Surprisingly Different Fruitcakes

Many women treasure their mothers’ and grandmothers’ fruitcake recipes and fondly dream, when the first thoughts of the Christmas holidays arrive, of baking these old-fashioned loaves. One look at the recipes, yellow with age, reminds them of the giant-size yields and the time required to bake these cakes. The search for tasty substitutes starts. This annual post-Thanksgiving kitchen drama inspired us to offer you smaller and simpler recipes that yield big dividends in taste.