Fruitcake is one of the oldest known types of desserts and has been enjoyed for centuries. The fruitcake hasn’t always received the level of respect that it gets today.  For many years the fruitcake was seen as the homely, hokey cousin of the more glamorous holiday desserts. The fruitcake for the holidays gift was a cliché, something joked about and derided as less than appetizing. Even Johnny Carson made some famous and oft-quoted jokes about how nobody really eats fruitcake.

But nothing lasts forever, and times change. The modern fruitcake has slowly regained its popularity among millions of people around the world. In fact, some organizations and “fruitcake fan clubs” have even come together to champion the fruitcake’s delicious tastes and charmingly cheerful holiday appearance.  The fruitcake is popular in many countries around the world, despite being often made fun of in the West, and some groups are trying to preserve the glorious history of the fruitcake by compiling stories, legends, facts, recipes and other information about the fruitcake to show people how versatile and innovative the fruitcake can be.

One online fruitcake fan group says it all with its name. The  Society for the Protection and Preservation of Fruitcake invites visitors and members to share their fruitcake recipes and collects news articles that portray the fruitcake in a favorable light. Active since at least 2005, the site likely ranks as one of the oldest of its kind. The Fruitcake Protection Initiative collects and displays the use of fruitcake in popular media, both print and television and Internet. In the blogosphere, the Mondo Fruitcake site bills itself as the “last bastion of fruitcake respect,” and publishes articles and other information that advances fruitcake appreciation. The site also offers recipes and details about catalogues and shoppers’ guides that offer fruitcakes in all their varieties.

Fruitcakes have garnered such widespread acclaim and devotion because of what they have to offer. Each gourmet fruitcake for the holidays includes a generous portion of several different kinds of fruits, including oranges, lemons, limes, and pears. The modern fruitcake also includes delicious slow-roasted nuts, including almonds, pecans, and walnuts. Both the fruit and the nuts are baked into a sumptuous butter batter, and baked by professional craftsman to just the right consistency. Many fruitcakes use fruit taken directly from the orchard, meaning at holiday season the fruitcake arrives with only the very freshest ingredients available.