Fruitcake is a cake composed of dried fruits and nuts combined with spices that are typically enjoyed around Christmastime, often light or dark-toned depending on personal preferences, and may even contain alcohol.
Fruitcake has long been considered taboo in America due to mass-produced cheap cakes of questionable age that can be easily bought and consumed. Johnny Carson popularized this joke.
Eilenberger’s Bakery
Eilenberger’s Bakery of Palestine is an East Texas institution. Though best known for its holiday fruitcakes, Eilenberger’s also offers year-round baked goods and is run as a successful family business serving customers from all over the globe.
Traditional fruitcakes are typically soaked in rum for anywhere from several hours to several days in order to bring out their full flavors and spices. Although other liquors, such as brandy or sherry, may also be used, rum remains the go-to choice when it comes to soaking fruitcakes.
A tradition in East Texas for over 110 years, this bakery stands as an icon. It was founded by Fredrick Herman Eilenberger in Palestine during World War I and provided bread to troop trains passing through. Additionally, Eilenberger opened a wholesale operation offering day-old bread tickets that allowed people to access free day-old loaves of bread daily.
Eilenberger’s Bakery no longer uses horse-drawn wagons and cement mixers to craft its signature cakes; however, their founder’s dedication lives on in their company today. At peak production levels, Eilenberger’s can produce up to 1,000 fruitcakes daily!
If you are searching for a unique fruitcake experience, Harry and David have just the thing. Their two-pound fruitcake features premium ingredients like golden raisins, pecans, Seville orange peels, and currants and is finished off with cherries for extra flair! You can gift this festive dessert right now!
Frog Hollow Farm’s two-pound traditional fruitcake is packed with an assortment of apples, apricots, pineapple, and candied cherries and is soaked in both rum and brandy for maximum flavor without too much sweetness. Perfect for those who appreciate fruitcake flavor without excessively sweet tartiness!
Harry & David
Harry & David is the premier destination for gourmet gifts, featuring fresh pears and fruit, chocolates and sweets, baked goods, snacks, savory foods, and wine – not to mention home decor items, kitchen necessities, and flowers! Their longstanding brand dates back to 1934!
Their headquarters is located in Oregon’s Rogue Valley on 2,700 acres that boast packing houses, storage facilities, an information technology building, a candy kitchen/bakery complex, an employment & education center & a customer service call center, as well as several orchards throughout their campus.
Although this company still sends millions of catalogs out, its business has also moved online. Their website was updated in 2017 to make ordering more straightforward and more personalized; additionally, there is now a Smart Gift option that allows recipients to receive their present in real-time while giving thanks back directly online.
For an indulgent sweet snack, the Holiday Founders’ Favorites Gift Box offers something sweet. It is packed with six seasonal pears and four apples as well as cheese such as Sharp Cheddar, Gouda, Rogue Creamery TouVelle, plus Moose Munch & relish, plus the option to add wine for $20 extra. You’ll find everything needed here for a sweet holiday treat.
Signature trays from this bakery make an excellent addition to any small holiday gathering, featuring cinnamon swirl and lemon-blueberry loaf cakes as well as baklava and snickerdoodle cookies. Customers can even order custom trays with their corporate logos as business gifts! During the checkout process, customers can select a delivery date/window; shipping options available include two-day express. Major credit cards are accepted, and tracking numbers are provided, as well as a mobile app for ordering on the go!
Jane Parker’s Triple Delight
Jane Parker’s Triple Delight in Cambridge, New York, offers traditional fruitcake that makes an excellent treat for holiday celebrations. Their festive tin allows customers to store the cake safely while its flavor deepens over time – the bakery also suggests keeping your cake at room temperature to maximize results!
Although each fruitcake is custom-crafted by its baker, many ingredients remain consistent from one cake to the next. Most often, this includes candied fruits and nuts, whether simple, such as pecans and cherries, or more complex, such as figs, dates, currants, pineapple, and citrons. A great fruitcake also includes alcohol, such as dark rum, for extra flavor!
This cake is created using a classic Southern recipe and filled with hand-shelled pecans for a rich and dense nutty flavor. Additionally, dried fruits such as figs, dates, and pineapple are added for texture. Finally, the cake is soaked in various liquors, including dark rum, sherry, or even bourbon, for maximum booziness!
Cake is available both online and in-store from this bakery, which also provides shipping services across the U.S. The cakes can be stored up to a year at room temperature and 18 months in the fridge before consumption; additionally, Triple Delight gift boxes contain three fruitcakes that each weigh one-pound cake.
Collin Street Bakery
Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas, is famous for its deluxe fruitcakes – authentic Southern delicacies consisting of pineapple, Washington cherries, and Texas pecans packed in vintage keepsake tins – which it ships worldwide. Furthermore, this shop’s fame was furthered through a brief appearance on Netflix’s docuseries Cheer; nonetheless, it remains an attractive tourist spot from all around the country and beyond.
August Wiederman, an immigrant from Wiesbaden, Germany, and local entrepreneur Tom McElwee established Corsicana Bakery in 1896. Soon after that, its original location quickly outgrew itself, so they moved into a larger building where Will Rogers and Enrico Caruso would frequent. Later that same year, Ringling Brothers circus performers stopped by Corsicana on tour, purchasing fruitcakes to send to friends across the United States and overseas – sparking an explosion in mail-order sales!
In 1946, Lee William “L. W.” McNutt, Harry Cook, and Bob Rutherford purchased Weidmann’s bakery. Under McNutt’s leadership, orders could now be taken both over the phone and by mail, and new methods were created for packing and shipping products. Robert Pritchett “Bob” McNutt (the third generation owner) has continued refining methods while expanding the reach of company products via the internet.
This bakery’s website offers an impressive variety of baked goods, from cakes and pies to cookies and custom cakes and iced cookies – with customers being able to order custom cakes and iced cookies as well. Their products can be found throughout North Dakota stores; additionally, the bakery ships their goods to all 50 states as well as over 190 countries around the globe.
Gladys Farek
Gladys Farek of Texas is known for crafting fruitcakes like no one else. Since 1972, when she first opened her eponymous bakery as a hobby shop, fruitcake has been her specialty – especially Old Fashioned Czech Pecan Fruitcake, which features pecans and pineapple while forgoing the usual citron, dates or raisins found in traditional fruitcake varieties. Her cakes come in various sizes to reflect Texas.
She initially began mixing fruitcake batter by hand but soon found that this task proved too challenging. So she purchased and painted a bright red cement mixer to accommodate the large quantity of batter she required – quickly producing thousands of pounds annually and becoming something of an icon herself.
Her fame was solidified with appearances on both The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and The Late Show with David Letterman. Additionally, she set a world record by creating a 150-pound cake in the shape of Texas State.
Melissa Varley now oversees her family business after retiring. She continues to follow family recipes in producing fruitcakes that stand out.
No matter your fruitcake preference or level of experience, there’s something special waiting for you when it comes to fruitcake! From classic fruitcakes and chocolate fruitcakes to amaretto fruitcakes and Kosher fruitcakes – there is sure to be one just right for you. When you do find something you like online, you can have it delivered directly to your door in a beautiful gift tin – making this holiday season’s celebrations truly memorable for friends and family!
