# I Have an Awful Confession.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871 "2018-11-20T23:06:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/41 "2018-11-21T19:59:13Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I sold them door-to-door in the 5th grade for a fundraiser…that was fun (no, it wasn’t). I’m guessing that class didn’t get to make that trip to the Zoo. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/42 "2018-11-21T20:33:13Z")
I also like fruitcake. More golden raisins, etc the better, not so many nuts please. The glace fruits add color, but use them sparingly. Fruitcake can be Ok for about a year, ymmv. Cool place, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/43 "2018-11-21T20:36:02Z")
If you want superior quality( and boozy )fruitcake and are prepared to pay threw the nose for the priviledge, [the Upper Peninsula of Michigan](https://poorrockabbey.com/) beckons. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/44 "2018-11-21T20:58:14Z")
There’s a [Trappist Abbey](https://www.trappistbakery.com/) a little ways west of us that makes a really good fruitcake that I try to buy every year. (they sell out quickly.) I don’t much care for the ones made with cheap booze, however. I’d as soon have a cake without any booze at all. I may try to make my own (non-alcoholic cake) this year. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/45 "2018-11-22T21:37:35Z")
Love fruitcake, pannetone as french toast, and I love making plum pudding using an old family recipe that has been in my Dad’s family for at least a couple hundred years. Brandied Hard Sauce yes or no? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/46 "2018-11-22T22:00:17Z")
My family has an old recipe for fruitcake that has no booze. We prefer it that way. I LOVE fruitcake if it’s quality stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/47 "2018-11-22T23:42:04Z")
True fruitcake is great. Preferably from Britain and particularly from a single-malt distiller. I British colleague in Bangkok had never heard of Americans’ penchant for treating fruitcake as a joke. She simply could not understand it despite the best efforts of myself and a fellow American to explain it. ---
**Author:** ![Sandra\_Battye](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sandra_battye/32/552_2.png) [@Sandra\_Battye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandra_Battye)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2018, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/48 "2018-11-23T02:56:41Z")
I don’t like candied fruit but I love “real” fruitcake like [Alton Brown’s free-range fruitcake](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/free-range-fruitcake-recipe-1926833). Dense, rich and nutty. And I love mince pies, also home-made. ---
**Author:** ![wanderer2575](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@wanderer2575](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wanderer2575)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/49 "2018-11-26T01:32:46Z")
I’m guessing you fruitcake lovers also have a secret thing for [circus peanuts](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1159/does-anybody-actually-like-circus-peanuts/). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/50 "2018-11-26T01:33:49Z")
> [@wanderer2575](#): > > I’m guessing you fruitcake lovers also have a secret thing for [circus peanuts](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1159/does-anybody-actually-like-circus-peanuts/). No, I hate them. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/51 "2018-11-26T01:40:18Z")
I don’t think I like fruitcake, but I’ve only ever had my great-grandmother’s version (which she continued to make well into her 90s, and which was apparently a big hit at the church bazaar, so I guess _someone_ liked it even if the family didn’t). However, she was a lifelong teetotaler, and I have heard it is much better with booze. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/52 "2018-11-26T14:43:52Z")
> [@Sandra\_Battye](#): > > I don’t like candied fruit but I love “real” fruitcake like [Alton Brown’s free-range fruitcake](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/free-range-fruitcake-recipe-1926833). Dense, rich and nutty. And I love mince pies, also home-made. We just ran our annual bake of these. (8) 8.5" pans worth. Let the spritzing begin! We add a lot more variety of fruit, and soak it in 151 Goslings’ dark rum and apple cider for a month before making our cakes. We’ve had to tweak the juice/flour ratios to compensate, but the concept of a great fruitcake is certainly not only possible, but achievable. This recipe gives something that is not your run of the mill cake, and is truly a special thing to be shared with only those that would appreciate it. Unfortunately, in my world, this list is short but that means more for me and those on the list. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/53 "2018-11-26T15:30:51Z")
> [@wanderer2575](#): > > I’m guessing you fruitcake lovers also have a secret thing for [circus peanuts](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1159/does-anybody-actually-like-circus-peanuts/). Those don’t exist here. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/54 "2018-11-26T17:34:11Z")
> [@wanderer2575](#): > > I’m guessing you fruitcake lovers also have a secret thing for [circus peanuts](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1159/does-anybody-actually-like-circus-peanuts/). Nope. But stale [marshmallow bananas](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiL0qLky_LeAhUkwYMKHUVUDUwQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.saveonfoods.com%2Fpd%2FMcCormicks%2FMarshmallow-Bananas%2F180-g%2F662572385000%2F&psig=AOvVaw3GShRaU-5NStzeqDXaBdPC&ust=1543340022640961)? Hell yes. I can’t stand the strawberry ones, though. I can taste the red dye and it’s really bitter. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/55 "2018-11-26T20:45:13Z")
I like fruitcake. A slice with a cup of tea is to me a fine winter snack. And now I have an urge to reread Truman Capote’s _A Christmas Memory_. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/56 "2018-11-26T22:51:30Z")
I love fruitcake. Trouble is, virtually all bakeries seem to think that walnuts and pecans are fruit, and should in fact be the dominant ingredient in a _fruit_cake. BLEH. If the nuts were in any reasonable proportion, I could pick them out and eat the good stuff - but they seem to dominate the rest of it in a completely unfair manner. I can tolerate pecans in stuff though I don’t love them. Walnuts… well, if you looked at me you’d think I’d never met a dessert I wouldn’t eat - but I will refuse food with walnuts in it. I’ve gone so far as to make fruitcakes (nut-free) myself, though it’s a hella lot of trouble. But boy is it worth it!! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/57 "2018-11-27T02:00:46Z")
I love Circus peanuts. Proudly, no secret. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/58 "2018-11-27T02:15:24Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I love fruitcake. > > Trouble is, virtually all bakeries seem to think that walnuts and pecans are fruit, and should in fact be the dominant ingredient in a _fruit_cake. > > BLEH. If the nuts were in any reasonable proportion, I could pick them out and eat the good stuff - but they seem to dominate the rest of it in a completely unfair manner. > > I can tolerate pecans in stuff though I don’t love them. Walnuts… well, if you looked at me you’d think I’d never met a dessert I wouldn’t eat - but I will refuse food with walnuts in it. > > I’ve gone so far as to make fruitcakes (nut-free) myself, though it’s a hella lot of trouble. But boy is it worth it!! Right. A few pecans along the top is fine, but other than that I want FRUIT! dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/59 "2018-11-27T02:21:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Right. A few pecans along the top is fine, but other than that I want FRUIT! dammit. Hear him, hear him! :: pounds table with cider stein:: ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871/60 "2018-11-27T02:59:03Z")
Another member of the “nuts are not fruit” brigade. I like nuts fine, by themselves, to munch on. Not IN things. Especially not in baked goods. Especially not when said goods are named FRUITcake. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-an-awful-confession/824871.md?page=4)