Rum Cake and Caribbean Black Cake Fest to sweeten up Broward Mall

This is “Small Bites,” a South Florida Sun Sentinel feature with tiny tidbits on the food and beverage scene — because we know that sometimes you just don’t have room for a long article. You want a little news brief instead, an amuse bouche of information, if you will. Enjoy!

WHAT: The name of the event alone is enough to get you smackin’ your lips.

The third annual Rum Cake and Caribbean Black Cake Fest is returning — appropriately enough — to the Island SPACE Caribbean Museum in Plantation’s Broward Mall, with bakers from all over South Florida bringing a variety of traditional Spanish, French and Dutch Caribbean rum cakes as well as dark fruit or plum pudding cakes (aka black cakes).

You can try samples then purchase slices or whole cakes, or place orders for future special events, including holiday celebrations such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Guests also may check out the museum and its exhibits and displays of Caribbean culture and history.

“Rum cake and black cake are quintessentially Caribbean foods. They are a genuine cultural connector of all our nations,” says Island SPACE board president Calibe Thompson. “This was one of our best-attended annual events in 2023, and we expect it to grow more each year. People have an amazing time enjoying the entertainment and togetherness vibes.”

WHEN: 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20

WHERE: Island SPACE Caribbean Museum in Broward Mall, 8000 W. Broward Blvd., No. 1202, Plantation

COST: $15 in advance; $20 at the door

INFORMATION: 954-999-0989; islandspacefl.org

EXTRA TIDBITS:

• You will also have the opportunity to win copies of “Taste the Islands: Culinary Adventures in a Caribbean Kitchen,” “The Cake Bible” and other dessert cookbooks from Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
• There will be bakers representing South Florida as well as 16 countries and islands such as Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and more.