Well first of all, this is an unsponsored post, we bought this on our own to try it out after watching a show about them. We decided to try something new...
Fruitcake!
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| Collin Street Fruitcake |
This is supposed to be one of the best and a Texas tradition, made in the same place since 1896. Apparently they are also shipped all over the world as well. We figured we should try one of the top ones.
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| Fruitcake tin |
It comes in this tin that has some fun imagery on it, somewhat North and wintery but then a cowboy in front of the Alamo and a Lone Star.
OK, that's definitely Texas.
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| Fruitcake |
It comes wrapped and sealed in plastic, still in the baking paper instead of a foil container. They say it's best to slice through the paper and wipe the knife after each slice so that's exactly what we did.
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| Pretty fruitcake slice |
It's definitely good looking, well, as fruitcakes go or so we've heard...because, you see, neither of us has ever had fruitcake! This was a new experience for us. We figured we should try what's supposed to be among the best in the country.
Verdict? It's good/OK. Again, no frame of reference for how it should taste but I liked it. 2nd Man found it to be a bit too much though. It was sweet but the flavor was lacking. Or maybe it's just not what we were expecting. It just didn't jump out and go "oh my this is the best thing ever". He said he was expecting a brandy or other flavoring. I heard the jokes over the years about how fruitcakes weigh like bricks. They do.
My Grandmother used to make something called "dateloaf" (a kind of candy). The "cake part" of this fruitcake reminded me of that, minus the fruit of course (and hers was better, ha). I ate a few slices over a couple of days, 2nd Man had one or two with coffee and then I took the rest to share at work.
Overall, we found it to be a dense and very heavy cake (as they are known to be) and a little of it goes a long way. We know there are many varieties out there, including one made by some Monks at a monastery that's famous too, so we won't give up on them. We'll keep trying. Maybe we can even find a good homemade recipe for 2nd Man to try.
What about you? Do you like fruitcakes? Have a favorite brand? Have a great family recipe you're willing to secretly email to us to try out, ha!
I have had fruitcake cookies but as far as a regular fruitcake goes; No Thank You.
ReplyDeleteOnly thing a fruit cake is good for is used as a door stopper or for target practice.
I like Claxton fruitcake. It is a little loaf, about 2"x2"x8" long. It is ubiquitous here in the South. Every grocery store has a display. I cannot say I love fruitcake, but the Claxton is the best.
ReplyDeleteThe cheap ones from chain stores - nope. No thank you. The ones sold as a fund raiser by Camp Courageous in Iowa - YUM! Yes please! It does have a mild yet rich flavor, no rum/whiskey soak or citron. And it supports a camp for people of all ages with special needs. I don't think I've had any others.
ReplyDeletei used to make them all the time but didn't get around to it this year. i find that most purchased ones aren't very good.
ReplyDeleteI like fruitcake. Not sure what that says about me! But as was already said, there is a difference between a cheap one and one made with quality ingredients. That one looks really good, with lots of nuts. I find the nut-heavy cakes taste better.
ReplyDeleteI like fruitcake too. I was always told it was an acquired tasted ha. I have heard of the Collin Street Bakery fruitcake but haven't tried it. Oh and my Mom used to make dateloaf I wish I had her recipe, I'd share that with you. Janie V
ReplyDeleteI make my own fruitcake (recipe is called "Allison's Dad's fruitcake" - it's online). I only put things in that we love (no peel, please!)I soak the fruits in rum overnight - it is magnificent if I do say so myself. We bought a "Costco's deluxe fruitcake" this year and it was horrible. We gave it away. Try making your own fruitcake, you will be amazed at the deliciousness of it!
ReplyDeleteFruit cake is a Christmas tradition for a lot of families in Australia. A throw back to our British ancestry. My mum use to make it and she would hide coins and little figurines in it. It was made with brandy and a little would be poured over just before serving. It would be lit so you would get a blueish flame for a few seconds. That was supposed to be symbolic of burning away the devil I think. I'm scratching at memories from childhood here and that was a long time ago, LOL. It would be served with hot custard. I remember it was a big thing to see what treasures people found in their slice.
ReplyDeleteOh, I should add, the hidden treasures are not done any more I don't think. Probably too many choking accidents, LOL.
ReplyDeleteI do not like fruitcake at all, but I understand if I had it with Italian candied fruits instead of the junk they sell in stores it would be a different experience.
ReplyDeleteFruitcake is yummy to me because of the sugar and carbs - HA! I steer clear now because it is just not worth the calories when you need to trim off the weight! HA HA!
ReplyDeleteI love fruitcake. My maternal grandma was half English-Scot in ancestry and made it every Christmas season. She did not put in the citron - it can be bitter. Her recipe had lots of candied fruit, raisins, and pecans and was so delicious. She made it several weeks ahead of time and every 3-4 days, she would “feed” it by pouring some whiskey over it, re-wrap it in a cotton towel, and put it back in the cabinet. I can’t find her exact recipe but found one that is very close. I use apricot brandy to “feed” mine instead of whiskey. I also add more dried fruits, like dried cherries and dried apricots.
