This fruit butter is based on the initial steps toward making Black Cake, a Caribbean Christmas cake for which Ramin is famous among our friends and family. The cake calls for dried fruits soaked in rum and puréed then added to a cake batter made with plenty of butter. Normally, the fruits for the cake are soaked for weeks and weeks but we’ve developed a quick method using a microwave to approximate the same flavors. Although it may seem counterintuitive, use a salted butter for this compound butter because the touch of salt enhances the sweet and rummy flavors.
This butter is excellent on everything from muffins to waffles and pancakes. It’s even good on toast. Gently toasted nuts mixed with a little bit of this butter, melted, are a delicious topping for Danish and pound cake too.