Holiday fruitcake has a love/hate presence every year.
To those who must have a wedge of fruitcake: Why do you adore it? It’s a dense brick of a cake; often the butt of jokes…that it can be crack a window when hurled.
To those who nix the fruitcake: What don’t you like about it? The preserved soaked-in-liquor fruit and nuts, with too little cake?
Me? Not a huge fan of traditional “dark” fruitcake loaded with preserved fruit with a high liquor presence, and less cake.
Prefer the local “blond” cake, the Happy Cake concocted in 1967 by the late Dick Rodby of Kemoo Farm. This is the version chock full of pineapple and macadamia nuts – and more pound-cake than fruitcake..
And it’s still being produced by Hawaiian Happy Cakes. Visit hawaiianhappycakes@mail.com or call (808) 922-1957.
What’s your stance on the fruitcake debate?
I love fruitcake and used to order one every Christmas. Then I wisely advertised my love for this cake and this year a friend sent me one from Nordstrom. If you’re using yours as a door stop, send it to me!
How tasty is the Nordstrom version? The wickedest was from Hickory Farms.