National Fruitcake Day Date in the current year: December 27, 2024

A fruitcake is a cake made with candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts, and spices. It may be soaked in spirits and iced. Fruitcake is very rich therefore it is rarely served with condiments. The earliest fruitcake recipe dates back to ancient Romans. It was made with barley mash, raisins, pine nuts, and pomegranate seeds. In Middle Ages, spices, honey, and preserved fruits were used.

Nowadays many countries have their own varieties of fruitcake depending on the ingredients available in the regions they are situated in. For example, a traditional German Christmas fruitcake is made with butter, yeast, flour, water, almonds, raisins, spices and zest. It is called Stollen. Typical British Christmas fruitcake is covered in marzipan and royal icing.

Traditional American fruitcakes are made with much nuts and fruit. Homemade fruitcakes are typically soaked in brandy or liqueur while most mass-produced fruitcakes are alcohol-free. It is interesting to know, that fruitcakes saturated with alcohol can remain edible for months and even years as spirits prevent mold. Some people believe that alcohol-soaked fruitcakes can improve with age.