Memories of Christmas Past: The Christmas Fruitcake

The Christmas Fruitcake is a popular treat for many. The History of “The Christmas Cake” can be found here
When I was young and living at home, one of our many Christmas traditions was the making of the Christmas cake. These were always made during the first week of November. Mother made two cakes one light and one dark. Both were good and they never seemed to last past New Year’s Day.
The cake was prepared in her large canning kettle and we all took turns stirring the batter, this was considered to bring luck. The batter was very thick and heavy so my Father did most of the mixing. After the cake had ripened and before cutting my mother would put a layer of almond paste on the top. It was difficult waiting until December to finally taste these delicious cakes.
Even after I left home my mom and I still made Christmas cakes together and eventually, my sister-in-law joined us. The first Saturday in November became Cake baking Day. We did this for many years, right up until my mom was unable to help anymore. I made the cakes for a few years, but then there just weren’t as many people who enjoyed fruitcake. Now I usually just buy a small cake.
While catching up on my blog reading the other day I found the most delicious sounding Christmas cake over at Storybook Woods. It is called Chocolate Cherry Fruitcake. She is also sharing this recipe and the link is in her posting. This is one cake recipe I really want to try. You can check it out here

KarenOX