ReplyDeleteA doctor-friend/hunting-buddy of my dad always gave us a Collin Street fruitcake each Christmas; my dad and I thought it was very good but of course not as good as my grandma’s.
A few years ago, I read that some people in England soak the fruit in brandy overnight, so I now add that step - it really adds to making it more moist and flavorful. So fruitcake for me is full of family history and delicious memories.
Tommy said his grandmother made a fruitcake every year. She wrapped it in cheesecloth and then brown paper. She put it away this time of the year to eat next year. They ate the one this year that was baked last year. He said her fruitcake was delicious.
ReplyDeleteMy Grandmother always ate Claxton fruitcake and I found out that's the only one my husband would eat also. I have never ate fruitcake it was just never appealing to me. I'm not sure they sell the Claxton brand in your area as I live in North Carolina. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year!
ReplyDeleteI never cared for fruitcakes because I don't care for the kind of candied fruit they use (yuk, no double-yuk). Last year, I made my own and substituted dried papaya, tart cherries, and raisins for the candied fruit. I soaked them in brandy to soften them, wrapped the baked fruitcake in cheesecloth and basted it with brandy every week for two months. It was nothing like the "traditional" fruitcakes made with candied fruit! So good!!! Unfortunately, I seem not to have blogged about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fruitcake eater. As a child, I had a little problem if something were too sweet or it had too many 'things' in it. So fruitcake was not on the menu for me (and don't put raisins in the apple pie either). My mother used to make fruitcake, but being a non-drinker, they were never soaked in alcohol. I helped her because I liked cooking and I would usually scrape a little batter out of the bowl, but never ate the finished cake. I liked the spices she put in the batter.
ReplyDeleteThis is a link to a fruitcake that is will known in NC. I have never had it, and there may be many other family recipes in production around the countryside. As people move, some ingredients cannot be accessed so substitutions are bound to happen. With this type of baking, I would expect a number of ingredient and or preparation substitutions for a number of reasons
https://www.southernsupreme.com
Have fun and write some reviews :)
Who knows where it could take the blog.
Happy New Year
M in NC
(hmmm, setting it on fire )
Every Christmas, my dad would order a fruitcake from the same company you ordered yours from and he loved it but he's really the only person in the family that liked fruitcakes:)
ReplyDeleteA good fruit cake needs to age. I sure do miss my Aunt Bea's. She always made her fruitcakes at Thanksgiving. They were Just Right by Christmas! Of course my grandmother's Icebox fruitcakes were good too.
ReplyDeleteI use all the tweaks Texas Rose has mentioned and would say they are essential for an authentic fruit cake. I use a medical syringe and needle to inject the alcohol into the maturing cake. If you like, I can email you the fruitcake recipe I have used since moving to North America from the U.K. 40yrs ago.
ReplyDeleteMy husbaand liked fruit cake, after Christmas I would buy a couple to put in the freezer. He would eat a slice when ever he wanted it, summer or winter. He did like the Claxton cakes and they are made in Claxton, Ga.
ReplyDeleteAny fruitcake with those nasty glazed fruits will never be good. My husband used to make a fruitcake with normal dried fruits: pineapple, apricots, raisins, dates, cherries. It was alcohol-free as well. It was absolutely delicious. But he hasn't made one in years because we're reducing sugar/carbs.
ReplyDeleteI like fruitcake. But haven't had one in so long. Our neighbor where I grew up used to make them. She baked them before Thanksgiving and for 4 weeks poured rum over them once a week. They were wrapped in cheese cloth. After the 4 weeks she would unwrap from the cheese cloth and would place each one in a waxed paper lined tin. Then give them out the weekend before Christmas. I used to go over and help her 2 daughters with the unwrapping and then putting in the tin. The girls were in charge of cutting all the waxed paper and placing in the tins. Her fruitcake was made with all of the dried and chopped fruits and nuts but it had more batter than I remember other cakes having. Wish I had her recipe.
ReplyDeleteI love fruitcake, and generally make my own. In doing so I can control the mix of fruits and nuts. I like the candied cherries, I use lots of raisins, Trader Joe's sells a mix with jumbo raisins included, the oversized raisins retain their bulk in the cake. The starting point for the recipe is a dark fruitcake from the internet, then I tweak it with different fruits, soaking the fruits in brandy and bourbon, adding dark molasses, creaming the eggs and butter until light and fluffy.
ReplyDeleteYou started with the right fruitcake. Collins Street is on a completely different level than any other commercial one. Since you are new understand that good fruitcake is not really cake. Collins Street is somewhere between cake and candy. I know fruitcake has detractors as well as devotees… I’ve been looking forward to Collins Street fruitcake at the holidays for fifty years. They mean business… own their own papaya and pineapple plantations … and are located in the heart of Texas pecan country.
ReplyDelete