Do you like fruitcake?

[Dave McClung]

One of my memories from growing up was that my mother would always bake a fruitcake for the holidays. Usually, it was still around for all of January. Sometime in February, she would give up and throw away what was left. None of us really liked fruitcake, but she considered it to be a holiday necessity.

Today, I remembered that it has been a long time since I have seen or tasted a fruitcake. I don't miss the fruitcake, but it made me miss my mother.

Do you have a fruitcake memory?

[Gina Stevenson]

Most of it I do not like. However, there's a homemade recipe Ma's made before where I liked the cake-part of it. Then my imagination takes over, replacing all the dried up cherries, etc, with some more tropical-type fruit. Someday [I keep saying ... but I think it's been for years I've been saying this ;)] ... I'm going to make that recipe using pineapple, cocoanut (UNsweetened version), papaya, passion fruit, etc, macadamias, etc, rather than the "usual fruit cake 'stuff'," and think that should be rather good. ;)

'Notice, tho', it's been years in the thought process ... apparently it's not high on my priority list. If I ever get around "TUIT" and actually make this type that I've dreamed up, I'll let y'all know, for sure. :cool:

[Bruce Carriker]

I heard that there is really only one fruitcake in the entire world. It just gets passed among all of us as a "gift" every Christmas.

Once saw one of those foot-long, 2-inch square "fruitcakes" they sell in convenience stores. The ad said something like "Holiday Fruitcake". Someone had added in pencil, "May also be used as a blunt instrument."

[Peggy Gray]

I like it, but a little goes a long way.

[Marsha Gupton]

Dave, I have that same childhood memory. My Mother would always make her fruitcake about this time and so did my Grandmother. My Mother and her two brothers love fruitcake but their wives don't and I don't care for it that much either. However, I may try making one this year for my Mother.

Have you ever heard of a Prune Cake? I think its a southern cake. My Mother and Grandmother use to make them.

[Dana Grant]

One of my memories from growing up was that my mother would always bake a fruitcake for the holidays. Usually, it was still around for all of January. Sometime in February, she would give up and throw away what was left. None of us really liked fruitcake, but she considered it to be a holiday necessity.

Today, I remembered that it has been a long time since I have seen or tasted a fruitcake. I don't miss the fruitcake, but it made me miss my mother.

Do you have a fruitcake memory?




My mother made GOOD fruitcake. I'm not sure whether she still makes it, but it was the only fruit cake that I've ever tasted that is actually GOOD.

[Laurie Florence]

I love fruitcake. Guess I must love everything about Christmas! :)

[Marg Webb]

I heard that there is really only one fruitcake in the entire world. It just gets passed among all of us as a "gift" every Christmas.

Once saw one of those foot-long, 2-inch square "fruitcakes" they sell in convenience stores. The ad said something like "Holiday Fruitcake". Someone had added in pencil, "May also be used as a blunt instrument."

BRUCE!! KEEP WRITING, YOU MAKE MY DAY". !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Marg.

[Jim Franklin]

In our parsonage cakes and fruits were quite rare so fruit cake was one of our all time favorites and a good fruitcake would not last but a couple of days. I have tasted fruitcakes that were in no way similar in taste to the ones I remember.

[Anne and Dwayne Hood]

You would love the fruit cakes we use to make--recipe from Dwayne's mother. It is a no bake cake, and does not have those bad tasting currents and things like that in it. You use graham cracker crumbs--actually crushed up, and add small marshmellows, dates, candied cherries, raisins, nuts, candied pineapple, anything you like in a fruit cake--leaving out what you do not like. Add that thick sweety type of milk, whatever brand you want...mix very good. You may actually cover it, put a cutting board, or something on it, and let the children sit on it, until it is good and firm. Then put it in refridgerator. I don't make it anymore, but one of daughters still makes it. It is delicious.

[Brian Hammons]

My best memory of fruitcakes is as a 6th & 7th grade traffic scout. We would sell them as a fundraiser for our 8th grade traffic scout trip to Washington, D.C. There were reports that they were commonly used as door stops.

[Hal Paul]

This (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8709044596545894088&q=fruitcake+toss&total=1&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0)is the only thing a fruitcake is good for.

[John Rivas]

Dave - there's only one type of fruitcake I will eat - it's made by Texas Manor all the way from Sherman, TX. My family, since childhood, would order up the largest cake that would come in a round tin container. I still keep up the tradition even though I'm the only one that will eat it...usually.

[Barb Bouldrey]

I love fruitcake...good fruitcake.

My mother-in-law used to make it this time every year and it was wonderful.

I miss it. I have the recipe but never ventured to try it.

