This Fruitcake Recipe Is a Food Blogger's Family Heirloom (2024)

FAQs

Why was fruitcake outlawed? ›

Fruitcakes were so rich, they were considered sinful and were outlawed in Europe in the early 18th century. Restrictions eased later in the century.

A regal history of fruitcake

A forerunner of the fruitcake actually fueled Ancient Roman warriors who carried a mixture of barley, pomegranate seeds, nuts, and raisins mixed with honeyed wine. The cakes — called satura — sustained them through their long marches to the furthest corners of the empire.

According to supply and demand, as demand goes up, prices usually go up as well. The rest of the year, very few people are buying fruitcake, and as a result they lower the prices to entice people to buy it outside of their regular patterns.

Fidelia Ford

The fruitcake in question was baked in Tec*mseh, MI by the loving matriarch of the Ford family, Fidelia, back in 1878.

The website Serious Eats reports that over 2 million fruitcakes are still sold each year, so someone is clearly eating them.

It's a fruitcake, and it has garnered a reputation for being not only the worst holiday dessert but the worst dessert, period. Part of the reason this dense, often dry cake has the reputation it does is due to that no one finds that dried fruit in the middle to be appealing.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these seemingly indestructible pastries typically stay fresh for six months in the pantry and up to a year when refrigerated. But anecdotally we know that they can last for decades; some of the oldest have been preserved for more than a century.

Marie Rudisill died in Hudson, Florida, on November 3, 2006, at the age of 95, just before the publication date of her last book, Ask the Fruitcake Lady: Everything You Would Already Know If You Had Any Sense, on November 7.

Fruitcake aficionados will tell you that the best fruit cakes are matured – or “seasoned” in fruitcake lingo – for at least three months before they are cut. Seasoning not only improves the flavor of the fruitcake, but it makes it easier to slice.

Jenkins, a low-level employee at the city's famed fruitcake company, the Collin Street Bakery, embezzled $17 million from 2004 to 2013, spending the money on cars, trips, watches, and jewelry—all so that he could keep up appearances with the upper crust of his town of 24,000.

Why does fruitcake last so long? ›

Fruitcake is no ordinary cake. It can stay fresh and edible for months after baking. What typically makes fruitcake last so long is its super dense texture. This texture prevents, let's say, less than appetizing things from setting up camp in the cake's crevices.

The chemical composition of the cake makes it possible to keep it for a 100 years. Indeed, its density prevents bacteria and mold to proliferate and its alcohol content makes it more sanitized, which also has an impact on its conservation.

How should I serve and store my cake? Grandma's Fruitcake slices best when chilled. We recommend that you refrigerate your cake overnight or freeze it for a few hours before slicing with a Non Serrated Knife. Our fruitcakes have a 9 month shelf life.

For best quality, a fruit cake that is tightly wrapped with aluminum foil or saran warp can be stored for up to 1 month in a cool, dark pantry, 6 months in the refrigerator, and 12 months in a freezer. Check often for signs of spoilage, and if mold or off-odors develop, discard the cake.

Slang. a crazy or eccentric person; nut.

In The Early 1700s, Fruitcakes Were Outlawed In Europe

Over the centuries, people added increasingly sweeter ingredients to their fruitcakes until the cakes became decadence incarnate, which was morally wrong and thus made illegal.

By the early 18th century the church in Europe banned the treat except for special occasions such as weddings and christenings because it was "sinfully rich." That ecclesiastical disapproval notwithstanding, by the end of the 18th century bans were repealed and fruitcake fans could indulge.