The Beginning

I got an email from my former partner "Edie" today and given the time of year I flashed back to a fond memory of the year Edie and I started our business. Christmas was fast approaching so we made an executive decision to take a few days off and make Christmas cake. Neither of us had done this before, so we decided to find a half-dozen totally different recipes and try them ALL out.

We spent our days off by creating long lists of ingredients, visiting several grocery stores and spending long hours listening to the radio and discussing our business while we chopped and chopped and chopped, mixed and baked. The hardest part was determining if the cake was baked ... we didn't want any raw spots, nor did we want to overdo the cakes creating a dried out mess.

We then soaked our cakes in rum, whisky or sherry and patiently waited for just before Christmas to divy up the goodies.

One cake stood out above the rest -- Sylvia's fruitcake -- a concoction that was heavy on the nuts and with hardly any of the traditional candied fruits. Over the years Edie phoned, faxed or emailed me for the recipe, until she found a recipe she liked even better.

I have several favorite recipes which I will share with you in future posts. I hope you will feel inspired to share your family recipes with us -- and indulge in all things "fruitcake" -- serious or otherwise.

All fruitcakes of any size, variety or origin are welcome in the Fruitcake Zone!