Reviewed: Jan. 7, 2012

I'm an experienced cook but I'd never previously had the foresight to make a fruitcake before the season until now. First discovery was that these things are hellaciously expensive to make. Second, this is a poor choice for a fruitcake and I do believe the fault lies with the tempering. I followed the instructions thoroughly and my cake was dry. It felt moist enough and I could never get it to accept more than 2 tbsp of brandy, but was dry upon eating. Also, 2 tbsp of cloves is such serious overkill, too much cloves. Lastly, it could have been sweeter, which given the ingredients might seem odd, still, the sweet factor was minimal. Research after the fact has shown me that the cakes need to be wrapped in a brandy soaked cloth and placed in an airtight container. I might make this again but with changes. As it stands, a 3.

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Reviewer:

Raedwulf

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Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada

Reviewed: Nov. 23, 2011

Just finished making this recipe for the second time! These are the modifications I made: cut the cloves in half, cooked at 250 for 3 hours, soaked the fruit in brandy ahead of time, and used dark brown sugar. After cooling, I wrapped the loaves in brandy soaked cheesecloth, then wrapped in aluminum foil, placed them in ziplock bags and left them alone for a month to age. Wow was this ever good! Very spicy, moist. It tastes wonderful with a good strong cup of coffee. I hope this month goes by fast, I can't wait to have a slice of this!

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Reviewer:

Barbara

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Nov. 20, 2011

Awesome love it!! A must try!

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Reviewer:

American

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Jan. 17, 2011

First, it takes much longer than one hour to cook. Second, it is far too spicy. I would not try this one again; too many adjustments would have to be made to make it palatable.

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Reviewer:

Lillie

Cooking Level: Beginning

Living In: Sumter, South Carolina, USA

Reviewed: Jan. 12, 2011

this one did not turn-up as i was hoping too.... the nutmeg was wayy too much for this recipes it gives an after taste...

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Reviewer:

rach

Reviewed: Dec. 30, 2010

WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED? This is the first fruitcake I have ever made. i love fruitcake, but this one just didn't do it for me. i need to get my mother-in-law's recipe. It was better, but I'd only give hers a 3+. Maybe it was me that messed this up, but I made it according to recipe and the picture says it all. The flavor was ok but it just didn't turn out the way I expected. Fruitcakes are costly to make, & I just expected 'better'. Maybe I'll have better luck with a different recipe. Since I LOVE fruitcake, I might try again...& maybe I'll have better luck next time. The brandy everyday for 2 weeks? Way too much, too soggy...but I'll try again next year, maybe.

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Reviewer:

Brenda the Baker

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Wenatchee, Washington, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 24, 2010

I followed the instructions to make this cake. I was looking for a recipe to suite my tastes. This one was good but not what I was looking for. It had a strong spice taste, have to admitt the brandy was good! Thanks for the recipe.

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Reviewer:

Cliff G

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Loris, South Carolina, USA

Living In: Summerton, South Carolina, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 13, 2010

I feel real bad giving this such a low rating but I saw all the stars and automatically started to make it..when I got to the spices and started measuring I thought"whew!!That's a lot of cloves!!" I continued and whoa it's just too much..I think if you halved all the spices it would be better. It's easy to mix up tsp and Tbsp,maybe that happened?? Mainly too much cloves and allspice!! All due respect to your dear grandmother..I raised the heat to 325 and kept an eye on it,used 1 med and 2 smaller loaf pans..took over an hour and a half..a good white frosting helped cut the spice,it tasted like clove cake and was a little crumbly coming out of the pan(s)other than that,edible, but sorry its too spicy..

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Reviewer:

cooknmom

Reviewed: Dec. 13, 2010

I was looking for a recipe that didn't have "candied" fruit and this recipe was fantastic! The entire family loved it and my daughter-in-law introduced it to her Swedish parents! They don't have fruitcake in Sweden but they absolutely raved about this recipe! Even though it took a lot of time to make and than follow-up with brandy, it was well worth watching people's faces, especially those who say they never like fruitcake until now. I will be making it a holiday tradition with my family!

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