Tag: old fashioned fruit cake

Most people would think that a fruit cake is only available during the Christmas season. However, anyone can enjoy a slice of this unique cake any time of the year, so if you can’t wait for the holidays to experience the richness of a fruit cake then you’ll be glad that you can get it anytime you wish.

A fruit cake is normally made with dried fruits and nuts that are soaked in either brandy or rum for a couple of days before adding them to the cake mixture. As you can see, the process of making a fruit cake is longer and more tedious than making other cakes, and if you don’t have the patience then perhaps you should stick to the ready-made cakes that can be purchased in pastry and cake shops. For other people though, nothing beats the taste of a tasty, home-made fruit cake.

The fruitcake actually originated in ancient Rome, with pomegranate seeds, raisins, and pine nuts mixed in with barley mash. With the introduction of dried fruits and nuts in Europe, fruit cake baking took on a different aspect that has been improved upon during the course of history. Nowadays, candied fruits can be used as an alternative for dried fruits and are less expensive too. The popularity of the fruit cake has indeed soared over the centuries.

Generally, a fruit cake may come in 3 variations. The conventional cake that we often partake of is perhaps the most popular. A dark fruitcake has …

Enjoying a Fruit Cake the Whole Year Round READ MORE

Whether you love it or hate it, fruit cake is a tradition everywhere. There are several different versions of the confection, but they are all still similar.

Fruit cake can be traced back as early as ancient Rome where it was made with barley, pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, and raisins. Through the Middle Ages is when the name fruit cake was coined and this is when the use of fruits that had been preserved started. This was the time when these pastries spread rapidly and many different variations of the recipe started coming about.

This treat is now made in multiple countries from the Bahamas where they soak absolutely everything in rum to Canada where it is almost only a Christmas time treat. In Germany, it is also a Christmas time confection. Italy calls their Panforte and it has a rather strong flavor to it. In Romania, they serve this pastry at every important holiday.

The United States is where the mass production of fruit cake began. While many of the traditional recipes call for brandy or liqueur to be added to the confection at some point and for it to be coated with powdered sugar, most of the loaves that are mass produced do not contain the alcohol in them. All these were things originally added to help prevent molding, but there are many other ways that we are able to do that now.

The truth of the matter is that most in the U.S. seem to look down …

An Overview of Fruit Cake READ MORE