Who Likes Fruitcake?

[Yul Lose]

My mother used to make a great fruitcake. As I recall she let it age in bourbon for quite some time. The next best thing that I’ve found is one sold at Costco and tomorrow I’m going to pick up some Toys For Tots toys to be delivered to the Escondido Bandidos match on Saturday and see if I can’t find one of their good fruitcakes. Mrs. Lose can’t stand fruitcake so I get it all to myself. I’ll report back on what I found.

 

Any other fruitcake connoisseurs out there? I like a slice of fruitcake toasted with a spread of cream cheese, YUM!

[Tennessee williams]

I think he goes by the name "Widder" nowadays. Ehh, he's alright once you get to know him.

[Rattlesnake Slim]

I'm your huckleberry Yul. My mother and I are the only ones in our family that like fruitcake. Years ago when I was a firefighter in Lake Tahoe, a New York billionaire that owned a lakefront estate near our fire station used to bring us one every Christmas from some bakery on Fifth Avenue. It was incredible, but it was soaked in either rum or brandy so I had to take it home, couldn't eat it on duty. Never had any like that since.

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

I do!  I do!  

 

Not allowed to eat it anymore, dangit.  But I still make it!  WITH a good brandy soak.  

[Subdeacon Joe]

I make it every year.  No brandy or other distilled spirits.  Some slices of that, some Mince Pie, and some Shoo Fly Pie along with Coffee with heavy cream and sugar for breakfast.

 

Can't find Loganberry Wine like Mom used , so I use either BlackBerry Wine, Port, or Red Muscat.  Soak the fruit overnight, drain it and save that liquid to put on the cake.  I use either the Betty Crocker or Fanny Farmer Dark Fruitcake receipt.  And usually use way more fruit than called for.  

 

When it comes out of the oven and cools for a bit, I turn it out of the pan, sprinkle it with the wine I drained from the fruit, wrap it in cheese cloth, then foil.  Baste with more wine once a week.

[watab kid]

im going to admit that in the late 50s early 60s my father used to get a rum fruitcake from a customer every christmas - it was one of the two things i always enjoyed , the other was the dried apricots - both were delightful , 

[Alpo]

I have never understood the hate for fruitcake. My mother used to make them. She had a special fruitcake pan. It was a tube pan that was maybe 6 inches across at the top. Much smaller than a regular cake anyway.

 

They would last about a year if you didn't eat them. They actually needed to steep/rest/season - I'm not sure of the correct term here - to let the flavors meld. So she would make fruit cake about September, and we would eat it in December.

 

There is a store-bought cake - claxton's? - that is sold at Sam's. The taste is very similar to Mama's.

[Subdeacon Joe]

26 minutes ago, Alpo said:

I have never understood the hate for fruitcake.

 

There are some really, horrifically bad commercial fruitcakes on the market.  Sticky, cloyingly sweet so that is all you taste, and that's all they have ever tasted.  
Or, homemade fruitcake that is over balked, under spiced, taste like they have been soaked with Everclear, or all of the above.

[Rye Miles #13621]

I was never crazy about fruitcake, I didn't hate it but never yearned for it and almost always passed it up on the desert table!  My mom never made one but my aunt brought one every year. It was okay.

[Pat Riot]

I love fruitcake. I have since I was a little kid. 
 

Funny story:

When I was 7 years old my Nanny (grandmother) received a package about 2 weeks before Christmas. It contained a large round tin with a fruitcake inside. I recall her laughing saying “The family fruitcake arrived! I guess it’s mine this year.” Which I thought was an odd comment. 
Anyway she sat it on our “Christmas Table”. That was a table that all candies and fruits were put on for all to enjoy during the Christmas season. Anything on the table was fair game. Any time one wished one could take snacks or treats from the table. 
One night my Nanny, Dad & Mom went shopping. We had a baby sitter watching us and she knew the rules in regard to the table. 
At some point I decided to see what this “fruit cake” was, so I cut the plastic tape seal on the lid and opened it. There was a large round fruitcake inside wrapped in crinkly plastic - my name for it. One cannot open crinkly plastic without attracting attention. 
I used scissors to open the plastic and immediately had the attention of my brothers and sisters. 
I used a knife to cut us each a little piece. They did not like it, but I did. I ate a nice big piece after cutting it and putting the lid back on. 
The next day I had another good sized piece then later I opened the tin to get more and my Nanny yelled at me and told me not to eat it. She thought it would make me sick. I showed her how much I had already eaten and she quizzed me on how I felt. I felt great!

