Historical Shapes of Fruitcake

Dried and candied fruit is a main ingredient in fruitcake.

Fruitcake is a Christmas tradition dating back to medieval times. The cakes take a long time to prepare, for they are have to be baked and then soaked in a liquor to be aged. It is a thick and intensely flavored cake, and while some people love them, others make jokes about them. As one of the oldest Christmas traditions, the cakes have a complex history.

Pressed

During the Middle Ages, fruitcake was shaped by hand and molded together. The addition of candied fruit and nuts meant it had to be pressed firmly together to keep from falling apart, and as baking pans were not as common, the cakes would be pressed into a round or rectangular shape, or Yule log, before baking.

Molded

As liquor became a more common way of preserving the fruitcake, it had to be place into a mold to retain shape while aging. Cheesecloth was soaked in liquor and placed in a mold before the mixture of cake was pressed in. It would then sit in the liquid for several months before Christmas. It was during this time that the traditional log shape came about, though it was common to use a variety of molds to create unusual looking cakes for feasts.

Round

As bundt pans became a popular means of creating cakes in the 1800s, ring shapes became popular. A slice of fruitcake became an afternoon custom alongside tea during Victorian times. This shape still persists in commercially made fruitcakes.

Square/Rectangle

Square-shaped fruitcakes have become popular in modern times. It is common to give a rectangular cake shaped like a log, with a bow on one end. This log shape dates back to the origins of fruitcake, when it was pressed together by hand before baking.

References

• Village Voice: A Short History of Fruitcake
• Whats Cooking America: FruitCake - History of Fruitcake
• Food Timeline: Christmas Foods
• Eat Drink and Really Be Merry: Eh Tu, Fruitcake!
• Learn America: The History of Fruit Cake and Other Christmas Goodies
• Smithsonian: Fruitcake 101: A Concise Cultural History of This Loved and Loathed Loaf