When someone is called a fruitcake, this is not a good thing. I got this from Stack Exchange, English Usage and Language:
nutty as a fruitcake Crazy, idiotic, as in Mary's nutty as a fruitcake if she thinks she can get away with that. The adjective nutty meaning "insane" was first recorded in 1821; the similarity to fruitcake, which literally contains nuts as well as fruit, was first recorded in 1935.
Well, no—"nutty as a fruitcake" was recorded at least 23 years earlier, in "On Main Street: A Decline in a Noble Industry"—a rather silly take-off on "Who Killed Cock Robin?"—in the Saturday Evening Post (July 20, 1912)
Anyway, suffice it to say it's not good to be called a "fruitcake."
But maybe this year, I've fallen into the deep end.
Art and his sister have always LOVED fruitcake. My brother and I will just as soon pass it by. It's either you like it or you don't. My son and family love it. My daughter and family don't.
Jalna, a blogger in Hawaii posted a recipe online and I decided to try it. Art, his sister, my son and family really liked it so I started making it for friends, neighbors and relatives here in Hawaii.
At first, I soaked the fruitcake with alcohol and in 2016 when Keola and Sarah were here, we did a blind taste test with Rum, Brandy and Scotch. Rum and Brandy were tied. Scotch was out. But then one year we went to Maryland and I made a couple of loaves without alcohol for the grandsons and everyone said it was better without it.
After that, I made all my mini fruitcakes without alcohol. One year, I couldn't find candied fruit and another friend told me I could just get dried fruit and soak them in juice.
Really?
Then I discovered there were a LOT more people who liked this modified Hawaiian version of fruitcake.
Last year, I made 6 batches. That were 48 fruitcakes. A lot of it was frozen for Art and mom to have in the following months but most were given away.
This year, I made 8 batches. Half way through, I don't know what I did, but I had too much batter (or fruit?) that overflowed so I began making 9 loaves for every subsequent recipe. (The loaves marked with 4 cranberries were made especially for a friend who is allergic to walnuts.)
Maybe I have been nutty as a fruitcake.