That's when my mom & dad came over and asked what the problem was with that fruitcake. 
Apparently it got the name “The family fruitcake” because a great uncle of mine bought it in 1952 and sent it to a family member. Each year that fruitcake was sent to a different family member. None of them liked fruitcake so it made the rounds. I was the first to open it. Apparently Rum preserves fruitcakes very well. 
That fruitcake made the rounds for 16 years before I cut it and started eating it. 
I have loved fruitcake ever since. 
 

There is a bakery in Atlanta, GA that makes the best affordable fruitcakes. It is wrapped in crinkly plastic and has a gold generic label on it. One can find it in various grocery stores. It’s moist and delicious. There is no brand name on the label. 
The second best fruitcake is Claxton Fruitcake. It can be found in Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs and Amazon. Sam’s has the best prices. 
 

I should not eat fruitcake as it sets off my asthma something fierce. I still plan to have some this year anyway. 

 

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

Never ran into a commercial store bought Fruitcake I liked.  When I was stationed in the UK, I had some British friends with a large German Shepherd.  Family would often give them a Fruitcake for the Hollidays.  They promptly used them as "Door Stops."  The German Shepherd would give them a sniff and walk away.  BUTT:

 

I personally make a Fruitcake from my Mother's recipe that is scrumptious.  It's actually the only thing I know how to bake.  Bake one for the Holidays.

[DeaconKC]

Yup, I still like GOOD fruitcake.

 

And several of the fruitcakes that hang out here with me!

[Cypress Sun]

51 minutes ago, Pat Riot said:

I love fruitcake. I have since I was a little kid. 
 

Funny story:

When I was 7 years old my Nanny (grandmother) received a package about 2 weeks before Christmas. It contained a large round tin with a fruitcake inside. I recall her laughing saying “The family fruitcake arrived! I guess it’s mine this year.” Which I thought was an odd comment. 
Anyway she sat it on our “Christmas Table”. That was a table that all candies and fruits were put on for all to enjoy during the Christmas season. Anything on the table was fair game. Any time one wished one could take snacks or treats from the table. 
One night my Nanny, Dad & Mom went shopping. We had a baby sitter watching us and she knew the rules in regard to the table. 
At some point I decided to see what this “fruit cake” was, so I cut the plastic tape seal on the lid and opened it. There was a large round fruitcake inside wrapped in crinkly plastic - my name for it. One cannot open crinkly plastic without attracting attention. 
I used scissors to open the plastic and immediately had the attention of my brothers and sisters. 
I used a knife to cut us each a little piece. They did not like it, but I did. I ate a nice big piece after cutting it and putting the lid back on. 
The next day I had another good sized piece then later I opened the tin to get more and my Nanny yelled at me and told me not to eat it. She thought it would make me sick. I showed her how much I had already eaten and she quizzed me on how I felt. I felt great!

That's when my mom & dad came over and asked what the problem was with that fruitcake. 
Apparently it got the name “The family fruitcake” because a great uncle of mine bought it in 1952 and sent it to a family member. Each year that fruitcake was sent to a different family member. None of them liked fruitcake so it made the rounds. I was the first to open it. Apparently Rum preserves fruitcakes very well. 
That fruitcake made the rounds for 16 years before I cut it and started eating it. 
I have loved fruitcake ever since. 
 

There is a bakery in Atlanta, GA that makes the best affordable fruitcakes. It is wrapped in crinkly plastic and has a gold generic label on it. One can find it in various grocery stores. It’s moist and delicious. There is no brand name on the label. 
The second best fruitcake is Claxton Fruitcake. It can be found in Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs and Amazon. Sam’s has the best prices. 
 

