Now folks, let me make it clear I wasn't expecting this fruitcake. In fact, I don't think I've ever had a fruitcake before. I wasn't even positive it even was a fruitcake until confirmed by text via my mother! At first I was confused, laughed a little, and then became a little repulsed. Weren't fruitcakes supposed to be dreadful and hard and too dense to enjoy? A Christmas sweet that almost always went untouched and if anything, thrown about by mischievous boy cousins trying to play ball with such an inedible dessert?
But man, was I wrong. It was delicious! (Or perhaps because it was made by my grandmother and I know she is never capable of getting a recipe wrong or inedible)
My first bite was full of sweetness that was not too overwhelming, just normal dense cake, but with bursts of raisins and maraschino cherries spotted throughout. For some texture, she had decorated the top with some toasted almonds, which made a most pleasant crunch in my mouth. I could even taste a deeper undertone of some sort of liqueur or sweet rum that made me smile. And if that wasn't enough, she had even thoughtfully included a candle for me to light and make a wish. I hadn't done that in years!
Looking back, it's really touching to see how much my family cares for me. Even though it's hard to be grown up and celebrate birthdays on your own, having special homemade birthday goods, even fruitcake, can be the best gift on its own. It reminds you that birthdays aren't just about you, but also about the people who love and care about you.
Is is normal for your family to have fruitcake at people's birthdays? We always have it at Christmas or around that general time of year, depending on how long it lasts. I've always heard the same sort of jokes and stereotypes about fruitcake being terrible as you have. Your grandmother's creation looks and sounds heavenly though. The fruitcake my family makes is a lot denser than that, undoubtedly due to the insane amounts of dried fruit and pecans we use. I daresay that ours also tends to have a little more than an undertone of rum or in this year's case, bourbon, because it is stored for a year in rum or bourbon soaked cheesecloth. Could you maybe find the recipe to your fruitcake?
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great post, I loved hearing your voice come through so much in the writing! "A Christmas sweet that almost always went untouched and if anything, thrown about by mischievous boy cousins trying to play ball with such an inedible dessert?" hahaha...by the end I really wanted a slice of that fruit cake!
ReplyDeleteFruitcake is so interesting, my family always said you either love it or hate it. It's true I think, my dad adores it and I really don't. Your post is making me rethink my opinion though!
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