https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sat, 18 Apr 2026 09:53:16 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2304133 Wed, 25 Jan 2023 17:02:37 +0000 Gail 2304133@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Super late here - but I LOVE fruitcake. My family all hate it. I make an annual Christmas cake, give some away and eat the rest myself . I make holes in my cake and feed it with whatever I have, usually rum and then use marzipan and make royal icing. It’s quite the project.<br /> I now buy my mixed fruit in UK and since I’ve been a lot lately I always have some. In a month or so I’ll try one of the recipes posted here - I’m still working on the Christmas cake and my jeans need a break ! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2301562 Thu, 12 Jan 2023 15:19:19 +0000 April 2301562@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>The final postscript (pun intended) in my fruitcake saga.&nbsp; The cake I mailed to Florida bounced back for a ridiculous reason having nothing to do with insufficient postage.</p> <p>Fortunately, one of the Floridians came back to Connecticut for a few days, so I was able to swing by and toss the box on his porch.</p> <p>That cake has gotten its proper aging! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2301125 Tue, 10 Jan 2023 21:50:55 +0000 Jules 2301125@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>So many mom’s secret recipes in that cookbook, including a few of my own </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2301051 Tue, 10 Jan 2023 18:06:57 +0000 MsMary 2301051@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm late to this, but I want to share that my mom always&nbsp; made delicious California fruitcake with dates and apricots and walnuts. I always thought it was her secret recipe but some years ago I found it in The&nbsp; Joy of Cooking! Anyway it's fabulous and I still make it most years:&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.cooks.com/recipe/c52a17t0/california-fruit-cake.html">https://www.cooks.com/recipe/c.....-cake.html</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2300219 Fri, 06 Jan 2023 12:15:58 +0000 April 2300219@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Joy, there are many roads to a moist fruitcake and not all require baking in August.&nbsp; (I would never have started this tradition if I had to turn my oven on in the swelter!)&nbsp; Also if my own grandmother had made amazing fruitcakes, as it sounds like yours did, I doubt I would have attempted to replicate them.&nbsp; I would have mourned their loss and moved on.</p> <p>Your bank advice is exactly what our banker said.&nbsp; Take note, YLF, the fraud protection on your credit card is way more robust than the fraud protection on your bank account.</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2299907 Wed, 04 Jan 2023 18:27:13 +0000 Anonymous 2299907@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>&nbsp;My grandmother made fruitcake in August and added rum each week. Each cake was carefully wrapped and stored in a box in the bedroom closet. &nbsp;I was a young girl and children were &nbsp;not allowed any fruitcake because of the alcohol. &nbsp; My&nbsp;dad bought a fruitcake each year that did not have alcohol. &nbsp;It was full of fruit and nuts and moist. &nbsp;I want to try making fruit cake but the idea of baking in August is holding me back.<br />What an awful bank experience. &nbsp; Something similar happened to a younger brother and the police said it was done through a debit card. &nbsp;They advised never to have debit cards but use credit cards instead because they are more secure. &nbsp;I hope you get the money back. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2299868 Wed, 04 Jan 2023 14:19:24 +0000 April 2299868@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>The fruitcakes have reached their destinations: one went to British friends who winter in Florida; one went to my little bro in Arizona.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Little bro commented that the cake is "all fruit with the barest mortar of cake" holding it together.&nbsp; I reminded him it's the same recipe he's received for the past 4 years.&nbsp; He was not complaining, merely describing.&nbsp; Apparently in Venezuela (where his wife grew up) they make a version of Black Cake, which is similar to fruitcake, so his family-in-law is 100% down with a dense, rummy fruitcake.</p> <p>Have not heard yet from Florida.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2297047 Sun, 18 Dec 2022 20:33:24 +0000 April 2297047@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Cakes are finally finally finally baked and swaddled in their damp-with-sherry cheesecloth, followed by waxed paper, followed by foil, followed by a Ziploc bag. </p> <p>Recipe says they'll be best after a minimum of 4 weeks of aging in their wrappers in the fridge, but near as I can tell, all my recipients rip into it immediately. