01 February 2009

Wedding cake

My wife and I chose a traditional fruitcake for our wedding twelve years ago. We saved the small top layer and on our anniversary we eat a thin slice. We keep it well wrapped in the freezer and bring it out just once a year. Next year I think I'll bring it out long enough to thaw completely, and give it a bit of brandy. In the old days, fruitcake was stored by submerging it in confectioner's sugar; the fineness of the sugar prevented anything from getting in contact with the fruitcake. I hope we can share a slice on our fiftieth anniversary.

5 comments:

  1. In my mother's English tradition, there are two wedding cakes: the bride's cake, which might be the more common white or yellow cake, and the groom's cake, which is a fruitcake. We had one of each at my first wedding (but we didn't save any).

    All the jokes about holiday fruitcakes notwithstanding, I like fruitcake.

    Is the one shown in the photo your actual cake? I can see the traditional layer of marzipan under the white icing. That must be another way of ensuring a complete seal around the cake for long storage.

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  2. Yes, this is the real cake, twelve years later! A layer of fondant is also used to ensure long-term viability for fruitcake. My parents had fruitcake and theirs lasted for decades. I think the people who scoff at fruitcake haven't had good, butter-and-fruit-rich fruitcake.

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  3. Congrats on your wedding anniversary!

    It's amazing just how long wedding cakes last! I hope you will be able to enjoy this cake for many more years...

    Thanks for sharing your story.

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  4. Hey ,I remember the cake ,actually I made that cake ,the fruit were soak with dark rum for month more than a year for sure .
    Happy anniversary Patrick

    me
    .

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  5. Mẹ,
    Thanks! And thank you for making the wedding cake. I'm a lucky son-in-law to be part of your family. And thanks for correcting me - the fruit was soaked more more than a year in Cuban rum. So I won't use brandy - that's what my mother used to use.

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