for me, i couldnt figure out why brides would want fruitcake for their wedding cake. in Barbados, a lot of people know fruitcake to be a plain vanilla cake with fruits (like cherries and raisins) mixed in.

however, after looking through a recipe book, i saw a picture of fruitcake and a lightbulb went off. we call it "black cake".

it is a very dense cake with lots of cherries, raisins, prunes, and mixed peel that have been pureed in a food processor/blender, soaked in port wine and brown rum, and left to sit in an airtight container for weeks. it is called black cake because gravy browning is added to the cake batter.

after baking, it can then be soaked with MORRRRRRRRE rum

this cake is not for kids...i have tasted black cake where the smell of the rum came through my nose!!!!

boy...i need to research a recipe now!!!

Slightly off topic, but all this talk about fruitcake for wedding cakes has made me think of one wedding cake in particular (and has made me hungry - I LOVE fruitcake!!). I'm from Dublin, and when I was last home I called into a cake shop close to home ... there was a picture on the wall of a recent cake they had made for a famous (in Ireland!) Irish couple. The cake was 9 tiers (with seperator pillars), of fruitcake. It would have served about 1500 people! the wedding was held in France so they had to ship it over & assemble it there. Apparently a lot of it was disposed of after the event ... .which still makes me weep when I think of it!!
Bring back Fruit cake wedding cakes is what I say - I miss them!!

ps murf - I'm sure I know you to see at toddlers!!

Hi eilers, how are you? After a long time. Talking about fruit cakes, in Sri Lanka, we call the fruit cake which we make for a wedding is "Wedding Cake". Because, we use lightly roasted semolina instead of flour and lots of different dryed fruits. The fruit cake is the normal fruit cake we all make with fruits and flour.

Well fruit cake used to be all we had for wedding cakes here, up until recently. Now it's mostly choc mud, white chod mud and carrot, but quite often the bride and groom will have 1 tier as fruit still. When I started decorating, at age 14 I only ever decorated fruit cakes. And most cakes had extension work, embroidery and lace work, so maybe they HAD to be fruit cakes to last that long. I timed my first wedding cake - it took longer being my first one, but altogether, it was over 90 hours!!!! Extension and lace on 3 tiers just took forever! It was done with 000 tips, too. And tips are called nozzles here!

All fruit cakes are first covered with almond icing, with egg white used to stick it to the cake. Then egg white is brushed over that to seal it, so no colours leech into the plastic icing. It is then left for 24 hours before the plastic icing (fondant) is put on. Marzipan is used here only for modelling.

Sheet cakes are called slabs, or lami-slabs (Lamingtons are made using those tins)

Pitch-in is called potluck here also.

I am from the West coast US (where we say Potluck, hehe) but am now living in the Netherlands, for the past 9 years. Cakes as we know them back home are rarely available here. Rather, commonly you will find a thin sponge cake with tons of whipped cream (slagroom) and then fresh fruit (kiwi, pineapple, mandarin orange slices). First when I moved here it was different and tasty...now, it's so boring and tasteless to me!

People that are cake decorating here are pretty much all working with fondant, making the most gorgeous pieces of art...but I'm not hearing very good reviews on taste. I haven't tried it here, so I don't know firsthand.

But, I think I am starting to make headway with a public here, seeking "meatier" desserts. If anyone has ever been to the US, they ask me about our apple pie, lemon meringue pie and cheesecake. I've made so many of these...even bread pudding! But in fairness, I've never made a bread pudding back home as yummy as here, because I use a festival bread found here in North Holland called Duivekater. (My family loves French toast made with this as well!)

Interestingly, the average person doesn't bake, no need with a bakery on every street corner, and in Amsterdam apartments, little room for other than the below counter refrigerator with only a stove top above it. My MIL has raised 5 kids and lived over 46 years in the same place, never baking a thing ever!

Even if you bake muffins from a mix you get praise and admiration here, so when I get the same praise and admiration after slaving for hours with my from scratch cakes/desserts I feel a little under-appreciated! LOL

I like this thread. !!!
sparklepop you said I always thought mud cake was American as earlier recipes were called Mississippi Mud Cake and us good old Aussies shortened it to Mud Cake, well that's what I thought anyway
I agree eh, we do have a tendency to shorten our words to a "slang" i do remember years ago it used to be called a Mississippi Mud as well,

and MelandAva, you said oh, and i had thought crisco was similar to copha... vegetable shortening... or am i waaaay off in this???
hahaha when i was in the mood to try buttercream a few years back I couldn't find crisco either here in Oz, so i opted to use Copha. blech!!!
to me it was just a mouthful of grease, though the kids loved it so i don't know.. lol

This is so interesting!