I should not eat fruitcake as it sets off my asthma something fierce. I still plan to have some this year anyway. 

 

 

Our family had one of those travelling fruitcakes also.

 

Got opened and eaten by us kids, well some of it anyway.

Never liked fruitcake, but over time, my tastes have changed.

Might have to try the Claxton @ Sam's just to see if my tastes have changed that much.

[Pat Riot]

8 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

Our family had one of those travelling fruitcakes also.

 

Got opened and eaten by us kids, well some of it anyway.

Never liked fruitcake, but over time, my tastes have changed.

Might have to try the Claxton @ Sam's just to see if my tastes have changed that much.

Here’s what the box looks like. There are 3 - 1# fruitcakes in a box. 

 

I think Walmart has the individual one pounders. 

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

This is the place in these parts that is known for it's Fruit Cakes. Collin Street Bakery

 

 

[PowderRiverCowboy]

25 minutes ago, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said:

This is the place in these parts that is known for it's Fruit Cakes. Collin Street Bakery

 

 

 

YES ! real fruitcakes not the 3 buck walmart ones . 

[Rip Snorter]

In my family, through my childhood it was German Christmas Stollen.  Haven't thought of it in years.  May have to give making it a try - I remember a very messy kitchen!

[Yul Lose]

Not one fruitcake (non 2 legged ones) at Costco this morning, the display was empty.

[Texas Joker]

I hang out around here don't I? Of course I like fruitcakes

[Stump Water]

9 hours ago, Alpo said:

I have never understood the hate for fruitcake. My mother used to make them.

 

You never had my mom's version.

 

9 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

homemade fruitcake that is over baked, under spiced, 

 

That's it.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Would any of you recommend one from Amazon? Don’t worry about price, it’s a once a year thing to treat myself.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

I inherited my Grandmother's recipe for boiled fruitcake. " fruitcake for people who don't like fruitcake".

 

Very versatile and "convertible".  My GM made it using gumdrops (Yuk).  My sister used candied fruit.  I used dehydrated fruit.  My daughter used fresh or flash frozen fruits.

 

Don't like cloves?  Use whatever else you might like.  Tree nut allergies? Same solution.  Want to try it with pineapple?  Again.

 

In the last 20 years or so we've tried maybe 50 versions.

 

Some aren't to my tase but someone else may rant about them.

 

I usually make three or four a season.

 

 

 

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

With the holidays fast approaching, I want to take this opportunity to share with you my mother's famous fruitcake recipe. I certain hope you enjoy it.

Fruitcake Recipe
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups dried fruit
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
lemon juice
nuts
1 gallon whiskey

Sample the whiskey to check for quality.
Take a large bowl.
Check the whiskey again to be sure it is of the highest quality.
Pour one level cup and drink.
Repeat.
Turn on the electric mixer; beat 1 cup butter in a large, fluffy bowl.
Add 1 teaspoon sugar and beat again.
Make sure the whiskey is still OK. Cry another tup. Turn off mixer.
Break 2 legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
Mix on the turner.
If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver.
Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity.
Next, sift 2 cups of salt. Or something. Who cares?
Check the whiskey.
Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.
Grease the oven.
Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees.
Don't forget to beat off the turner.
Throw the bowl out of the window.
Check the whiskey again.
Go to bed.
Who the hell likes fruitcake anyway?

 

[Pat Riot]

8 hours ago, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said:

This is the place in these parts that is known for it's Fruit Cakes. Collin Street Bakery

 

 

 

7 hours ago, PowderRiverCowboy said:

 

YES ! real fruitcakes not the 3 buck walmart ones . 

