I know of at least 120 fruitcakes in Sacramento, CA. Then there are the 55 or so that California exports annually to Washington, DC.
I FINALLY got on. Wait a bit, until I stop being stunned. Okay, here we go.
My mother was from England, so fruitcake was a total necessity (for her) each Christmas. She used only the most expensive ingredients, and though not a drinker, put in the best alcoholic beverage.
I tried, gently, to explain to her that none of my family liked fruitcake. To no avail. So each year the fruitcake was buried in the back of the refrigerator, then tossed out to make room the next Christmas for the next fruitcake.
Hubby is the only person I know who likes fruit cake. He likes the taste of candied fruit. Personally, I think he’s crazy.
I like the kind that is compressed into a brick like shape with more fruit and nuts than cake. Great with a hot cup of tea!!
Wife turns her nose up at it and thinks I’m crazy for wanting it.
Why is fruitcake the Rodney Dangerfield of deserts? I can only guess that most people haven’t had a good one. I’ll recommend fruitcakes sold by the Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas. They ship worldwide.
The cheap, inedible commercial knockoffs that most people associate with real fruitcake.
I rarely make them, but when I do, it is a high quality confection relished by friends and family alike...and I have to fight to get my share.
A related question is, “why did Nesselrode pie & pudding disapper, afer being a holiday staple for over a century?”
Can also be used as a pie filling, and decorated accordingly; also other candied fruits could be added as desired.
The recipe below is from “Uncle Phaedrus, Finder of Lost Recipes”.
Old...and I do mean OLD, Fannie Farmer cook books, among others also have recipes.
Newer ones called for (yuch!) gelatin to make it ‘easier’. Hey; maybe THAT is why it faded!
Nesselrode Pudding
(Chestnut Pudding)
1/2 cup chestnut puree
1/4 cup crystallized cherries
1/2 cup candied orange peel
1/2 cup Marsala
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup sultanas
1 dessertspoon Maraschino liquor
2 cups whipping cream
2 cups milk
5 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
Dice glaceed and candied things into bits and macerate them in the
Marsala. Wash the currants and sultanas and soak them in warm water;
when it’s time to use them drain them well and dry them thoroughly in
a clean dish towel, if you have any, or paper towels. In a heavy
bottomed saucepan, heat the milk slowly until it boils. Separate the
eggs. Reserve the whites for a chemistry experiment in the back of
the refrigerator; place the yolks in a bowl and add the sugar,
beating vigorously until the mixture is light and frothy, which takes
some doing. By then the milk should be boiling. Pour it over the mixture
in the bowl, then return the contents of the bowl to the saucepan.
Stir religiously, scraping all the corners and cook over low heat until
the custard thickens. Strain the custard through a sieve. Mix the
chestnut puree, the Maraschino and the custard together well, then add
the candied things and the raisinoids.
Whip the cream until it is very stiff, and fold it carefully into
the mixture. Pour it into a charlotte mold (I used a 2-quart plastic tub)
lined with waxed paper. Cover tightly with foil and freeze for 24 hours.
I loves me some fruitcake! It has to be ooey, gooey with plenty of fruit!
I like fruitcake.......send me yours if you don’t want them.
My mom made the best fruit cake! She has passed on and I have the recipe.
Each Thanksgiving and Christmas I used to make her fruitcake but I didn’t give them away I ate them!
Soon I found shortcuts to make them which means I made lots!
I have had to pass on her fruit cake this year as I have also had to pass on egg nog. I put on too many pounds because of them both!
I have tasted some really bad commercial fruit cakes and some really good ones, but my mom’s were the best.
I wish I had a tin of c-ration fruitcake. I used to throw it away, until I tried it.
I like fruitcake.