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296774 Sat, 17 Dec 2022 05:37:16 +0000 MsMaven 2296774@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>My Mom made fruitcake--dark and delicious. I used to make them too. I tried my Mom's recipe and several others. My M-I-L gave me hell because before I put the baked fruitcakebuys away to marinate for how many months it took, I doused them with burgundy wine as the recipe called for, and as my mother had done. Like 2 or 3 months later anyone could get drunk on my fruitcakes!</p> <p>Not sure why I stopped making them. Home made is nothing like the ones you buy in a store. I still have my Mom's 1938 cookbook. With the recipe. Maybe I'll give it a try next year. Hadn't thought about it.</p> <p>Maybe I'll try April's rum-soaked idea. Thanks for bringing this up. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296701 Fri, 16 Dec 2022 19:44:00 +0000 judy 2296701@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh April, I've been through that with the bank, it can be so upsetting.&nbsp; I did end up getting the money back.&nbsp; What a bad time of year for this to happen!&nbsp; Hope it all works out.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>I never ate the fruitcake at my grandparents house.&nbsp; It always looked unappealing.&nbsp; But this thread makes me think I missed out!&nbsp; It also reminds me of that wonderful short book A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote...about "fruitcake weather" with his beloved relative.&nbsp; I love the book more than the adaptation they did for tv, but I see it's on youtube, thank you internet:&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" href="https://youtu.be/_lmjU54i6R4">https://youtu.be/_lmjU54i6R4</a>&nbsp;.&nbsp; Just the music and the production quality seems so dated (from 1966!) but it might be fun.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296691 Fri, 16 Dec 2022 19:03:32 +0000 rachylou 2296691@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ohmigosh, April! That’s terrible. I’m so sorry. Maybe just drink the rum… </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296671 Fri, 16 Dec 2022 16:49:55 +0000 Irina 2296671@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh, I'm so sorry, April!!!! Hope you will get it sorted fast. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296637 Fri, 16 Dec 2022 11:28:33 +0000 April 2296637@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This fruitcake seems doomed never to get made.</p> <p>Yesterday was supposed to be bake day.&nbsp; Needed a few things I didn't have, so I went out to do errands, including grocery store.</p> <p>First stop was the bank, where I learned that someone stole Mr. A's identity and transferred a lot of money out of our account.&nbsp; Now our account is "restricted", all the checks I've written lately are being refused, and who knows what will happen with direct deposits.</p> <p>I needed to race home and call the bank's fraud line, so I did not make it to the store.&nbsp; Meanwhile, my mountain of dried fruit remains in its rum bath.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296596 Thu, 15 Dec 2022 23:11:33 +0000 Janet 2296596@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>My sister loves fruitcake. Me not so much. However, there’s a place near where we used to have the ranch — Collin Street Bakery — that makes them so good even I like them! Hmm, might need to place an order for a gift. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296524 Thu, 15 Dec 2022 14:24:49 +0000 Helena 2296524@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>LOVE fruitcake!! The super dense Irish kind with almond icing!! No recipe though sadly. The British import stores often have great options though! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296474 Thu, 15 Dec 2022 03:35:23 +0000 Irina 2296474@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks, April. Maybe it’s a much needed project for Christmas so I will be less concentrated on upcoming sales! LOL </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296473 Thu, 15 Dec 2022 03:33:36 +0000 Carla 2296473@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>@ LJP - oh no you’re not! &nbsp;My family won’t let me forget the holiday season (2019) when I consumed 15 lbs of fruitcake by myself!<div><br /></div><div>DS#2 was working at a bakery as an industrial mixer and he was the fruitcake expert (so I know what went into them.) &nbsp;Staff were permitted to buy irregular fruitcakes at much reduced prices on a once only occasion up to 20lbs. &nbsp;I gave him the $ for 20 lbs - shared out 5lbs, and kept the rest! &nbsp;No one in the immediate family likes the stuff. &nbsp;It was all mine.</div><div><br /></div><div>FWIW, fruitcake is&nbsp;<i>the best&nbsp;</i>pre-fuel before workouts! I ate it for breakfast. &nbsp;</div> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296426 Wed, 14 Dec 2022 23:28:14 +0000 Sloper 2296426@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Well I admire your industriousness!!!&nbsp; Just fyi King Arthur Flour also has various fruit mixes - I've used them in cookies and breads.<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="https://shop.kingarthurbaking.com/ingredients/fruit">https://shop.kingarthurbaking......ents/fruit</a></p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296416 Wed, 14 Dec 2022 21:24:00 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2296416@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I’m becoming a fruitcake. