Island SPACE Caribbean Museum Hosts Second Rum and Caribbean Black Cake Festival for Local Residents
More than 300 delighted cake connoisseurs descended on Island SPACE Caribbean Museum for the second annual Rum Cake and Caribbean Black Cake Fest on Sunday, November 4th. Attendees were treated to a variety of tasty desserts from bakers representing nine Caribbean countries, most of whom sold out of their delicious products.
Back for the second time, Food Network competition winner and Virgin Islander Jamal Lake of Ganache Bakery sampled and sold his beautifully packaged rum cakes in three varieties, including original (covered in crushed nuts), chocolate Baileys (topped with chocolate shavings and chocolate drizzle) and coconut (with drizzled icing and coconut shavings). He introduced his black cake recipe, moist enough to qualify as a pudding, to the audience for the first time.
Booze in Bundts, representing the United Kingdom as a Caribbean diaspora in their premiere appearance, presented seven delectable and unexpected varieties of mini rum cakes such as peanut butter whiskey, Kentucky bourbon chocolate and chocolate cherry.
You can view all photos of the event on our Facebook page here.
Barbadian baker Ethel Jayne’s American Caribbean Fusion, a two year veteran of the festival, presented samples of her traditional black cake recipe, a soft, familiar type of bite which sold out quickly.
592 Chew, representing Guyana, presented a unique black cake with ingredients such as star fruit and jamoon, the latter of which is an ingredient used uniquely in Guyana, and which baker, Kyle, mentioned, in a recent Miami Herald interview about the stories behind Caribbean black cakes.
Other bakers, from Haiti, Belize, Grenada, Trinidad and Jamaica, presented multiple varieties of black cake, rum cake and even a rum cheesecake, none of which resembled the others in flavor profile. Even YouTube influencers Ready Set Rum, who were sampling modest shots of Caribbean rum, got in on the cake-selling action.
Beyond sampling, purchasing slices and placing orders for the holidays, guests enjoyed museum tours through Island SPACE’s permanent collection. They were also treated to explorations through the “secret” exhibit in the museum’s B Gallery, the Unearthly Worlds of Theo Azael, on show through Sunday, November 12th.
Plantation councilman Louis Reinstein made an appearance, as did Miramar commissioner Winston Barnes and Broward Bar Association president Alison Smith. Each left with packages of purchased sweet treats to enjoy with friends and family. The room remained packed for most of the four hour festivities.
Event creator Finiana Joseph, of Caribbean Professionals Network, pleased with the overwhelming turnout, said, “We wanted to ensure we had a mix of professional bakers and properly certified home bakers so all countries could be represented and we could support local small businesses. Also, I plan my events specifically so you’ll hear all these different, beautiful Caribbean accents when you walk into the room.”
You can view all photos of the event on our Facebook page here.
Island SPACE Caribbean Museum president Calibe Thompson, who shared emcee duties with her co-founder David I. Muir, said, “After last year’s staging was disrupted by torrential rain and had fewer than 50 attendees, we would have been happy with 100 this year. We were blown away by the community’s response to this event, and we’re looking forward to next year’s Rum Cake and Caribbean Black Cake Fest on Sunday, November 3, as well as our other co-productions with Finiana: the Women’s Month Celebration in March, and a possible new contender around the time of British-Caribbean emancipation in August.”
This event was presented in partnership with Broward Mall and made possible in part by the support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the following funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: Judith Cornfeld Fund for the Arts, Helen and Frank Stoykov Charitable Endowment Fund, The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation Broward Community Fund.