This is it. Fruitcake weather. It’s nippy outside, even in South Florida the temperatures have dipped down into the fifties at night… Christmas has arrived….and the wait is over!(Drum roll, please!) The food memory? Well, imagine a little girl with 2 pigtails and a curly headed little boy (my brother Bill) ready for the long trip huddled together (both with feet dangling from the same seat) on a Greyhound bus with my Great-Grandmama Emma, (our chaperone) to Chattanooga, Tennessee. The bus driver calls out the cities, ” Jacksonville, Macon, Atlanta, Chattanooga and all points northeast…” with that our bus backed out and headed towards I- 95, then on to I- 75. Meanwhile me and Billy with our array of coloring crayons colored in our coloring books sit quietly engaged in drawing and playing–Billy, with his tiny toy trucks, and me with my paper doll books (remember those?) anxiously waiting for the veritable feast of fried chicken, deviled eggs, and Christmas cookies in tins. But, the most anticipated thing was wrapped in layers of foil in a special cake tin—fruitcake! Ahhhhh!
With that memory….all I can say is….I’ve never forgotten the contented feeling of looking through the frosty window on the bus, perfumed with the best fried chicken and fruitcake ever made… and I can still see Grandma Emma’s smile as she gave us the smallest piece of soaked rum fruitcake…It was a satisfying smile of the greatness of that hidden treasure like finding some forbidden jewel with its sweet cherries, nuts, and spices. The time involved in its preparation…the waiting for days, weeks, and months until the cake (marinating in liqueurs) adding to our anticipation and culminating in that tiny slice of goodness. The bottom line? This memory sealed my fate (and my brother’s) as lovers of fruitcake–forever, without regrets!
So, does my son like fruitcake? Of course. The memory’s different but, the anticipation is the same. My mother loves fruitcake, too. It’s her favorite cake….and we’ve got hers packed and ready to go…Fruitcake’s the reason why I’m up late tonight…Nick’s had enough of reminding me whether I’ve spritzed the cake. All anticipation crescendos to an inevitable question, “Mom, do you think it’s ready, yet? Then, “can we cut it now?” Then finally, “are you sure?” My answer?… “Yes, it’s ready!”
Welcome to the holidays, y’all. It’s fruitcake time! This one is my best one yet (I say that every year)…Nick’s response? “It’s real good, Mom… He’s said that several times while eating it…My response? Grandma’s same smile of satisfaction…
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Cheryl’s Butter Bakes fruitcake 2018. Full of my own candied cherries, pineapples, ginger, apricots, raisins, walnuts, and pecans. Soaked with bourbon and dark rum….I just love this time of year. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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