Missing Ingredient Makes Fruitcake Better

Last year for Christmas, and again this year, my neighbor gave me the best fruitcake I ever ate. When I went to my baker (Atwood's in Alexandria, Louisiana) to order several fruitcakes as gifts, he took me aside and whispered his secret for success. "We age our fruitcakes six months. And we never use citron (the chewy yellow bits), because it becomes bitter with age."

Well, you can imagine my surprise and delight to have this piece of valuable information imparted to me by a master baker. I was inspired to purchase 6 two-pound fruitcakes at $23 each. Worth every penny but, because they required shipping to friends in North Carolina and Virginia, I wound up spending $240.

However, my generosity was rewarded by those friends, who all sent last-minute gift certificates. So, this Christmas I'm enjoying rack of lamb and a good wine as well as the superb fruitcake from my neighbor.

I hope you will try some of this fruitcake, and share it with your friends. It's so scrumptious and rich that I put leftovers in a baggie and douse with rum. Yo ho ho! Yum yum yum!