I can see that there are similarities between the European countries. In Sweden, we also make a difference between a cake (kaka) and a torte (sp?) (tårta). A cake is simpler, maybe considered a bit boring, something to eat with a cup of coffee or tea in the afternoon. It is not filled or covered. A torte is what we make for birthdays, weddings and such occasions. It is not as high as the American cakes and is made out of thin layers (often three) of (often white/vanilla, light, fluffy) cake and a lot of filling (most common is fresh fruit, whipped cream and custard).

There are two traditional cakes that I believe are the most common ones: cake with whipped cream and strawberries and princess torte (I have seen a recipe here). Tortes are covered in whipped cream or marzipan (the princess torte, lime green with a pink rose) and decorted whit fruit.

You bake your cakes from scratch or buy ready baked cake layers for a torte. Box mixes are rare and I don't even think there is a Swedish expression for "baking from scratch"... Bc and fondant is very new and considered very sweet!

Homemade-Goodies -- I lived in the Netherlands for a time too -- such wonderful cookies! (The Dutch brought the term "cookie" to the United States.) You are right, there are so many bakeries, you don't really need to bake.

I love all the fruitcakes you describe: in the US, they'd be called dark and light fruitcakes. They are very old-fashioned but some still make them for Christmas. We also have regional differences in the US, like old-fashioned New England gingerbread, called Election Cake. I have read that comes out of the English tradition. Many cities in the northeast have bakeries run by Italian-American families, so Americans have enjoyed those pastries.

One typical Polish filling is ground poppyseeds and almonds -- when I taste it, I can just "see" my grandmother baking. A lovely memory.

Please keep sharing everyone -- it is wonderful to learn about others, and gather new ideas for our own work.

I'm really getting a kick out of this thread. This may be nothing but I thought I'd share it.

Years ago (late 70's early 80's) my mom took a Wilton class and I took them last summer. I made her a cake with fondant and she looked at me like I was an alien. She (secretly) told my sister..."what is she thinking? you don't cover cakes with fondant..its just for decorations." I told her it was marshmallow fondant and people use it quite often nowadays and she was still "stand-offish" about it. She said back then you never ever covered them like that. My aunt says the same thing (fellow decorator). So now whenever I make a cake with mmf I tell her its just (melted marshmallows with 10x sugar) and never mention the word fondant around her anymore. Somehow that makes her feel better and she'll eat it. Just like a little kid with food...it's good! tastes just like chicken! LOL Go figure.

One more thing...I've been reading in here about cakes soaked in syrup or cakes served with syrup. Are we talking like pancake syrup or am I really stupid and missing something?? Just curious..Thanks!

I was thinking maybe they meant a simple syrup, flavored maybe???? I'm curious too...

What I do is, I chop the fruits a week or two before hand and soak that in brandy, vanilla and almond extracts, rose water and the juices from cherries and ginger root preserves.

Hey staceyboots
How are you? What is the weather in Bdos like?
I was born in Dominica - WI, but I live in Louisiana. My my my. We need to keep in touch. I am dying to have some cheffets roti ---- LOL.
Please if you need the black cake recipe - let me know. I have my caribbean cooking book. I make a lot of cakes from it too. And you know down there is no box cake. I make all my cakes from scratch.
Take care..... talk to you soon. Enjoy crop over for me too......

Kendi

I haven't read this whole thread yet, but I was thinking there used to be a Philippine piping technique called "sotas" (or as I called them, "sortas" because mine sorta looked like the picture... ) That's considered outdated now, although when done correctly it's really a cool look for a cake. Anyway, the old Wilton Encyclopedias have a lot of the old techniques from around the world -- many of which are coming back.

kendi25

a chefette roti!!!!!!!...LOL..i'm cracking up!!!

the weather is great...we havent been getting a lot of rain recently just loads of sunshine.

well, i am about to begin my countdown for cropover just now (i.e. going to the gym)

i would love to try out the recipe in your cookbook, please pm it to me!

thanks a million and feel free to keep in touch!!!!

Hi folks,

Thank you so much for all those around the world that contributed so far. I am also thoroughly enjoying hearing about different kinds of cakes and what is traditional for weddings, etc... I would love to hear more about Black cake. It sounds like, after sitting in rum and port wine for weeks, covered, it would almost be a fermented cake. I bet it is very delicious. Please elaborate if you can!

