Fruitcake

Jem

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
5,573
Purraise
11,246
I don't, but I honestly don't even know if I like it or not. I think I've been ruined to dislike fruitcake because of my grandfather.
My grandfather made fruitcake, and my mom (I think) has finally found the recipe he used with his modifications. He was an AMAZING baker and candy maker. When he made his fruitcake, he had to hide it until Christmas because it would go missing. Even people who said they did not like fruitcake would eat my grandfather's cake. So if you ever ate it, no other fruitcake would do.
 

Winchester

In the kitchen with my cookies
Veteran
Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
29,730
Purraise
28,023
Location
In the kitchen
No, nope, nada. Rick's mother used to make Stollen for Christmas and I would eat a very small slice. As for fruitcake, well, rumor has it that there's only one fruitcake on the face of this earth. And people just keep giving that same fruitcake to other people, who keep giving it to other people, who keep......and so on.
 

Columbine

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 27, 2015
Messages
12,921
Purraise
6,224
Location
The kitty playground
I think a lot more people eat it here in the UK. I used to, but can't these days. My parents always do, and we make a deep 8" round cake and a 7" one for just us. Covered in marzipan and icing, and topped with glace cherries. Dad adores his fruitcake though...any fruitcake!

Our Christmas cake is always our version of his mother's recipe (from a 1920s cookbook), and for his birthday (Dec 3rd) I make a different type of fruitcake (a Nigella Lawson Christmas cake recipe) and cover the top with glazed fruit and nuts.

Everyone who has either one of these cakes seems to like them. I even made one for a Christmas craft fair/bake sale one year, and it was one of the first cakes to go!

So, there are definitely a lot of fruitcake lovers round here!

We always make a traditional 1920s recipe Christmas pudding too, and mince pies with homemade mincemeat and pastry.
 

marmoset

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Apr 1, 2015
Messages
714
Purraise
1,137
Location
NJ
I do eat it but it's not a traditional thing around here. I guess when I do see it it's such a novelty that I partake. I don't know why I'm pretty finicky about food but the flavor of that candied fruit-like substance doesn't bother me and at least it's not sickingly sweet like most other desserts.
 

lizzie

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 29, 2002
Messages
3,468
Purraise
15,332
Location
missouri
Oh yes...my family adores it.I make mine...a dark fruitcake...right around Thanksgiving.Then I wrap them in cheesecloth and foil and spray them almost every day with rum.By the time they're ready come Christmas,they're very moist and boozy.Delish!
 

Willow's Mom

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 28, 2019
Messages
601
Purraise
17
Location
inside of your imagination and/or smartphone app
Bummer.

I love fruitcake and have my mother's recipe. I was hoping this was a thread about making it, because I do need to start candying the orange peel and soaking the dried fruit in sherry if I'm going to do it this year.

But it is dreadfully expensive and nobody else in my offline circle (and very few of you who answered the thread) in 2019 likes it for anything except the punchline of a joke. It would be selfish to waste that much money on being eccentric.
 

ArchyCat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 22, 2017
Messages
1,202
Purraise
1,801
Location
Texas
I have friends that have used cognac on their fruit cakes. Others have used bourbon. I think bourbon is a little over powering for fruitcake. I might try rum this year. Thanks for the idea, lizzie!
 

lizzie

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 29, 2002
Messages
3,468
Purraise
15,332
Location
missouri
I have friends that have used cognac on their fruit cakes. Others have used bourbon. I think bourbon is a little over powering for fruitcake. I might try rum this year. Thanks for the idea, lizzie!
Over the years I have tried many different liquors and we all are the most fond of the rum.I prefer a dark rum...I think it has more of a "rich" flavor that goes well with the pecans in the fruitcake.
 

denice

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 7, 2006
Messages
18,836
Purraise
13,143
Location
Columbus OH
I don't like what usually passes for fruitcake, too much candied fruit. I have very rarely had good fruitcake. It is expensive and time consuming to make and very expensive to buy. It is a moist heavy and boozy cake without the overwhelming flavor of candied fruit. There is a monastery in Kentucky that sells fruitcakes The Abbey of Gethsemani. Of course being in Kentucky they use bourbon which isn't a favorite of mine but they are good. They are also expensive. A 2 1/2 pound cake is $40 and a 5 pound cake is $80.
 
Top