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296394 Wed, 14 Dec 2022 19:38:20 +0000 April 2296394@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Here's the recipe I use: <a href="https://www.abeautifulplate.com/worlds-best-fruitcake/" rel="nofollow">https://www.abeautifulplate.co.....fruitcake/</a></p> <p>Don't feel you must use the exact fruits called for. After my first go at this recipe, one relative suggested subbing in some sweeter dried fruits like pineapple, and I was fortunate to find crystallized ginger nibs online at The Spice House - no chopping required, whew!</p> <p>The All-Clad pans this post mentions are not at all necessary. Just follow the directions about parchment and lavish buttering and any old loaf pan will be fine. </p> <p>The other feedback I got from picky relatives was that standard cheesecloth (the kind with a loose weave like medical gauze) gets too wet and clingy when dipped in sherry. My slight upgrade to tight-weave cheesecloth quieted those complainers right down. </p> <p>LJP - my family adores fruitcake, you are not alone. But they want a fruit-heavy, moist, boozy fruitcake, not the sort Ducky used to make. (Ducky was my English grandma, compelled by years of poverty to do everything as cheaply as humanly possible.) A few grim, burnt ends of Ducky's Christmas fruitcake would still be at the back of our fridge come July 4. Every single year. </p> <p>RIP Ducky, we loved you despite those dreadful fruitcakes! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296393 Wed, 14 Dec 2022 19:37:15 +0000 rachylou 2296393@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Good thinking!</p> <p>I just finished a four-week online course on the History of Christmas (in Britain). It was a lot of fun and so interesting: the evolution of cake and puddings. I once tried to make ‘Lucrezia Borgia’s Fruitcake.’ It was so so bad - a dense, tasetless brick of bread with fruit just in it. After this course, I realised cake as we know it wasn’t a thing then. Refined sugar, cake tins/molds, baking powder, etc. are all products of later technologies yielding different techniques and different results. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296372 Wed, 14 Dec 2022 18:56:24 +0000 Cardiff girl 2296372@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sounds yummy!I use Delia Smiths Christmas cake recipe for the traditional Xmas cake .She also does a lighter last minute option if you haven’t got around to making your cake in time to let it mature,and for a lighter option;Nigellas &nbsp;marzipan fruit cake (you really need to like marzipan )and her dateand marmalade one which is really sticky and more like a pudding but l really like it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296369 Wed, 14 Dec 2022 18:43:13 +0000 LJP 2296369@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am the only living person who likes fruitcake , I swear . At least it feels like that in my family . I love it so much that I had my favourite version as my wedding cake 8 million years ago . I’ve never made it though - it’s daunting to me . I’d love your recipe too ! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296342 Wed, 14 Dec 2022 17:46:55 +0000 Irina 2296342@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Would you be so kind to share you recipe?<br />Always wanted to bake a fruitcake but afraid it would be too dry and too sweet like a store bought ones. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/anyone-make-fruitcake#post-2296330 Wed, 14 Dec 2022 16:33:39 +0000 April 2296330@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I started making these a few years ago and mailing them to far-off relatives.&nbsp; I use recognizable dried fruit and not the containers of garishly colored cubes of whatever-it-is that show up in grocery stores in winter.&nbsp; (Can't bear those; childhood history of dreadful fruitcakes made by my English grandmother.)</p> <p>I make the kind that's all fruit, held together by a little batter.&nbsp; The difficult part is chopping that mountain of dried fruit.&nbsp; It's sticky, some fruits like dried apples are so chewy they don't chop easily, etc.&nbsp; I know the trick about wiping your knife with oil, but my patience doesn't cover the 700 times this wipe must be done during the chop phase.&nbsp; The food processor seems like a good solution but in fact is not.</p> <p>This year I had a lightbulb moment: why not soak the dried fruits in their rum bath overnight and THEN chop them?&nbsp; Ah hah.&nbsp; I just did the chop and it was SO much easier.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Another lightbulb moment: maybe someone sells a mix of pre-chopped real fruits?&nbsp; I found <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.trainafoods.com/shop/product/bakers-fruit-medley-blend?gclid=CjwKCAiAheacBhB8EiwAItVO25pZ3SXMuHT9blcqCvLPZg_jNOQkOwW0KftgFztkwdyqAa89IpHVlxoC0ToQAvD_BwE">this one</a>&nbsp;and will be ordering some, which I will supplement with dried cherries and pineapple.&nbsp;</p> <p>Lazy is better than having a beloved tradition that you yourself dread. </p>