Traditional Fruitcake

The typical old family fruitcake — heavy as a brick — is the butt of many jokes around Christmastime. To a lot of people, a fruitcake is a special handmade gift. In my opinion, however, many of the old classics are too sweet and too dense, and have too much fruit without enough cake. Some recipes proudly proclaim that the cakes can be made in early summer and kept alive with liquor for months until they are given to some unsuspecting soul during the holidays. Others declare (frighteningly e