Queque Navideño

Name: Queque Navideño
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Costa Rican
Ingredients: 2 cups mixed dried fruit; 1 cup rum or wine; 1 cup butter; 1 cup brown sugar; 4 eggs; 2 cups flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 2 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp nutmeg; 2 tbsp molasses

Costa Rica's Christmas fruitcake — a dark, rum-soaked cake dense with dried fruit and warm spices, made (and gifted) every December.

Costa Rican 2 hours plus soaking 12 servings

Costa RicanDessertsHolidayCake

Ingredients

12 srv

2 cupsmixed dried fruit (raisins, candied fruit)
1 cuprum or wine (for soaking)
1 cupbutter
1 cupbrown sugar
4 eggs
2 cupsflour
1 tspbaking powder
2 tspcinnamon
1 tspnutmeg
2 tbspmolasses

Instructions

1
Soak the dried fruit in the rum for at least a day (a week is better) so it plumps and flavors the cake.
2
Cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time.
3
Whisk the flour with the baking powder and spices, and fold into the batter with the molasses.
4
Fold in the soaked fruit and any remaining soaking liquid.
5
Bake in a lined pan at 325°F (160°C) until a skewer comes out clean, about 1.5 hours. Cool, and brush with a little extra rum for keeping.
300:00

Notes

The long fruit soak is the soul of the cake — start early. Brushing with rum as it ages keeps it moist and deepens the flavor. Traditionally made in big batches to gift to family and neighbors. Photo: Brett Jordan, CC BY, via Openverse.

My notes

Your notes for this recipe live here — saved on this device.

Ask about this recipesubstitutions · tips · scaling