Extended Fruit Soaking: The Months-Long Preparation for Black Cake

Traditional Caribbean black cake fruit soaks for months—sometimes a full year—creating profound depth that overnight soaking cannot match. As Annetha explained when Mary Berry asked about the cake's moisture: "Well, that's the rum and the wines. It's part of how you'd make the 'wow.'" Families guard their soaking recipes jealously, and the fruit jar becomes a living thing, stirred or shaken every few days as dried fruits plump and absorb the rum, port, and brandy. Two weeks is the minimum for good flavor; one month is better; three months approaches traditional depth. If you must work on short notice, warming the fruit and liquor gently before an overnight soak will work, but plan ahead whenever possible—this is a cake that rewards patience measured in weeks, not hours.