Barb

[Mark Bolerjack]

Here you go, Gina!

http://www.seykota.com/tribe/FAQ/2004_Jul/Jul_15/tuit.jpg

[Gina Stevenson]

You would love the fruit cakes we use to make--recipe from Dwayne's mother. It is a no bake cake, and does not have those bad tasting currents .........................

Anne, we do have a bit different tastes in fruit cake. I like the baked, and I've bo't several times now (since first finding it at an import place) currant bread. Hey! What's wrong with currants? ;)

This (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8709044596545894088&q=fruitcake+toss&total=1&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0)is the only thing a fruitcake is good for.

Have to tell me the "what it's good for" ... since it's a video. Thanks!

Here you go, Gina!

Thanks, Mark! The picture did not, nor a sign of its being there, show up, so I tho't of a nice, smart-alecky question to ask: "Was the fruit cake supposed to be your avatar, or did you forget a link to some tropical fruit cake recipe?" [running & hiding ... lest you use the bad kind of fruit cake as a blunt instrument! :basic05]

NOW that the round "TUIT" showed up in the reply mode, I see what it was all about. Again, thanks! ;) Now what excuse do I have? [oh, dear! 'gotta make some fruit cake, huh? first gotta make PB fudge, tho'!]

http://www.seykota.com/tribe/FAQ/2004_Jul/Jul_15/tuit.jpg

[Brian Blankenship]

Dave, I still remember Johnny Carson from the Tonight Show's joke about fruitcakes. He said that there was only one fruitcake and that everyone was busy sending it to each other.

[Hal Paul]

Dave, I still remember Johnny Carson from the Tonight Show's joke about fruitcakes. He said that there was only one fruitcake and that everyone was busy sending it to each other.

Yes, and I think we got it regifted to us about 3 times every Christmas.:cs01

[Linda McClung]

Actually, I do have a fruitcake memory of just yesterday. I fed you fruitcake. I guess you didn't recognize it as such, but it was fruitcake. You told me you really liked it, and you thanked me. I love you!

[Roland Hearn]

My mum would always bake the most fabulous moist fruitcake, it was wonderful. Most years she would soak the fruit in rum which really adds to the flavour. My Dad, the pastor, would each year sneak out to the local bottle shop, slink in, buy a small bottle of rum, sneak out and flee to the car as fast as he could to meet my mother's needs. It was not his favourite activity.

[Charles W Christian]

My mum would always bake the most fabulous moist fruitcake, it was wonderful. Most years she would soak the fruit in rum which really adds to the flavour. My Dad, the pastor, would each year sneak out to the local bottle shop, slink in, buy a small bottle of rum, sneak out and flee to the car as fast as he could to meet my mother's needs. It was not his favourite activity.

Doesn't Australian fruitcake have those little grubworms in it, too? That would help the protein content.... Maybe I'm just having Crocodile Dundee flashbacks or something.... G'day...:q):basic07

CWC

[Cindi Hammons]

My best memory of fruitcakes is as a 6th & 7th grade traffic scout. We would sell them as a fundraiser for our 8th grade traffic scout trip to Washington, D.C. There were reports that they were commonly used as door stops.

Brian,

I think we may still have one left over from when your mother moved from her house to her apartment! :basic03

[Roland Hearn]

Doesn't Australian fruitcake have those little grubworms in it, too? That would help the protein content.... Maybe I'm just having Crocodile Dundee flashbacks or something.... G'day...:q):basic07

CWC
Thanks for the LOL moment Charles.

Just a quick lesson in culturalization though, G'day never comes at the end of a sentence.

[Gina Stevenson]

My mum would always bake the most fabulous moist fruitcake, it was wonderful. Most years she would soak the fruit in rum which really adds to the flavour. My Dad, the pastor, would each year sneak out to the local bottle shop, slink in, buy a small bottle of rum, sneak out and flee to the car as fast as he could to meet my mother's needs. It was not his favourite activity.

"But, Honey! The recipe calls for it!" [your mum :basic05]

[Dave McClung]

Actually, I do have a fruitcake memory of just yesterday. I fed you fruitcake. I guess you didn't recognize it as such, but it was fruitcake. You told me you really liked it, and you thanked me. I love you!

There is a difference between traditional fruitcake made with "candied fruits" and apple cake, but you knew that.

[Vivian Cornwell]

There is a difference between traditional fruitcake made with "candied fruits" and apple cake, but you knew that.



That's good Linda. He liked it and that is what is important. I have an "apple cake" that I make every Christmas. The recipe if from my grandmother and it is called Civil War Cake. The recipe does not use any eggs or milk which could have been hard to find during the Civil War if the farm or home had been raided by soldiers. It uses apples and raisins for the fruit. It is a moist cake and very easy to make. Delicious.

