| As a child, while visions of sugar plums | | | | much as I do. Thankfully it's not banned in |
| danced in the heads of children around the | | | | Alabama. |
| world on Christmas eve, I dreamed of candied | | | | |
| orange peel, candied lemon peel, candied | | | | As to the decadence of the fruitcake, a rumor |
| citron, candied cherries, raisins, ginger, | | | | that has lasted for a couple of centuries, |
| chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, grated lemon | | | | reveal that Queen Victoria received a |
| rind, brandy, vanilla cinnamon, nutmeg, | | | | fruitcake for her birthday one year but |
| cloves, mixed into a batter made of baking | | | | waited another year to eat it. She wanted to |
| powder, flour, sugar and eggs. I remember | | | | show that the elite could show restraint and |
| watching mom mixing these ingredients | | | | good taste while enjoying in moderation such |
| together to make the perfect fruit cake! | | | | a tasty treat. This restraint has |
| | | | unfortunately followed her to this century |
| From the time when I was a mere child, and | | | | for many folks decry the virtues of the noble |
| discovered that Christmas was really all | | | | fruitcake! |
| about eating, I was addicted to fruitcake. | | | | |
| To me, nothing epitomized the meaning of | | | | Not everyone has been enamored of the |
| Christmas like that of my mother's fruitcakes | | | | fruitcake as I have been. Over the years |
| that she made from scratch. This was of | | | | people have made jokes about them that have |
| course before I knew that Christmas was | | | | not really been in good taste, but then good |
| really a celebration of the birth of Jesus | | | | taste is not something that is in abundance |
| Christ some 2000 plus years ago. Until that | | | | in our society. Bad jokes about the |
| time, the success of my Christmas depended on | | | | fruitcake have been around for years. |
| whether my mother had felt like baking the | | | | Everyone has heard the one liners concerning |
| cake a month before. | | | | this wonderful cake: |
| | | | |
| I often wondered why she would make a cake in | | | | 'Fruitcakes make good door stops.' |
| November only to cut into it a month later in | | | | |
| December. As I was growing up I learned that | | | | 'Fruitcakes make good weights on a |
| she would soak a cloth in my wayward uncle's | | | | grandfather clock.' |
| whiskey that she'd would pilfer while he was | | | | |
| asleep, soak a cloth with the brandy or | | | | 'Fruitcakes make good Christmas wreaths.' |
| whatever spirits he was consuming at the | | | | |
| time, and insert it in the center of the | | | | 'Fruitcakes make good Curling stones.' |
| fruitcake which was baked in a bunt pan. The | | | | |
| whiskey would soak into the cake, giving it a | | | | 'There is really only one fruitcake; it's |
| tang that couldn't be made any other way. | | | | just been passed around for hundreds of |
| | | | years' |
| Fruitcake addiction hasn't been limited to | | | | |
| me. History tells us in the early 1800's, | | | | There's no accounting for bad taste. These |
| fruitcake, then called plum cake, was | | | | and other jokes have made a mockery of the |
| outlawed throughout continental Europe. It | | | | awesome fruitcake. |
| seems that the powers that be back then | | | | |
| thought the cake was so good it just had to | | | | While commercial bakeries do indeed make |
| be sinful. Since flagrant sinning was a | | | | excellent fruitcakes, I still wish I could |
| no-no, Royalty put its foot down and banned | | | | taste one like my mother used to make when I |
| the fruit cake! I suspect they were correct | | | | was a kid. I am making this my one big |
| on that decision. A good fruitcake is so | | | | mission in life... searching for the perfect |
| delicious it is almost a sin to enjoy it as | | | | fruitcake! |