Fruitcake

[Old Hippie]

I love the haters; more for me.

Over the weekend I cranked out a batch of fruitcake. Ten little loaves, well infused with rum, are now in the aging phase for a few weeks.

Mrs. Hippie looked at the haul -- ten pounds plus! -- and asked if that was all I was going to make or if it's just a good start. Hmmm. I might get motivated to make a marsala-pistachio cake that I like, or pull out another of my mother's old recipes and make some Bulletproof Apple Cake*.

I used to make and send fruitcakes to friends who liked them every year. That turned into a pretty big investment of time, treasure and resources so after 15 years I hung it up. Mostly I make what I like, intending to have enough that I'll still have fruitcakes in the bucket when my birthday arrives in August. My mother once forgot a 10-pound lard can full of cakes that she'd made for Christmas 1952. It got stuck in the back of the top shelf in her pantry and finally came to light in 1977; 25 years later. Not bad after a fresh infusion of brandy and some time to let it rehydrate.



*so called because she sent it to my brother and I for birthday cake when we were in the service.

 

[Tirvine]

Very timely, @Old Hippie. I am heading to Central Market this afternoon for chopped dates, sultanas, currants, slivered almonds, candied citron, candied pineapple, and candied sour cherries so I can make a few cakes. I have two dear friends who love them, as do my wife and I. Although I often use Irish whiskey in making them, I ladle Amontillado over them as they age.

The oldest I have eaten was about ten years old. It was heavenly. The fruits, nuts, and cake had become practically indiscernible, and all those years of adding Sherry had worked a true wonder.

 

[Lord NSIC]

Personally, I don't get the hate for fruitcake either. Fruitcake seems to have gotten a bad rap over the last few decades to the point now where it seems to be fashionable to be a fruitcake hater; despite the fact that most who turn up their noses have never tried it. I have no hatred of fruitcake as I grew up on Fruitbread which is a holiday family favorite and first cousin of fruitbread in that it shares many of the same candied fruits and nuts baked into a fairly dense sweet bread with or without buttercream frosting. It wasn't Christmas without a hearty snack or breakfast of Fruitbread, butter and hot chocolate. My issue is getting the candied fruit ingredients here in Virginia (I had my son buy several tubs of fruit and bring it home from North Carolina last year). The downside is that no one in my family likes it, and the upside is that no one in my family likes it, so I don't have to worry about having to share. Let your fruitcake flag fly proudly!

 

[Tirvine]

For fruitcake lovers, a steamed pudding with hard sauce is quite similar. Mine has shredded carrots and potatoes to add body and a bit more batter that is also more moist. It also gets an extra egg or two. Otherwise, it is pretty much the same as fruitcake, although steamed. I have yet to meet a kid who turns up their nose as the hard sauce dish is passed to them.

 

[SharpieB]

10lbs?!?! That’s a lifetime supply for me.

I like fruitcake, I just don’t love it.

 

[Old Hippie]

10lbs?!?! That’s a lifetime supply for me.

Well, it's a double batch.

I've probably told this story before but I used to also take in "orphan" fruitcakes from work. People would give fruitcakes, some of them very good fruitcakes, but the recipients might react as though the person had relieved themselves on the living room carpet. I would post notices, and I'd usually get five or six cakes. I also offered to supply the original recipient with a list of keywords related to their cake, so they could sound properly appreciative (and thus generate repeat business for me).

One year the boss's kid brought me a cake from Safeway. I was appreciative, but frankly it was almost the only fruitcake I didn't eat. Sticky, goopy; all the things people hate about fruitcake.

The other one I wouldn't eat was my mother's Brazil-nut cake. I found the recipe while cleaning out the estate, and took it outside and burned it. Did not feel one bit remorseful.

O.H.

 

[timetofly]

Love fruit cake! The best one I had was received as a White Elephant gift.

 

[Ravenonrock]

I remember my dad always bringing boxes of fruit cake home before Christmas. He liked the light and I liked the dark so things worked out well. Haven’t had much in the past years but I‘m down for some with a pot of hot tea.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Old Hippie:
You did 'save' me a slice of fruit cake, some Nog and a 'shot' (to take the edge off the day), huh?

Although, the Mrs. and I haven't made any in years, we do like our Fruitcake 'soaked' in brandy (for at least 2wks)!

"A [x-mas] party without [fruit] cake is just a meeting". Chef Julia Child

 

[Lil Cooties]

I love fruitcake, we just started soaking the fruit for this years batch last week, and will bake the cakes in a few weeks. Talking about expense, one year we sent a fruitcake from Australia to Canada to my sister, and it cost something like $75 (in early 2000s AUD), quite expensive.

