who all has started making their Christmas fruitcakes?

[piperdbh]

I made one yesterday. Who else has made theirs?

[Meggers]

idk....Im weird about funky chunkies in soft food. That means no fruit chunks in my yogurt, no nuts in my brownies, no fruit in my cake, etc.

BUT this xmas I do really want to make a yule cake I made one a few years ago and it was gorgeous.

[Paul Henry]

I made three of mine back in August, it gives them plenty of time to mature, two are for gifts.This year I made all my own candied peel to make them extra special

[Meggers]

Ive never had fruitcake in my life...why are they being made so early?

[piperdbh]

Meghan, you really do need to get out more.

Fruitcakes are made well in advance of the date you want to eat so the flavors have a chance to mix and mingle. "Ripen" is the word bakers use for it. Some fruitcakes, like mine and I would imagine paulhenry's, are "fed" with a few tablespoons of brandy, rum, Amaretto, or some other spirit, every few days or weeks while ripening. The alcohol, which evaporates off (eventually) preserves the cake and helps carry the flavors around within the cake.
Fruitcake should be exempt from your "fruit not mixing with non-sweet stuff" rule , and it can be made without the alcohol.

[Paul Henry]

Fruit cakes, the sort for celebrations, are usuallly made at least a few months in advance, it helps the cake to mature and the flavours all become richer and moister. My mother used to make wedding cakes as a additional income, and it was not unusual to have the cake baked at least 6 months in advance, but only marizpaned and iced shortly before the wedding itself. there was also the tradition of keeping the small top tier for the christening cake of the first child, I can can remember big wall cupboards from my childhood with lots of diffferent fruit cakes in all sorts of sizes with labels for many diffferent families.

[piperdbh]

My mother used to make wedding cakes as a additional income...

The Mrs. and I do that, too.

...it was not unusual to have the cake baked at least 6 months in advance, but only marizpaned and iced shortly before the wedding itself.

I've never had fruitcake at a wedding here in the US ofA. We use pound, sponge, carrot, red velvet, various chocolate and a few other cakes, but I don't know of anyone who has served fruitcake.

...there was also the tradition of keeping the small top tier for the christening cake of the first child...

In my country, the tradition is to keep the top tier and eat it on the couple's first anniversary.[/quote]

I can can remember big wall cupboards from my childhood with lots of diffferent fruit cakes in all sorts of sizes with labels for many diffferent families.

That must have been a sweet-smelling kitchen!

[Paul Henry]

In the UK , it is very traditional to have a rich fruit cake for your wedding, although tastes are changing and lighter sponge/chocolate/etc types are becoming more common.

I'm not sure I'd want to keep a sponge cake for a year for an anniversary though....

On the subject of "feeding" a cake. my mother never used any alcohol in the fruit cakes, relying on the natural ageing process to mature and keep moist,she was a very good Presbyterian of the old school!

Yes the house had a wonderful smell of cakes cooking, I especially remember the smell of the singeing paper in the AGA to stop the tops of hte cakes getting too brown, it's one of those very special childhood smells for me.

I normally soak the fruit for a few days in a mixture of fruit juice/spirit usually sherry or whisky, and then only add a little extra"liquid" about a month before it's needed.

[BEEDEE]

I've never had fruitcake at a wedding here in the US ofA. We use pound, sponge, carrot, red velvet, various chocolate and a few other cakes, but I don't know of anyone who has served fruitcake.

We did!!! Made a traditional fruit cake from an old New Zealand recipe and covered it with marzipan and royal icing.

But my favorite for a Christmas cake is Black Bun.

Brian

[piperdbh]

I'm not sure I'd want to keep a sponge cake for a year for an anniversary though....

We freeze them, but I tell my customers to go ahead and cut the top tier at the reception, and I make them a duplicate for their first anniversary.

Did your mother make her own fondant? I make mine with melted marshmallows and lots of powdered sugar.