28 April 2008

(tap tap) Is this thing on?

(brushes cobwebs off the keyboard) Hi everybody! Well it's getting to be that time of year--fruitcake season is beginning soon. At least it is for me. Can you believe I still have at least 15 commercial fruitcakes to review?

I'd like to start with my first order in May. However, frankly, I'm not in the mood to pick my first one. So I'm going to leave it up to you, my faithful readers, to pick one for me to review first. I've listed below the ones I have on my list. Please put your preference in the comments section. And write-ins are welcome, too!!

Monastery of the Holy Spirit
Mary of Puddin Hill
Butterfield Farms
Krema
Holy Transfiguration Skete

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find the name, Holy Transfiguration Skete, intriguing --- I say go for it. Maybe you can find out what, or who a Skete is.

They have a cake called the Jamaican Black Cake that looks wild, though I find the prunes a little icky. Would you be up for a non-traditional cake?

Isabelle said...

PRUNES!!! I've had experience with prunes in cakes before--see Old Cavendish. Prunes don't scare ME.

I'm also intrigued by the selection at the Skete.

John said...

Of your list I'd say the Skete selection is the most interesting, although 3.5 lbs is pretty big compared to all the other puny 2 lb cakes we've been eating!

Isabelle said...

John, thanks for pointing that out and yikes--that is a BIG cake, and if it's bad, a lot to get rid of! I'm leaning towards the sampler, so that I could try all of their selections (and only have 1 pound of each to deal with)--but at $70, I'll need to check my budget before I indulge!!

Anonymous said...

Isabelle,
Long time no hear or read ! Hey your link to Butterfield Farms is wrong, I think: should it be this:

http://www.butterfieldfarms.com/Fruitcake/

Speaking of large fruitcakes, Krema offers a 5 lbs. monster as does Gethsemani Farms.

I'm going to suggest a write-in for you Isabelle. A brandy dipped fruitcake made by the Camaldolese Monks of New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California( How exotic does that sound?) Here's the URL:

http://www.hermitagebigsur.com/

Again, it's great having you back with us, Isabelle !!

Isabelle said...

Brian, thanks for pointing out the Butterfield farms mis-link. It's corrected now. I have Heritage Big Sur on my list (probably recommended by you), and I'm intrigued . . .

Brooklyn said...

Hey Isabelle, I was wondering if you had heard of Beatrice Bakery Co.? They actually make the Grandma's Fruitcake the Krema sells for them as well as they sell it on their own website and for Figi's. It is from a 1917 recipe brought over from Germany. They offer it chocolate covered like the bites you had online and they have a bunch of sizes, individual half slices, 3 oz., 6 oz., 1 lb., 2 lb, 3 lb and the 5 lb. monster. they also make a no sugar added fruitcake and a kosher fruitcake without booze Give it a try. . . I would love to hear your comments. . .

www.beatricebakery.com

Isabelle said...

Hi Brooklyn, hmmm, a 1917 recipe from Germany, huh? Did they have high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated soybean oil back then? Because that's what's in the Krema fruitcake.

Brooklyn said...

Yeah. . . I have a feeling they have changed up the "original recipe" for mass production :-) but I thought it tasted good. I also thought it was funny that these other market the cakes as their own home made when they are made by someone else. . .

Isabelle said...

Hi Brooklyn, my review of the Krema cake will be coming soon. It wasn't quite as horrible as the other mass-produced cakes, but you should try some of the others on my list!