 

[Old Hippie]

Old Hippie:
You did 'save' me a slice of fruit cake, some Nog and a 'shot' (to take the edge off the day), huh?

Of course! Wouldn't let a friend down.

I should warn you. I'm not a real nog fan but when I want some I enjoy it. A couple of slices of fruitcake and a little rum on the side; I'm a happy dude. Or brandy. I'm relatively nondenominational.

Although, the Mrs. and I haven't made any in years, we do like our Fruitcake 'soaked' in brandy (for at least 2wks)!

Every fall my mother would get on her old Robin Hood 3-speed bicycle and wobble off to what she called "The Green-grocer's" for a gallon jug of Christian Brothers brandy. That was a bit of an inside joke: Liquor stores were state-run, and the signs were all green. What she didn't use on the fruitcakes was what she had as her regular Saturday night tipple for the rest of the year.

I tend to prefer rum, usually Canada's iconic "Screech." I've used Gosling's Black Seal -- great on that first taste but after that one moment it just tastes like regular rum sold on markup to me.

"A [x-mas] party without [fruit] cake is just a meeting". Chef Julia Child

And a meeting without snacks is one I won't stay in for long. "Yer not supposed to come for the cookies," said the dean. "At least the cookies give me a sense of accomplishment," said the cranky old professor. Then he retired.

O.H.

 

[TexLaw]

I'm a fan, myself, although a little goes a long way for me. It's not so much the fruitcake as it is that I just don't have much of a sweet tooth. One (or maybe two) slices, and I'm usually good for the year.

My grandparents used to send fruitcakes from the Collin Street Bakery to the whole family. That was a fun treat, and I miss dousing it with Grand Marnier (a fun extravagance). I miss that.

I also recall when I was rather young, and we stopped at the Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, TX. We had gone up to visit family in Longview and were on our way to Waco to visit a cousin who was in school there (and to watch a football game). I was blown away that they had something other than fruitcakes! I got to walk out of there with a few cookies, too. Good trip!

 

[jaro 101969]

I Love Fruitcake Too !! Also my mom and my grandmother used to make fruitcake cookies which are basically fruitcakes in the shape of cookies.. Love all things fruitcake !!

 

[Lil Cooties]

This talk has also reminded me of an English couple we knew who introduced the idea of having a sliver of cheese on your fruitcake. We thought they where pulling our leg, but they where serious. It's not a bad combo but I think I still prefer plain fruitcake.

 

[Old Hippie]

This talk has also reminded me of an English couple we knew who introduced the idea of having a sliver of cheese on your fruitcake.

Preferably something like a nice sharp Cheddar! I agree that "without" is my preference, but it's a nice little conceptual wake-up once in a while. Mom liked sharp cheddar melted on top of a nice hot slice of apple pie...

Gotta get outside your categories occasionally.

O.H.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Preferably something like a nice sharp Cheddar! I agree that "without" is my preference, but it's a nice little conceptual wake-up once in a while. Mom liked sharp cheddar melted on top of a nice hot slice of apple pie...

Gotta get outside your categories occasionally.

O.H.

Chuck:
+1...;

"[Apple] Pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze". Park Benjamin, Sr.

 

[Lil Cooties]

Preferably something like a nice sharp Cheddar! I agree that "without" is my preference, but it's a nice little conceptual wake-up once in a while. Mom liked sharp cheddar melted on top of a nice hot slice of apple pie...

Gotta get outside your categories occasionally.

O.H.

I'll have to try cheddar and apple pie some day!

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

I'll have to try cheddar and apple pie some day!

Sam:
Being a original Northern boy & born in East Lansing, Michigan...;

"Pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze". Park Benjamin, Sr.

 

[Whisky]

I'm a fan, myself, although a little goes a long way for me. It's not so much the fruitcake as it is that I just don't have much of a sweet tooth. One (or maybe two) slices, and I'm usually good for the year.

My grandparents used to send fruitcakes from the Collin Street Bakery to the whole family. That was a fun treat, and I miss dousing it with Grand Marnier (a fun extravagance). I miss that.

I also recall when I was rather young, and we stopped at the Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, TX. We had gone up to visit family in Longview and were on our way to Waco to visit a cousin who was in school there (and to watch a football game). I was blown away that they had something other than fruitcakes! I got to walk out of there with a few cookies, too. Good trip!

Collin Street Bakery has one of the few mass produced fruit cakes that I actually like. We’d usually soak them in Rum. I’ve eaten there a few times, they have a pretty good deli as well.

 

[malocchio]

Last month I tried my hand at making a Jamaican Black Cake , AKA Caribbean Black RUM Cake . I did not use browning sauce but I did use Jamaican molasses ( not blackstrap !! ) .... To my surprise it was a massive hit !