Last year I tried to make Black Cake but my oven failed me and it wasn't very good, so I've got a new oven now and I'm going to attempt it again this year. I need to learn how to make Sorrel properly too!!. What West Indian food spells Christmas for you? and can you make it ?
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JayDot500 ·
19/12/2020 01:37
Oh wow! Thank you so much for this!!!!! I have saved a screenshot and I'm elated because that pot looks like my jam pot, so I am almost fully equipped! I cannot believe I will be drinking sorrel this xmas! (Well, however long it takes me to source pimento and overproof rum in tier 3).
I am 90% sure my dad has this book, or has a book like it. I'm going to ask him in the morning. My Jamaican grandparents were bakers. My grandad handled the patties and pies (puff pastry made from scratch!) and my grandma made all the rum cakes and bun (we used to take turns to stir the pot of eternally soaking fruits). They had so many Caribbean cookbooks, and my dad sort of inherited them. I really miss my grandparents. I learned it was called sorrel relatively recently. My grandma would often add blackcurrants (in season, from a bush she had), so for some reason I used to think it was her weird tasting version of blackcurrant juice lol.
Hibiscus/sorrel tea is great hot with a slice of lemon and a drop of honey. I unsure how much it helped me, but you wouldn't have seen me complaining! Especially not with a spot of rum... might try adding some the next time I catch a cold 
Thank you again! I swear, I am grinning ear to ear. I looooove sorrel!
JayDot500 ·
19/12/2020 11:20
@maggiethecat yes! This is very nostalgic. I now miss the smell of cooking escovitch fish lool. We both unfortunately didn't know how good we had it until it was too late. Did she used to decorate the cakes with piping and/or little silver sugar balls? 
Luckily, both my grandparents got us all involved in all the processes (like we had a choice haha), so I have been able to remember some things. My son is a very fussy eater, and I've recently been able to get him to eat chicken using a honey-soy recipe my grandmother used to make for my (Chinese/Jamaican) grandad.
maggiethecat ·
20/12/2020 19:35
Good for you 2020!! They’ll only get better over the years.
Because I don’t regularly bake Xmas cake I note any tweaks and the results each year as a guide for the following year. So for example I did 2 batches this year - one where I blended about 70% of the fruit before baking and the other blended about 30%. The first was more dense/pudding like and the second was lighter and more cake like.
So next year I’ll treat the fruit according to the texture I fancy.
It’s nice to meditate while enjoying the cake you’ve worked so hard on
JayDot500 ·
20/12/2020 22:17
@maggiethecat omg, you're like a black cake scientist! That's a effective way to do it though, since so much investment (time and money!) goes into each cake.
I really love the black cakes that are more pudding textured than cakey. It's just so indulgent and you have to eat it slowly 🤤... I'd be tempted to blend the whole lot . Enjoy your cake and sorrel!
JayDot500 ·
22/12/2020 12:23
My pimento has arrived! (dances!)
Just need to wait for some other ing
JayDot500 ·
23/12/2020 10:10
@maggiethecat we got everything!
DH has sickle cell, so we're doing all of our shopping online instead of braving the crowds during these times. We've been lucky, since most of our other shops are riddled with omissions and substitutions
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