I have a fruitcake which has been in my family for several years. Apparently, my family saves them for the following year and gives them as a gift to someone else. That's how the fruitcake that I gave my mother four years ago finally made its way back into my hands. (Mom gave it to brother, brother gave it to sister, then sister gave it to me).
Since the fruitcake tradition appears to be unstoppable, this year I've decided to replace our family's fruitcake with a more durable one which we will cherish for years.

Items Needed ------------- 4 Oz. Fruit Bits 1 Railroad Tie Wood Saw Large Rubber Mallet Safety Goggles

WEAR YOUR SAFETY GOGGLES. (Children Get help from an adult!)

Cut a one-foot section from the middle of your railroad tie. The resulting block of wood should be the size and shape of a loaf of bread.

Then, take some fruit bits and pound them into the block with your rubber mallet. Spread the colors around, or you might wind up with an ugly fruitcake. Don't be afraid to throw some elbow grease into that mallet! Good fruit bits should be much harder than the railroad tie, so you can't break anything.

For best result, you should pre-treat the fruit bits by setting them on top of your garage for a year (or by microwaving them on HIGH for 30 minutes).

Finally, cover it tightly in plastic wrap, and give your loved ones the time- less and enduring gift of fruitcake!

I love fruitcake and look forward to it during the Holiday season. For years I asked my wife to make fruit cake but she never seemed to get around to it. I finally decided to take matters into my own hands. During the pandemic I started baking bread, so. . . how much harder could making a fruitcake be? I found a recipe on You tube very similar to the one on the first page of this thread. I, of course, added more dried fruits than the recipe called for. The results were great and I finally got my fill of Holiday fruit cake. But it didn't stop there. My wife took half of the cake I made, (it was huge), and froze it. Once a month until June I would take it out and indulge. Now it's time to make another. Maybe I'll be able to stretch the time till it's gone to next September. I really have to admonish my wife though. . . she's really doing the laundry all wrong. My pants keep shrinking!!!