Gingerbread and Fruitcake

I was looking for inspiration for another blog subject and we received a phone call about our fruit cakes, a culinary store in town is having a chef in from out of town, that was going to show her that fruit cakes, don’t have to be “bad”. She politely replied “O, I know! Ann’s Bakery makes the best fruit cake ever”!! So, a fruitcake show down is on!!



All of my life I have been surrounded by fruitcakes and gingerbread boys. I have to admit that it wasn’t until I was an adult that I tried our fruit cake. I was sorry that I had been missing it all those years!! Gingerbread boys, on the other hand, I had eaten from as far back as I can remember! I remember putting the raisins on hundreds of them as a kid! I didn’t quite understand the importance or significance of “our” gingerbread boys, until we “tried” supplementing with some “ready to bake” boys to help us out one holiday season. Oh No!!! You would have thought we shot the Governor! I knew I could tell the difference, but we had the most expert palates scolding us! Soooo, yes, this recipe we cherish. Please come try them out!


Back to fruit cakes, these have long been the center of ridicule, or jokes, about how they could survive a nuclear war, substitute for bricks, break a tooth, you name it! Our fruit cakes, though are delicious! Every November we start getting calls about making them and shipping them. The various ways to make fruit cake are similar in some ways, and each have there own little special ingredient to make them unique. I found recipes with dates, coconut, condensed milk, brandy, candied pineapple, maraschino cherries, the common ingredients are, of course, flour, shortening, sugar and pecans. We have our “special” ingredients, too, that make ours special! I found come interesting facts and myths about fruitcakes you might find interesting:

(this being my favorite)

Referring to someone as being "as nutty as a fruitcake" (which was first recorded in 1935.[3]) implies that the person is mad, strange, insane, or very silly.



(and the rest is also interesting)

Fruitcake (or fruit cake) is a cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and (optionally) soaked in spirits. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated. Fruitcakes are often served in celebration of weddings and Christmas.


The earliest recipe from ancient Rome lists pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash. In the Middle Ages, honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added, and the name "fruitcake" was first used, from a combination of the words "fruit" (Latin: fructus, Old French: frui), and "cake" (Old Norse: kaka, Middle English: kechel).[1]



Fruitcakes soon proliferated all over Europe; however, recipes varied greatly in different countries throughout the ages, depending on the available ingredients as well as (in some instances) church regulations forbidding the use of butter, regarding the observance of fast. Pope Innocent VIII (1432-1492) finally granted the use of butter, in a written permission known as the 'Butter Letter' or 'Butterbrief.' The Holy Father softened his attitude, and in 1490 he sent a permission to Saxony, stating that milk and butter could be used in the North German Stollen fruitcakes.[2]

Starting in the 16th century, sugar from the American Colonies (and the discovery that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits) created an excess of candied fruit, thus making fruitcakes more affordable and popular.[3]

In the 18th century in some areas in Europe, fruitcakes were made using nuts from the harvest for good luck in the following year. The cake was then saved and eaten before the harvest of the next year.[4] The fruitcake also remained popular at Victorian Teas in England throughout the 19th century.[5]

If a fruitcake contains alcohol, it could remain edible for many years. For example, a fruitcake baked in 1878 is kept as an heirloom by a family in Tecumseh, Michigan.[9] In 2003 it was sampled by Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.[10]


Another exciting development!! We are working on our gluten free line of cakes!  We have found a delicious recipe for yellow cake, and we are working on more!  Come in and try them out, were going to have samples through the end of the week!  Yippee!