Discover how we're bringing Fruitcake back!
The typical old fruitcake –heavy as a brick--is the butt of many jokes around Christmas time, but traditional fruitcakes, as made in many European countries, are far moister and richer than their American counterparts.
The earliest recipe, from ancient Rome, used pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash. In the Middle Ages, honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added and the name "fruitcake" was first used.
We can blame the downfall of the fruitcake on the cheap sugar that arrived in Europe from the American colonies in the 16th century. Someone discovered that by soaking fruit in high concentrations of sugar, you could preserve it as well as intensify the color and flavor. Not only could native plums and cherries be conserved, but many unavailable fruits were soon being imported in candied form from other parts of the world. Having so much sugar-laced fruit brought about the need to dispose of it in some way—thus the fruitcake.
In the 18th century in some areas in Europe, fruitcakes were made using nuts from the harvest for good luck in the following year. The cake was then saved and eaten before the harvest of the next year. By the early 19th century, the typical recipe was heavy as lead with citrus peel, pineapples, plums, dates, pears, and cherries.
Whether or not anyone actually enjoyed eating it, fruitcake persisted, finding fertile soil in the New World, especially in places where fresh fruit was difficult to come by. Nuts were introduced into the formula, probably because America's foremost fruitcake makers—Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas, and Claxton Bakery of Claxton, Georgia—were located in rural Southern communities with a surplus of cheap nuts. The expression "nutty as a fruitcake" was coined in 1935.
Some blame Johnny Carson for the unpopularity of the fruitcake in America. He found these fruitcakes, using garish, artificially colored candied fruit and laden with sugar, to be a rich source of jokes: "The worst gift is fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other."
Most American mass-produced fruitcakes are alcohol free, but traditional recipes are saturated with liquors or brandy, which makes them inherently superior. In the UK, the traditional Christmas cake is a fruitcake covered in marzipan, and then in white satin or royal icing. They are often further decorated with snow scenes, holly leaves and berries (real or artificial), or tiny decorative robins or snowmen.
A well made, traditional fruitcake is meant to be eaten. It should contain equal amounts of dried fruits, nuts, cake, and brandy and is a gift that will be appreciated and enjoyed by everyone who receives it.
Join the Fruitcake Revolution!
What: Rally to Bring back REAL Fruitcake
When: Saturday, December 13th at 2pm
Where: A Grande Finale Patisserie in Louisville.
Also, if you accidentally purchase or unwillingly receive an unsavory fruitcake this Holiday Season, bring it into A Grande Finale and we'll give you a 10% discount on the purchase of our delicious Brandied Fruitcake.*
Enjoy life and eat Fruitcake,
Nicole, Genny, Leslie & Mina
Your staff at A Grande Finale Patisserie
*Offer good on the purchase of a Large Brandied Fruitcake only. Unsavory Fruitcakes will be used to build an addition onto the shop! |
