Best Fruitcake in the World?
 

I know, I know, first you might think this isn't necessarily a travel question, and second many folks don't like fruitcake. But, I have to make Xmas dinner, and the group wants fruitcake. So,is it Missouri, Texas, Arkansas??? Where, fruitcake lovers, where in the world is the very best fruitcake???

Easy... Mary of Puddin' Hill

Mary's are good, but Ya-Hoo! cakes are better, IMHO. :-)
http://www.yahoocake.com

Butterfield Farms without question

Isn't "best fruitcake" an oxymoron? I didn't realize anyone actually ate them voluntarily!

Collin Street Bakery, Corsicana, Texas.

Gethsemani Farms bourbon fruitcake made by Trappist monks in Kentucky, no contest. They also make delicious cheeses. Find them at www.gethsemanifarms.org. Having been raised eating their fruitcakes at Christmastime, I was always puzzled by the general disdain many people express for fruitcake, until I eventually tasted other, inferior ones.

There ARE people who like fruit cake and I'm one of them. Everyone who likes fruit cake LOVES my recipe that I got from my very good friend. I have several people who LOOK FORWARD every year to my fruit cake.

http://www.utahtea.lithium.com/fruit_cake.htm

Utahtea

I vote for MUFFIN as the best fruitcake (in the world).

The best fruitcake is the one that they keep for themselves, and don't send or give to me.

Whenever I taste one, I always want to like it, I really do, but it never turns out that way.

Which ever one you decide on, enjoy.

Muffin is an excellent choice for an all around fruitcake but I used to tolerate the fruitcake from Corsicana TX....mainly pecans, and it had excellent alternate uses as an anchor if you were nautically inclined.

Calvin Trillin believes that there is really only one fruitcake in the entire world. It just make endless rounds being regifted constantly. LMF

I don't know LilMs, Howard Dean came pretty close with his meltdown after the New Hampshere primary.

:-D

Ummmm, I don't think I have ever seen the words "best" and "fruitcake" in the same paragraph. No, not a fruitcake lover here, yuck.

Can I make a suggestion that will WOW the crowd and it's VERY easy to make.

It's called Marlborough Pudding and the recipe can be found on the website for Sturbridge Village, and if it's not there I will put it up here for you.

It is an apple "pie"ish, dish which was served with the meal on the tables of New Englanders of many years past.

I make my own crust and the filling I use berry flavored or peach flavored apple sauce. The filling is also eggs and a bit of sugar. It is the consistancy of a pumpkin pie, but it has a nice history you can read and then share with your family.

Hope this helps, and it sure is a cut above fruitcake.

I must agree with the people who hate fruitcake....YUCK!

I agree wantsomesun, best and fruitcake are an oxymoron.

What IS the deal with candied fruit? (Shudder)

I also love Collin Street Bakery's fruitcake!

I'm 60+ years old, traveled pretty extensively and crossed paths with many, many people and have yet to actually meet anyone who would ever admit to liking Fruit Cake.

I was always under the impression that there is really only one Fruit Cake in existance and it has been "re-gifted" for hundreds of years. It keeps comming back to me about every 5 years.

My ex-boss. :P

I don't understand why people feel compelled to say they don't like fruit cake when someone asked where to find a good one. If you don't like it, then just move on to the next post.

There ARE people who do like it....believe it or not!

Utahtea

Liberace

I used to really like fruitcake - the recipes my mum used called for lots of raisins, cherries, dates all soaked in brandy or rum overnight. also had a little bit of candied peel. That was yum!

However the ones in the US seem to consist primarily of candied fruit - a bit ick. Hence I have always stayed clear of it.

Unfortunately my Mum's lost her recipe :(

<i><b>
&quot;this isn't necessarily a travel question&quot;
</b></i> - I agree 100% with that, and with the opinion of &quot;nytraveler&quot;.

Want recipes? See cooking urls already posted in &quot;Travel Recipes&quot; thread
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34540511
or try a &quot;google&quot;.

&quot;http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;l...ruitcake&quot; yields 145,000 results. Good luck with your dinner.

Sonnyboy, Until a few years ago I received two recycled fruitcakes every Christmas. I use to toss them in the garbage but somehow they escaped because the next Christmas I would receive the same two ( each one different brand).

I won't even answer the question &quot;where in the world is the very best fruitcake?&quot; That leaves too many doors open. :-D

I vote for Corsicana's own Collin Street Bakery. Doesn't taste like fruitcake. It really doesn't!

We live in Texas, so this may be heresy.

