hours 

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Dried fruit soaked in rum or wine (1/2 pureed in red wine)

  • 1 cup Rum, wine sherry or brandy divided

  • 1 cup Butter

  • 1 cup Sugar

  • 5 egg Eggs

  • 1.5 cup AP flour

  • .5 tsp Salt

  • 2 tsp Baking powder

  • 1 tsp Vanilla

  • .5 tsp Nutmeg, freshly grated

  • 1 pinch Rosewater (optional)

  • .5 tsp Allspice, ground

  • .5 tsp Cinnamon, ground

  • 1 tbsp Fresh lime juice

  • 1 each Zest of lilme

  • 1.5 cup Molasses

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350
  • Drain the fruit that’s been soaking** and puree half of it with 1/3 cup of rum
    or wine. Set aside.
  • Cream butter and sugar together until well incorporated and the mixture drops off a spatula/spoon.
  • Sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
  • Add each egg, one at a time to butter/sugar mixture, incorporating thoroughly.
  • Add the soaked and pureed fruit, lime juice. lime zest, vanilla, remaining wine or rum, molasses (and rosewater, if you’re using it) and mix well.
  • Add all sifted dry ingredients slowly and mix until it comes together. Do not over mix.
  • Pour batter into a greased bundt cake pan.
  • Bake 2-3 hours, or until cake tester comes out clean.
  • Cool down in pan, then turn over to remove cake.

Notes

  • **If you do not have fruit that has already been soaking for a few days or months, such as store-bought bourbon soaked cherries, you can boil the (dry) fruit such as dates, apricots, cranberries, raisins, etc., in red wine to speed up the soaking process.

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