Black Cake with Guinness and Nuts
By OcadoLife
Published on 24 October 2025
For me, Jamaican black cake equals my nan,” says chef Marie Mitchell, author of award-winning cookbook ‘Kin: Caribbean Recipes for the Modern Kitchen’. “She’d have the fruits soaking all year, ready for Christmas. She taught me the longer you let the cake sit, the better it tastes. Just make sure you occasionally brush it with booze to keep it moist.” Marie’s Black Cake with Guinness and Nuts recipe offers a twist on tradition with the addition of the stout beer, which brings a savoury maltiness that’s great with brandy cream or cheese. The recipe calls for three days of soaking and at least a week of sitting to really bring out the flavours.Time and servings
1 hr 45 minsTotal time
12Servings
15 minsPrep time
1 hr 30 minsCooking time
Ingredients
- 300g mixed dried fruit
- 270ml dark or white rum
- 270ml Guinness
- 225g whole cane sugar (you can use brown sugar, but whole cane is delicious)
- 225g unsalted butter, plus extra for the tin
- 5 medium eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 lemons, zested
- 2 oranges, zested
- 180g plain flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp allspice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 4cm piece of ginger, grated
- 50g mixed nuts, chopped
Method
Step 1
Place the dried fruit in a jar big enough to soak it in the alcohol. Pour over 200ml each of the rum and Guinness and leave for at least 3 days, but the longer the better. You can do this up to a year in advance – top up with more alcohol if the fruits start to look a bit dry. When ready to use, blitz the fruit and liquid to a thick paste.Step 2
Brown 25g of the sugar over a low heat, stirring gently until it melts – if using whole cane sugar, add a touch of water to help it melt. Remove from the heat and add 1 tsp Guinness, being careful of the sugar liquid, as it’ll be very hot. Return to the heat and mix to break down any crystallised sugar. Set aside.Step 3
Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/gas 3. Grease and line a 23 cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Place an ovenproof bowl or tray with 2 cm water in it at the bottom of the oven.Step 4
Beat the butter and remaining sugar in a medium mixing bowl, either by hand or with a stand mixer, until pale. Fold in the eggs, one at a time, beating after each egg. Fold in the vanilla and almond extracts, along with the lemon and orange zests.Step 5
Sift the flour, baking powder, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg, and fold in a third at a time, making sure everything’s fully combined before the next addition. Add the sugar and Guinness mix, the fruit paste, the ginger and the mixed nuts. Mix until well combined; I use the figure-of-eight method when doing this by hand, so I don’t overmix. Pour the batter into the cake tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for about 1½ hrs, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.Step 6
Place the cake on a rack, still in the tin, and pierce several times with a skewer. Mix the remaining rum and Guinness, and use it to brush the cake every 20 mins (approx.), until you only have 1 tbsp left. Carefully remove the cake from the tin and brush the sides with the remaining mixture. Wrap the cake in baking paper and foil and leave it to sit for at least one week – and up to a year – before tucking in.