The traditional fruit cake is often the butt of jokes in America, but millions of fruit cakes are still being purchased in the US every year. One of the earliest known fruit cakes was created in Ancient Rome. A mix of raisins, nuts, pomegranate seeds, and barley were combined into a kind of energy bar. But the fruit cake as we know it today originates from about the 1400s with the importation of dried fruit to various parts of Europe and the United Kingdom.
In the UK, the traditional fruit cake is a holiday staple and is often glazed with marzipan and royal icing, covered in fondant and Christmas decorations. Fruit cake is also a very common kind of wedding cake.
What Makes a Good Traditional Fruit Cake?
Perhaps the negative reaction towards traditional fruit cake came about from just a few experiences with poorly baked fruit cakes or one too many fruit cakes made with poor-quality ingredients. Overcooked and tasting like plastic, poorly executed fruit cakes can become a black stain on anyone’s Christmas party.
But the perfect fruit cake is rich, zesty, spicy, sweet, and moist, very much unlike your average one-note sugary and chocolatey desserts. It is a cake fit for celebrations and even royalty.
With its superior flavor and its long connection with holidays and tradition, the fruit cake is a beautifully delicious little cake that deserves a second – and maybe even a third – taste.
