Fruit Cake?

 Fruit Cake is unfairly maligned - That's the statement.

First up, Full disclosure, Fruit cake is my utmost favourite.  

An often asked question. What did the Romans ever do for us? Fruit Cake, the Romans, gave us Fruit Cake.

That is likely not the answer you were expecting.

The earliest recipes for Fruit Cakes are traced back to ancient Rome. Ingredients then included were pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and raisins mixed into a barley mash. Later on, in the middle ages, honey and preserved fruits were added.  

Fruit cake recipes proliferated throughout Europe. The recipes varied significantly by country, depending on the ingredients available. Church regulations over the observance of fasting forbade the use of butter; however, Pope Innocent VIII (1442 - 1492) granted its use in his Butterbrief of 1490. It permitted Saxony to use butter and milk in Stollen fruit cakes.

In 17th century England, fruit cake was yeast-based and used Rum and dried fruits, which extended the shelf life.

Pianoforte

 In Italy, Panoforte (meaning strong bread) is a dense, chewy cake,   heavily flavoured with spices, dating back to the 13th Century Sienna in Tuscany. Also, there is Panatone, filled with dried and candied fruits with a bread loaf consistency. It's now well known across Europe and this country, especially in shops like Lidl and upmarket places such as Fortnum and Mason in London.

In England, rich dark fruit cake is traditional fare at Christmas. They were also traditional for wedding cakes, where the top tier was preserved and saved for the christening of the firstborn child. This tradition has fallen foul of the influences of our American cousins. Sponge and heavily creamed cakes seem more in favour.

Our wedding cake was four-tiered. The bottom two tiers, made by myself, included nearly a litre and a half of Rum, dark brown sugar, butter, eggs (from the farmer in the village), Black treacle and flour. The bottom tier was 20 inches and took nearly five hours to cook. The top two tiers were vanilla and chocolate sponge cakes.

Throughout the 90s, whilst serving with the Royal Marines Band at BRNC Dartmouth, I had a little side hustle making christening cakes for band members. There were quite a few young families in the band at that time.

My Mother used to make Grandfather, her father, a Dundee Cake each Christmas. Dundee Cake is a traditional Scottish fruit cake flavoured with Whisky and decorated with almonds. Being a proud Yorkshireman, my Grandfather always had his piece of cake with cheese. I am trying to remember which cheese he had. He had a favourite Danish blue cheese, but I think that was that one. I, too, like to have cheese with my fruit cake, a lovely mature cheddar is my favourite, and I go a little further and have an apple.

In answer to the question, is Fruit cake unfairly maligned - probably yes, but plenty of people enjoy it.

Now, what am I going to have for afternoon tea?