Yeah, “real” fruitcake with pineapple and papaya? Right…

 

https://a.co/d/1Jhxw04

[PowderRiverCowboy]

8 minutes ago, Pat Riot said:

 

Yeah, “real” fruitcake with pineapple and papaya? Right…

 

https://a.co/d/1Jhxw04

 Yeah ever have one ? They are good and well the one you posted 
 

[PowderRiverCowboy]

7 hours ago, Rip Snorter said:

In my family, through my childhood it was German Christmas Stollen.  Haven't thought of it in years.  May have to give making it a try - I remember a very messy kitchen!

 I still can find that in the Commissary sometimes still not the same as the fresh in Germany , we have a small German

bakery in a town near us that sometimes does it also  

[Pat Riot]

21 minutes ago, PowderRiverCowboy said:

 Yeah ever have one ? They are good and well the one you posted 
 

Nope! I don’t like pineapple or papaya. And if you don’t like the ones I posted doesn’t make your taste or opinion any better than mine, so 

[Subdeacon Joe]

2 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

I inherited my Grandmother's recipe for boiled fruitcake. " fruitcake for people who don't like fruitcake".

 

Very versatile and "convertible".  My GM made it using gumdrops (Yuk).  My sister used candied fruit.  I used dehydrated fruit.  My daughter used fresh or flash frozen fruits.

 

Don't like cloves?  Use whatever else you might like.  Tree nut allergies? Same solution.  Want to try it with pineapple?  Again.

 

In the last 20 years or so we've tried maybe 50 versions.

 

Some aren't to my tase but someone else may rant about them.

 

I usually make three or four a season.

 

 

 

 

I use some of the mixed candied fruit, candied orange and lemon peel, dates, chopped dried apricots and apples, raisins, dried currants, dried pineapple, walnuts,  pecans,  hazelnuts, and have a very heavy hand on the spices.  I end up with almost twice the amount of fruit and nuts than the receipt calls for.   That gives just enough batter to hold it all together. 

[J.D. Daily]

I haven't eaten fruit cake or mince meat pie since my mother's alzheimer's got to the stage where she didn't notice the ants crawling all over the mince meat pipe she baked for family Christmas dinner at her house.  She for years ordered shortly after the new year a fruit cake from a bakery in TX that their order list filled up early in the year.  Only she and my sisters would eat the fruit cake.  A few others would eat mince meat pie.

[PowderRiverCowboy]

10 hours ago, Pat Riot said:

Nope! I don’t like pineapple or papaya. And if you don’t like the ones I posted doesn’t make your taste or opinion any better than mine, so 

 

That literally is the ones you posted LOL so I guess you do like them 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2024 by PowderRiverCowboy

[Pat Riot]

2 hours ago, PowderRiverCowboy said:

 

That literally is the ones you posted LOL so I guess you do like them 

 

 

Good show! That noise you heard was me slapping my forehead. 
 

 

[Cypress Sun]

23 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

Our family had one of those travelling fruitcakes also.

 

Got opened and eaten by us kids, well some of it anyway.

Never liked fruitcake, but over time, my tastes have changed.

Might have to try the Claxton @ Sam's just to see if my tastes have changed that much.

 

I changed my mind.

If I didn't like them in the first 60+ years of my life, I doubt that I'll like them now.

 

I foresee a pecan pie in my immediate sweets future!

[PowderRiverCowboy]

4 hours ago, Pat Riot said:

Good show! That noise you heard was me slapping my forehead. 
 

 

All good , just blame it on alpo it always works .

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

How to eat fruitcake : 

 

 get large bowl , cut a 1/8 in of less slice of fruit cake , put into bowl , fill bowl with ice creme 

 

  eat the ice creme . avoiding the fruit in the bottom 

 

CB   

[Sandhills Slim, SASS #22998]

Best fruit cake ever made is sold by Southern Supreme & More made in Bear Creek, NC. It’s loaded with nuts. Check out their website. They ship all over the world. The wife and I have tried Collins Street Bakery and Claxton and there is no comparison.  We go to the facility where they are made twice a year just to purchase their fruitcake and other goodies. They are also on Facebook. Try it. You’ll like it. 

Edited December 8, 2024 by Sandhills Slim, SASS #22998