I just wanted to share, I grew up in California but have lived in Memphis, TN for 4 years. Cake is different here too. A very traditional southern cake, apart from red velvet cake, is Carmel Cake. It is a brown sugar-type cake that is torted thinly, filled with caramel icing (or whipped caramel) and stacked high. Then the entire cake is covered with more caramel.

Anyway, that is my contribution to customary cakes. Please keep sharing, especially those from outside the U.S. !

I don't know about anyone else but I'm learning allsorts from this topic!!
Jenlg - the syrup that I use is for when you want the sponge or madeira to be extra moist. I do the following method - put 250g of sugar and 250ml of water in a pan and bring to the boil stirring until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and leave to cool down then add flavourings such as grated orange peel etc. Use a brush to soak the top of the cake with it. Yum yum!
Eilers - I'm sure you will have seen me at toddlers up until xmas but now the twins go to pre school 5 mornings - yeah!! So more time to cake.... I was going to mention that I thought Bashini was from near me too until I read the post and saw that you obviously know each other!! So much talent in such a small area!!
Oh and another difference is that until I came on here I had never heard of mmf, I thought it must be the equivalent of MDF until I read on......

Love this thread!

Shisharka, how much of the flavoring is added after it is removed from the heat. Like the Kahlua how much would you add?

This is an interesting thread. I am Australian, although have lived in Italy for the last 10 years. My wedding cake was hilarious.. My italian wasn't great when I got married here. (1999)..... and I thought the caterers understood I wanted a tiered cake. (American style.. as they say here)! WELL; it came out.. tiers yes.. but fake paper tiers, with the cake being a thin 'crostata' on the top of each fake tier... and an ugly bunch of flowers plonked on top, in front of us too!!! My husband stared at me, and we both laughed at the monstrosity that was our cake! Here if mothers make cakes., they make the cake, and then just dust icing sugar on top.... no icing/frosting at all. Luckily for me, my cakes are a novelty where I live, because no bakery makes mudcakes... 3D cakes... or cakes covered in fondant!!!

AND I REALLY MISS FRUITCAKE TOO!!! I have wonderful memories of my mother preparing the Christmas cake, weeks in advance, and occasionally soaking it with brandy... that and the Christmas Pudding hanging wrapped in calico!!!

I don't have much to contribute since I am just a good ole southern gal born and raised in the USA. However, my Aussie SIL has introduced me to some wonderful recipes from her homeland like Pavlova (meringue pastry) and ANZAC Biscuits (cookies) that are to die for.

I sure hope this thread keeps going. I am learning so much and I love reading the memories.

Oh.. all my relatives love PAVLOVA here... and the mothers were very impressed with it too at my daughter's birthday party!! They thought it was the birthday cake!!

Hi murf, I kind of knew that you have to be around where I live when I saw that you were from Surrey and it was confirmed when I read eilers reply.

Its nice to meet new friends through CC, even though we haven't actualy met.

By the way, your cakes are absolutely beaustiful.

Oh thank you so much for that info nicolevoorhout. I only tryed dark cho and white choc mud cakes. Never heard of caramel and marble until now. See, you learn something everyday!

Thanks again!

Here is the Mississippi Mud Cake recipe that I've used:

1 cup butter softened
2 cups sugar

Cream together until light and fluffy.

Add:

1/4 cup cocoa
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well about one minute.

Add:

1 1/2 cups flour unsifted

Beat on medium 2 minutes.

Fold in:

1 1/2 cups coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

Mix well, spread in a greased 9x12 pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes then spread with:

1 13 oz. jar of marshmallow creme

Frost with:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup evaporated milk

Melt butter in small saucepan add cocoa and milk, bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
remove from heat and add:

1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat until smooth

So Sorry the recipe is in this form-this is copied from a very old newspaper.

No problem bashini, I didn't want you to miss out! There are so many yummy flavours out there!

Thanks a lot, ApplegumKitchen!!! Iâm fascinated by this recipe, and looking at the ingredients, Iâm sure Iâm going to love it -- it reminds me of some protein/antioxidant bars that I experimented with some time ago, in which I chopped all the different dried fruit that happened to be in my pantry⦠Granted, sans the brandy, the bars ended up expectedly dry, but thatâs what bars are, not cake!
I had to Google âsultanasâ and âmixed spiceâ to find out what those were â always something to learn â and new ingredients to stock up on⦠Now, hm, what excuse is coming up in the next couple of months to make this cake?