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...The best I've ever had was a fruitcake that I haven't seen in decades. My brother used to sell it every year for a charitable fundraiser. It was called Benson's Old Home Fruitcake and it came in a loaf shape. It was pre-sliced and absolutely delicious. Oh, what I wouldn't give to have that again!
I love fruitcake, and Truman Capote's memoir about "fruitcake weather" -bittersweet - creating fruitcake with an elderly aunt as gifts every Christmas, starting the day with gathering pecans.
I don't know, OP, but from the posts here, it sounds like there's a lot of bad fruitcake circulating.
I don't like the brandied kind, but I love nut breads, and fruitcake is just another type of nut bread. I've never had one that was too dry; it sounds like some people have had slices off a cake that was allowed to dry out.
The popular thing where I live now is German stolen, as a Christmas cake. It's more basic, not overwhelmed by fruit, but with just some raisins, maybe cinnamon inside, or marzipan. It comes as a small rolled bread. I like the Italian panetone, but it's too light and airy. I like these holiday breads to be denser. I grew up on Russian Easter bread, so that's my standard of excellence. It's a denser bread, not fluffy, like panetone.
Here, it's Slavic povitica, a layered bread of thin rolled pastry layers and a filling of ground walnuts, honey, and butter between the spiraling layers. So much better than fruitcake.
This is one of the cultural differences between the New World and Europe that always bugs the hell out of me. Apologies to New Worlders, but your desserts in general are boring and bland - too much flour and eggs, not enough alcohol, nuts or fruit. The love of booze, fruits and nuts in cake is a very European thing, and it intensifies as you head east from the U.K into the Continent. The zone encompassing Germany, Austria and Hungary features the best cakes in the world bar none.
If a cake doesn't have liquor, fruits and nuts, it's best tossed in the trash! Anyone can bake a "cake" with eggs, flour, butter and sugar, but that won't mean it's edible.
Dunno, I've had some crappy ass dry, brittle gingerbread that was a supposed delicacy from Torun.
Every year I make whiskey dundee cake for Christmas, USC hubby loves it. A couple of years ago my son in Eire asked for the recipe and now he makes it too.
The fruit is soaked in scotch for 2 weeks so it is never dry and always has a good flavour.
Here, it's Slavic povitica, a layered bread of thin rolled pastry layers and a filling of ground walnuts, honey, and butter between the spiraling layers. So much better than fruitcake.
Oooh, that sounds so yummy! Kind of like Baklava. I want some right now!!!
Oh, I bet that would be delicious toasted with real butter .
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It's a denser bread, not fluffy, like panetone.
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