The cake is packaged in plastic, very different than the usual tin or box. I think the goal here is eye appeal, if huge chunks of nuts and red and green things are appealing:
I must say, I found the walnut and pecan halves on top of the fruitcake appealing--nuts ain't cheap. But they were joined by those nasty cherries, and this topping was mounded on top of the cake. It literally took up half the height of the cake--the cake was somewhere buried below. It made it difficult to cut and eat.
As to the ingredients:
Pretty typical, nothing wonderful, and a few preservatives to boot. For you citron haters, there were none, only those cherries and pineapple.
On to the cake itself. This cake is gooey. Gooey, gooey, gooey. It has the unappealing color of clay or peanut butter. Many cakes do not contain a lot of batter; the cake is used merely to hold together the other ingredients--the fruit and nuts. This is that type of cake, but not in a good way. The cake part tasted uncooked and grainy. The fruits and nuts were about the same size as what's on top of the cake, which I found a bit too large. It was cloyingly sweet with no other flavor besides the fruit.
This cake, my friends, is the epitome of why people hate fruitcake. Haven't I said it enough? The mass-produced fruitcakes, the ones that are stacked in grocery stores this time of year, are, in general, made of low-quality ingredients and they flat out don't taste good. They are made to look like the idea of a fruitcake, without having the actual good taste of a fruitcake.
And yes, to all you haters, fruitcakes can taste good. If one of these mass-produced cakes has been your only experience of fruitcake, well then, I can understand the hatred and revulsion. I feel it too, towards this kind of cake.
So there it is:
3.25 pounds of fruitcake, on its way to the garbage. There is no reason to continue eating this one.
17 comments:
Would you say it's the worst of all that you've reviewed? Or does that accolade go to another? ;)
Hmmm, gooey and grainy with a cloying sweetness, I think I'll pass.
@ Anonymous, You can see from the ratings list what I think of this one!
I had a bite of this cake at work and thought it was good.
I liked the fact that it was not
extra, extra sweet as many fruitcakes are.
I am going to buy one for the holidays and see what others think.
wow, Anonymous 2, if you thought that cake WASN'T sweet.... I'd like to know the cakes you've been eating that you consider sweet! I welcome you to post your feedback on what your guests thought of the cake. Obviously my tastes might not be everyones, and they have to be moving those Costco fruitcakes to somebody!
I buy a Kirkland fruitcake every year. Maybe I'm not a sophisticated fruitcake, but I love it.
I used to HATE fruitcake but I love it now. My favorite so far is the Monks of the Abbey from Williams Sonoma. I don't understand the horrid reviews of the Kirkland Signature Fruitcake. I'm eating some just as I am leaving this response. First of all, I'm in LA and I had to go to TWO Costcos to find them in stock. It is nothing like you describe in your review. I found out that each Costco makes their own Fruitcakes. Is it possible you just got a bad batch? Granted it is NOT as good as the Abbey's cake but an Abbey cake this size would cost over $75.00! For 15 bucks - I get my fruitcake fix and I don't have to knock over a gas station to pay for it. I think you should try another Kirkland cake from a different location - you may be pleasantly surprised. I'm kind of a food snob myself and I think just "maybe" you are a HUGE Fruitcake Snob - but it is hardly garbage!
- in addition - is it possible that a business like Costco sells these at this price as a Holiday "Thank You" to their loyal Customers? Like you said - SOMEONE is buying them and they are not being used as doorstops! At the Burbank Costco where they were sold out - they said they made thousands and they were sold out weeks ago! I dunno, my friends & family like it! I'd rather have a homemade one - but until I win the lottery - this will do just fine!
I guess I'm a fruitcake snob! If you like this fruitcake and appreciate the price, Anonymous, go for it. Everyone has different tastes, and if you like a fruitcake, ANY fruitcake, that's a good thing!
I tried the Costco Fruitcake and I must say I like it! It has plenty of nuts, cherries and pineapple. Not so sweet! I want to buy one for my mom too! And the price is a treat too.
Kirkland Fruitcake is the absolute best fruitcake I have ever had in my life!!!!! And, let me say that I have always hated any fruitcake at all until eating a piece of COSTCO Kirkland Fruitcake!!!!! It was in a word DELICIOUS!!!!!
I wish I'd read this before I bought one. I've been coveting a nice piece of fruitcake for years (ever since the nice gentleman with the best recipe in the world died) but this isn't it. It's a light-colored batter (not a dark fruitcake), gummy/undercooked, and with too-large pieces of fruit. I love almost everything Costco/Kirkland makes, but not this. Sometimes too much can just be, well, too much.
It is the best fruitcake I have had since my mom made it. The price is great too.
I bought kirkland brand fruit cake last year and it was a dark cake and the fruit was cut small...delicious! This year, 2012 wow what a difference this year. I bought one and tried to cut a piece and it just crumbled and fell apart. I returned it and tried another one but it is exactly the same....it is going to be returned also. Such a disapointment.
Bought the Kirkland Fruitcake from Costco and kept half for home and took half to the office. Everyone was saying where is the cake in it! It is very disappointing, it is all fruit held together by some gooey sweet substance. Does not have a cake texture anywhere about it. Will never buy it again.
This cake was awesome and i don't usually like fruitcake. Very delicious. Husband agrees. Great buy for the money
My family loves this fruitcake and i think it got a bad rap and needs to be reviewed again. its far better than Claxton, in my opinion, as claxton is dreadfully and diabetic sweet. i love the gooey cake that binds the fruits together and the fruits and nuts in this cake. i disagree on the preserved cherries, as it adds texture and color to the cake. we focus on the nuts and fruits on fruitcakes and not just teh cake bit. ive tried some of the fruitcakes on the list and for us, this is really good. we moved last year to a state where theres no cost co, but went on a holiday in NYC so we had to swing by costco just to buy this for us. for less than $15 vs the $40+ fruitcake with some 1/3 of fruits in it, id go with kirkland. if we wanted a cake, id buy a cake and not a fruitcake.
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