Now, there are two kinds of people when it comes to fruitcake. Those who love it, and those who have never had good fruitcake. And I was definitely in the second camp until I tasted the real thing. Oh don’t get me wrong. I grew up having fruitcake at Christmas, but it was truly terrible. But God bless my maternal grandmother, she tried her best to make it special. The main problem with her fruitcake was the lack of booze, an assortment of dried and candied fruits, spices, and nuts. What it did contain was an abundance of raisins, most of which were burned. And if you have ever tasted a burned raisin, you will know that it is not a pleasant experience.

So you can imagine my horror when as a 21 year old college student, I was given a fruitcake from a new neighbor in student housing. Little did I know at that time that my new neighbor was a home economics teacher. (She and her husband were also living in student housing while her husband was working on his masters and money was tight for them too.) Anyway, I was now the proud owner of this small loaf nicely wrapped in tin foil. Of course I said thank-you, while thinking to myself – what in the heck do I do with this “thing”!?!? Well, I took a chance and served it that evening for dessert. That was the beginning of my love affair with fruitcakes, and not coincidentally, the beginning of a very lovely friendship.

Over the next year or so, I learned a lot from this charming and talented woman. Not the least of which, a love for cooking and entertaining. She came into my life at the perfect time. We had very little money (both my former husband and I were in school), but I learned from her that soups and casseroles could feed us very well for several days and that they didn’t cost an arm and a leg to prepare. In fact, almost anything I could build myself was sure to save us money. I also learned that sharing food with others was about as good a way as any to show people how much they were valued. Her simple gift of a small fruitcake and her subsequent friendship helped me become a more caring and productive human being, not to mention a better cook.

So do I like fruitcake? You bet I do! For another great fruitcake recipe on this site, look up my Caribbean Black Fruitcake recipe.

1 lb. dried fruit combination (peaches, pears, apricots, apples, golden raisins, currents, etc.)

½ lb. dried Bing cherries

1 lb. chopped dates

1 lb. candied/glazed pineapple, coarsely chopped

21-oz. container red candied/glazed cherries, coarsely chopped

3 c. spiced rum

1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 c. brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1½ tsp. ground allspice

1½ tsp. ground nutmeg

5 lg. eggs

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 lb. coarsely chopped pecans

Combine dried fruit, dried Bing cherries, chopped dates, candied pineapple, candied cherries, and rum in a covered glass container for 3 to 7 days. 7 days is best.

Cream butter, sugar, and spices until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Stir into butter mixture just until combined.    Stir in the macerated fruit, including any remaining liquid, and the pecans. 

Place a large shallow pan of water on the bottom rack of your oven to prevent the cakes from baking too dry. Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees.

Line 3 (9×5-inch) loaf pans or 1 (9×5-inch) and 5 (7×4-inch) loaf pans with parchment paper and grease paper lightly. Divide the batter evenly between the pans and bake in the middle of the oven for 2-2½ hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on racks for one hour. Remove cakes from pans, and carefully peel off the parchment paper. When completely cool, wrap in plastic wrap and foil. Store for at least 1 month before serving.