SUGAR, spice and all things nice - liquor-soaked fruit, to be exact. This list reads like a recipe for a sweet treat until the word 'fruitcake' is mentioned.
Then, memories of bad wedding cake and overly saccharine Christmas fruit loaves surface.
Despite the prominence of fruitcakes, the confection has a much maligned reputation as being a leaden Yuletide confection. Case in point - the annual Great Fruitcake Toss in Colorado in the United States where people compete to see who can hurl a fruitcake the farthest.
But fruitcake is steeped not just in alcohol but also in a tradition that goes all the way back to Europe in the 1700s.
Then, they were baked at the end of the harvest and kept for a year - the high concentration of sugar used to preserve the cake - before being eaten prior to the next harvest as an auspicious food. Over time, it has become a gastronomic tradition more popularly associated with Christmas.
While one would expect local chefs to give fruitcakes a new twist the same way mooncakes here have been re-invented, the sugar-laced fruit creations sold here are largely traditional in taste and appearance.
LifeStyle brings you 10 of the best Christmas fruitcakes on offer this year, determined by factors such as sweetness level, amount of liquor used and moistness of the cake.
Look out for turkey, logcake and wine recommendations in the coming weeks.
LIFESTYLE'S 10 best Christmas fruitcakes, in no particular order:
Pastry Palette
Mezza9 - The Shop
The Patissier
Sold in a mini terracotta pot, this refreshing presentation is matched by an equally dewy cake texture and a well-balanced portion of fruit.
Open: 7am to 11pm daily Price: $19 for a 250g fruitcake
The layer of ground almonds and sugar below a sliver of icing gives this cake a new flavour dimension and subtle textural variation.
Open: 11am to 11pm daily Price: $48 for a 1kg fruitcake
10 Scotts Road, Grand
Hyatt, Tel: 6734-6731
This impresses with its luscious, velvety cake texture and a lovely lingering rum flavour that emanates not just from the fruit but also from the cake.
Price: $50 for a 500g fruitcake and $90 for a 1kg fruitcake
18 Ann Siang Road, 01-01,
Tel: 6220-5565
4 Mohammed Sultan Road, 01-01,
Tel: 6737-3369
Cafe Noel at Thos SB Raffles
Centre Ps
Gourmet Carousel
Not cloying sweet, this fruitcake is packed with fruit and nuts and has a satisfying alcoholic kick to it.
Open: 9am to 6pm daily Price: $24 for a 500g fruitcake
80 Bras Basah Road, Raffles The Plaza, Tel: 6338-8785
Slow-baked and steamed in the terracotta pot that it is sold in, the fruitcake is moist and full-bodied.
Open: 10.30am to 8pm, Mondays to Thursdays, 10.30am to 8.30pm, Fridays and Saturdays Price: $15.50 for a 300g fruitcake
78 Guan Chuan Street, 01-43,
Tel: 6220-1285
This non-alcoholic version has a delightfully moist texture and the fragrance of roasted almonds, found in generous amounts in the cake.
Open: 6.30am to 11pm, Mondays to Thursdays and Sundays, 6.30am to 3am, Fridays and Saturdays Price: $28 for a 500g fruitcake and $45 for a 1kg fruitcake
25 Scotts Road, Royal Plaza on Scotts,
Tel: 6589-7799
Pine Garden's Cake
Marmalade Pantry
Canele
Well steeped in cognac and brandy, the fruit in the slender rectangular bars of cake will undoubtably leave you in high spirits.
Open: 8.30am to 9.30pm daily Price: $48 for an 800g fruitcake
Block 529 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, 01-2369 and 01-2329, Tel: 6457-6159
This pound cake has a buttery aroma and the icing lends a sweetness to the cake that thankfully isn't sugar-laced.
Two things stand out about this fruitcake - the use of juicy cranberries and an inviting coffee-like aroma. But while it smells like coffee, it doesn't taste of it, and this keeps the fruitcake traditional.
Price: $38 for a 680g fruitcake
Various outlets, opening hours vary from store to store, Tel: 6446-5795
