I’ve been baking up a storm. So far this month, I’ve tried sweet bread, fruit cake, coquito cupcakes, tarts (pineapple, guava, coconut), and right before Christmas, I’ll try black cake. I’m letting the fruit soak for an additional week before I try that one.
I’ve actually been having fun in the kitchen. I even made a few sales with the things that I’ve baked previously and done well (tarts and rum cake). My mother, aunt, and I spent a day trying a lot of these recipes for the first time. If you missed us, check out the videos on my social media.
Here are some tips that I wanted to share from our hits and misses. There is more baking in my future, as I hope the tradition and culture stays alive with my own children. My kids had a ball helping out and of course eating the sweet, non-alcoholic treats.
Caribbean Holiday Baking Tips
Here are some baking tips if you feel like getting in the kitchen and trying some Caribbean holiday recipes. Some I wish I knew before we went in to the kitchen, but oh well. At least we have them for the next go round because there will be plenty more fun times to be had in the future of my kitchen chronicles.
Fruit Cake/Black Cake Tips
- Don’t worry if you didn’t get to soak your fruits beforehand. Just boil the fruits in the alcohol before baking for about 30 minutes on a low-med heat. Don’t burn it!!
- Flour your fruits before mixing them in the fruit cake to prevent them from floating to the bottom. Ours fell to the bottom. It still tasted great, but I wish I knew this tip before we baked that day.
Tart Tips (Any Flavor – Coconut, Pineapple, Guava)
- Brush the top of your tarts with a mix of sugar/water for some glisten and shine.
- If the center of your tart is not finished cooking and your crust is already getting dark, use foil to cover your crust edges so that they don’t burn.
- Too much leftover dough. Roll them out into cookies. You can even top them with any extra filling. I loved this tip when I found it online and we enjoyed some coconut covered cookies as a result. Try it!!
Rum Cake Tips
- Don’t forget to poke holes in your cake before adding your rum glaze.
- Don’t eat and drive. Seriously, rum has a way on sneaking up on you. Stay safe.
General Baking Tips
- Salvage what you can, don’t let mishaps go to waste. There was too much dough in our cupcake pans because the recipe made more than what was indicated so they overflowed. I took the tops off the overflowed cupcakes and made coquito ‘muffin tops’ and decorated the topless cupcakes. My husband enjoyed the cake tops and the cupcakes were still a hit.
- Don’t give up after one try/trial. If you fail a recipe on the first try, try again. There’s nothing in the recipe that says fail me once and never bake again in life. First of all, that’s way too dramatic. Second off, your second time may come out perfect. However, you won’t know unless you put the apron back on and get in the kitchen.
Thanks for indulging me on my social media with all my baking this month. I promise, I’ll be back to a slower, steady, not making you hungry and wanting island treats pace come 2021. In the meantime, happy holidays and let me know below, what’s your favorite Caribbean holiday treat?