According to my parents, Collin Street is okay. The love the fruitcakes from Assumption Abbey in Missouri. http://www.trappistmonks.com/Home.asp.

I brought some to work, and several staff people wanted to know how to buy them.

Thanks everyone (particularly those of you with helpful comments!), I think I'll give one of the monks a try. I presume they have plenty of time to perfect their skill. Happy Holidays.

annieladd

I love fruit cake.

Here is another vote for Assumption Abbey in Missouri but probably to late to order in time for Christmas delivery.

Sandy

I used to sell a fruitcake at my stores that was called &quot;Grandma's&quot; and it was made in Beatrice, Nebraska. I advertised it as &quot;the fruitcake for people who don't like fruitcake&quot; and it was a huge seller. Unfortunately, the company was sold and they closed the plant. So my second choice is Assumption Abbey in Missouri, as several other posters noted. It's a dark cake while Grandma's was light, but it's rich and moist, not hard and dark like my mother's creations (which I abhorred). IMHO, the Corsicana fruitcake is awful(and I'm an ex-Texan).

You're right, the monks are all sold out! We've ended up with something called bienfait fruitcakes out of Vermont. Happy Holidays

The best place for fruicake is in the trash or a dumpster. It keeps the bugs and rodents away!

The Monks in KY and MI and Collin Creek, but I prefer a glass of vintage Port, lol!
M

Yesterday's Wall St Jrl. blurb lists
williams-sonoma.com - $42 for 2#
monks.org - $27 for 2.5# chefshop.com - $29.99 for 3#

Article states Trappist monks are responsible for many of the small-batch, handmade fruitcakes on the market.

WSJ's Christmas tip is the loaf made
by the brothers at Assumption Abbey which can be had for $26 on their own website: assumptionabbey.org

Grandma's was never a part of the collin street bakery. Grandmas is the best fruit cake ever made hands down and they are still in business in beatrice Nebraska
Beatrice Bakery Co.
P.O. Box 457
201 South 5th Street
Beatrice, Nebraska 68310

Office Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon - Fri (central time)
Extended hours during Holiday season

(800) 228-4030 Toll Free
(402) 223-4465 Fax
[email protected]
http://www.grandmasbakeshoppe.com/contact.html. try this fruitcake and you will experience a taste of heaven.... The only fruit cake that comes close to Grandmas is the abby in MO.. Greeting to all fruitcake lovers, and to those who hate fruitcake plllleeeeeaaaasssssseeeeeeee get a life.

dabull, we fruitcake researchers around the globe do in fact have a life. We have didicated our lives in the name of humanity to the total irradication of fuitcake by the year 2010. Won't you open your heart and help us? 1-800-FRUITCAKE.

The only good fruitcake is a dead fruitcake. How can anyone like a food that is always preceded by the statement &quot;It doesn't taste like a fruitcake, really&quot;? Can you imagine &quot;It doesn't taste like a three layer triple chocolate cake, really&quot;?

Funny, funny thread ;;)

Only good fruitcake IMHO is the one NOT given to me!

Dabull, thanks for letting me know Grandma's is back in business. The last time I checked, a couple of years ago, they were closed but some locals were trying to buy it and start it up again. From the photos, it looks like the same fruitcake. I always liked the individually packaged slices and they are the only ones that do that, to my knowledge. The MO abbey cakes are good, but Grandma's are awesome! (Disclosure: I'm a native Nebraskan so maybe I'm prejudiced.)

happytourist, the fruitcake in the photo looks like the same one from a few years ago? No wonder. Don't they have some kind of expiration date?

Best fruitcake? Isn't that like asking about the <i>most enjoyable cavity search</i>?

Ha Ha!

I'm going to rename my fruitcake &quot;Christmas Cake.&quot; I understand why there are so many jokes, but my cake is a scrumptous holiday treat. It spells Christmas and it is GOOD:

*Grease and flour a tube pan.
*Cream 1/2 cup butter
*Add 1 cup sugar and mix until well blended
*Stir in 5 eggs and 1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
*Stir in 1 Tablespoon lemon flavoring
*Add 4 cups chopped pecans
1 lb. glazed cherries, halved
1 lb. glazed pineapple, halved
*Pour into prepared pan; place in cold oven set at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until edges begin to shrink away from sides of pan.
*Cool; remove from pan; store covered for just a few minutes until it is all eaten!

No more jokes please, if you haven't tried it! LOL!!

Collin Street Bakery
Corsicana Texas USA

best fruitcake in the world bar none.

nice non-traditional (ie pineapple or apple) fruitcakes too.