Comments on: Ask the Audience: Fruitcake

By: Holly

Holly — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:29:21 +0000

Ive never actually tasted a real fruitcake, I have seen them. Several times a year, with the family gatherings! There are a few of the In lawas that could qualify!

By: hsgbdmama

hsgbdmama — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 13:01:34 +0000

One of the groups at my church has been making fruitcakes for decades and they’re actually quite good (and sell fast!).

By: Coeli

Coeli — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 06:45:39 +0000

I had fruitcake a few times growing up, and loathed it. A few years ago I found a recipe that uses only real dried fruit (no candied junk) plus nuts, spices, and candied ginger. It’s delicious. I’ve converted several friends and family members with it.

Turns out it’s not fruitcake that most people hate, it’s neon-gummy-mutant-fruit.

By: debbie

debbie — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 03:31:16 +0000

there is a fruitcake company whose name escapes me (I am toooo tired to get up and look at the packaging) that makes the very best fruitcake…something like claytons? anyway, I thought the fruitcake was the nastiest thing on earth until I tasted theirs…it is like eating cotton candy with fiber..laugh. very good, but no way would I eat anyone else’s, nor would I have tried it if not sent to me when I was a poor, starving college kid in the 80′s.

By: Margolis

Margolis — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 01:47:58 +0000

Never saw one or ate one! But I’m always up for trying new things – I’d try to bake one before I’d buy one.

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 20:23:22 +0000

Add me to the list as someone who has only seen these on television or heard horror stories from other family members Good to know that I am not alone!

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:48:29 +0000

In person, I’ve only seen them in the grocery store. I almost thought they were an urban legend.

By: Gwen

Gwen — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 15:31:58 +0000

Homemade fruitcake is just fine with me. It comes in light and dark varieties, equally good. In fact, back in the day when my landlady Mrs. Smith was packing my art-student lunches, I frequently suffered FCTS (fruitcake theft syndrome) if I left my lunch unguarded. The thieves loved Mrs. Smith’s fruitcakes as much as I did.

Fruitcake seems not to be a USA kind of thing, more UK and the commonwealth. There are a lot of things Americans don’t quite “get” about British cuisine, fruitcake being one of them.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 14:43:52 +0000

We can’t escape the stuff here in Ireland. There’s Christmas cake which is essentially a fruitcake made in October and then come Christmas topped with a layer of marzipan and then royal icing and decorated accordingly. Interestingly enough, that is also traditional wedding cake here. Then we have the much more tasty, albeit boozy Christmas pudding. I have my Mom’s recipe on the blog. My husband thinks it’s weird, but after much complaining he tried it this year and went back for seconds…and thirds! It’s really dark and moist, not amber like normal fruitcake. Delish!

By: Mom of 4

Mom of 4 — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 03:31:41 +0000

Add me to the list of the Collin Street Bakery fans. We ALWAYS had one of their fruit cakes when I was growing up. The fruit is moist and chewy, and they’re absolutely loaded with pecans. Another rival would be the Trappist fruit cakes. Forget those rock-solid bricks you see at the grocery store! A really well-made fruitcake is delightful.