Fruitcake

Oh Lord!  I'd EAT it!  Am I perhaps the only person on the planet  who actually loves fruitcake??  My dad grew up in Claxton, GA (the Claxton Fruitcakes are famous worldwide) and when I was a kid, relatives there would always send us a couple of fruitcakes every Christmas.  I miss that!! Oh - I think I have to go buy a fruitcake comewhere ..... []
 
Joyce

I've never tried a fruitcake and nobody has ever given one as a present either... hmmmm  I guess if someone gave me a fruitcake, I'd at least try it!

I've never tried one either. I've had the opportunity, but have always been afraid, given their not-so-great stereotype. If I were given one, I would probably try it at the very least! []

They're very dense, very sweet - chock full of candied fruits, maraschino cherries, nuts & brandy. I think they're soaked in brandy for awhile.  A little slice goes a long way [] but not far enough. At this time of year you can often find small loaves at the grocery stores.
 
Joyce

fruitcakes are EXPENSIVE!! I saw one somewhere for like $8 - and for soemthing KNOWN not to be good, I wouldn't pay that just to try it! 
 
I'm sure they're good, it's just their reputation

use it as a doorstop. wouldnt it be enviornmentally unsound to throw it out? []

Lemmee just say this: when Willow was under a year and half old she was bored and ransacked one of the gifts under the tree...turns out it was fruit cake...she ate the paper and left the fruit cake...what does that tell you?  LOL.  We couldn't be mad at her and just laughed hysterically.  No, not so much loving the fruit cake either. []
 
*Edit for typos.

Unfortunately it's such an Americanism to 'hate fruitcake'.  It's a shame really because they can really be quite good, and much depends on what went into it.  The thing that most Americans find un-tasty is the bitter peel and citron often used in fruitcakes -- but that is one of the things that Europeans and Brits love about it.  (and slathered in some whipped cream, trust me -- it's pretty yummy).
 
I make a fruitcake recipe that's been in my family for generations -- no bitter peel nor citron in it.  Essentially the recipe (and don't try it from this description) is a pound of butter, half dozen eggs, a pound of confectioner's sugar, an oz of vanilla, and then the 'fruit' part is sugared cherries, pineapple, raisins, a bit of coconut and walnuts and a little sweet concord wine and flour.  But the thing is so darned rich it will fall in a heartbeat, so it can be a bit of a challenge to make.  It is a 'white' fruitcake -- and honestly nothing at all offensive in it.  Then you wrap the darned things in wine-soaked (and I mean SOAKED) cheesecloth to 'cure' for a month before you serve it.  A little vanilla ice cream or a bit of whipped cream on a thin slice and it's what "Christmas" means to me. 
 
btw -- if anyone would like to try it, holler, I don't mind giving out the recipe.  When David was still in the UK when we were dating 11 years ago, I sent him 1/2 a cake (which was an incredibly "dear" thing given that it meant I gave up my own cake since it's made once a year and doled out to appreciative family at Christmas time) -- he loved it and as long as my father-in-law was alive he LOVED getting it from his Yankee daughter-in-law (Dad K was in Scotland). 
 
You honestly might want to just try it sometime -- you might be a bit amazed -- most folks say they 'hate fruitcake' and have never ever tried it.  and yeah, it IS expensive -- it costs me about $40 to make one recipe (two 8X5 cakes but they weigh about 2+ pounds each).  But it's expensive ingredients and you can't cheat on those or it tastes yuck or will fall.

Callie, yes please, yes please, yes....I would LOVE to have your recipe for fruitcake!  I love it and it reminds me of my grandma who would always "holler" at me when I was a little girl for stealing the candied fruit for her fruitcake.  hahahaa  I personally think that she had double the amount of candied fruit needed, just so I could steal some!!!  Yummmyyyy.....
 
Also, if you are seriously adverse to fruitcake, then you should take a vacation to Manitou Springs, CO for the annual fruitcake toss.  First Saturday in January and BYOF (fruitcake of course!)
 
[linkhttp://www.manitousprings.org/ASP/CalendarItem.ASP?NUMBER=94]http://www.manitousprings.org/ASP/CalendarItem.ASP?NUMBER=94[/link]
[linkhttp://www.stevegarufi.com/fruitcake.htm]http://www.stevegarufi.com/fruitcake.htm[/link]
 

Email me please -- I can't attach it to the forum's email. 

i have never even seen a fruitcake in person, but personally, the idea of cake with fruity things in it sounds good to me. i suppose i should get on great grams bad side if i ever want one []

Jim Gaffigan (comedian) says this about a fruit cake:
 
Fruit = Good
Cake = Great
Fruitcake = Nasty Crap

My mom makes the BEST fruitcake. It's mince (American, which is a candied/preserved date/raisin/brandy mixture), raisins, golden and black, cherries, pinapples, and a few other things to make it pretty (including the citron, which I usually pick out). The cake base is spicy and good, not the tasteless stuff in the storebought cakes. She makes a batch of about half a dozen small cakes/loaves, and the things cost $30 to make! Altogether, not each. She's not making any this year, so if anyone gets a fruitcake and needs to find it a good home - send it this way, I'll be in withdrawal this year otherwise! []

Your not alone! I love fruitcake. It has to be a good one, but a tiny slice of fruitcake and a glass of eggnog are a tradition for me when I plug-in the newly decorated Christmas tree!