[Linda McClung]

Vivian, that sounds like a great recipe and one I haven't heard of. I would love to have it if it is handy for you to find. Actually, I LOVE this apple cake, and I chock it full of either raisins or dates (I prefer dates) and walnuts. It's great and moist. You can make it chunky with chunks of the apple, too. Wow! Wish I could eat it all time.

[Vivian Cornwell]

[/CENTER]Vivian, that sounds like a great recipe and one I haven't heard of. I would love to have it if it is handy for you to find. Actually, I LOVE this apple cake, and I chock it full of either raisins or dates (I prefer dates) and walnuts. It's great and moist. You can make it chunky with chunks of the apple, too. Wow! Wish I could eat it all time.

CIVIL WAR FRUIT CAKE


3 medium sized apples, cubed
2 cups sugar - 1 white, 1 brown
2 cups raisins or currants
2 cups water
2 rounded tablespoons lard -this is from the old recipe. I use Crisco


Boil all together 5 minutes and cool.


3 cups flour
2 rounded teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Sift the dry ingredients together


1 cup chopped nuts

Mix the dry ingredients and nuts with the cooled fruit mixture. Stir well, making sure all of the dry ingredients are moistened.

Bake in 2 loaf pans or a tube pan in a 325 to 350 degree oven. Bake for 1 hour.

Linda, I would like to have your Apple Cake recipe also, if you care to share.
Thanks.

[Linda McClung]

Vivian, thank you so much for the recipe. I will share it with others. Here is the original recipe. I also have my version which is healthier. This is awesome!


APPLE PECAN CAKE (ORIGINAL RECIPE)

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups sugar
4 cups grated apples
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1 cups raisins
2 eggs
1 cup cooking oil
1 tsp vanilla
Pecan halves and powdered sugar for garnish
Bake 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes in greased bundt pan

[Anita F. Henck]

Here is the original recipe. I also have my version which is healthier.

What's the healthier version? I'm betting it doesn't have 1 cup of vegetable oil in it! :) I'd love to have the alternative version, too!

Sounds delicious!
==anita==

[Barb Bouldrey]

All right. Now you've done it. I dug out the recipe and this afternoon I am going to go buy all the ingredients and make my mother-in-law's fruitcake today!

Actually, she has not made it in years and just 4 weeks ago went into a nursing home. When we go see her in December I will surprise her with a small loaf of her own fruit cake.

I always thought it would be expensive to make...all that candied fruit and ingredients that I do not normally have in the house....but it is not all that expensive.

Barb

[Vivian Cornwell]

What's the healthier version? I'm betting it doesn't have 1 cup of vegetable oil in it! :) I'd love to have the alternative version, too!

Sounds delicious!
==anita==

I am sure the cooking oil could be left out with no problem because of the apples in the recipe. What about the eggs? They aren't too healthy either. Ha.

[Linda McClung]

What's the healthier version? I'm betting it doesn't have 1 cup of vegetable oil in it! :) I'd love to have the alternative version, too!

Sounds delicious!
==anita==

Apple Cake

2 cups flour (1 cup wheat, 1 cup white, 1/4 cup ground flax)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups sugar
4 cups grated fresh apples peel and all
2 cups coarsely chopped nuts
1 cup raisins or 1 cup chopped dates
2 eggs
1/4 cup Canola Oil, 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp vanilla flavoring
350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes in bundt pan or less time in oblong pan.
Love, Linda McClung

[Barb Bouldrey]

The fruit cakes are now in the oven and the house smells wonderful. But my purse is much lighter. I was right in the beginning. Fruitcake is expensive to make. The 3 cups of walnuts cost almost $5 themselves and the candied fruits, raisins and dates cost $10. So, I estimate that these 2 fruitcakes cost me over $20 with the ingredients I had to buy that I do not usually have in the cupboard like ground cloves and allspice.

But I know that John's mother will be so delighted when she opens a package containing her own fruitcake that she has not made in years. So, it is worth the cost and I get to keep one of them for myself.

I will also make her recipe of Christmas sugar cookies and take her some of those, too.

Since she is now in a nursing home, a small tray of these things will make a nice Christmas gift.

Barb

[Martha Wilson]

As a child, I would eat it, but didn't like it as much as I do now. I make a recipe each year that was my grandmother's and then my mom's. And people who don't like fruitcake say they like mine. I don't put rum in, however. And I don't eat tons of it, but I like to serve it at parties, etc. People will ask for the recipe and it's hard to give since it is more of put the fruit, as much as I can afford to buy that year, then the nuts, etc. and keep adding the spices and flour until it is the right consistency, don't forget the vanilla and bake. Store in a cool place for a couple of weeks to age (but well wrapped so it won't dry out).

and I realize, not everyone likes it. :)