Fruitcake

[goat starer]

can someone explain Marzipan to me? Goats have a ruputation for eating anything but I draw a firm line at Marzipan. Give me a fruit cake and I am happy as larry. cover it in marzipan at your peril!

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

Fruit cake covered in marzipan?  Who would do such a thing?   

I, too, cannot understand marzipan.  To put it on an otherwise good fruitcake seems wrong to me.

[Bluenose]

Marzipan is a blight on the culinary world.  Frankly I think it should be declared a controlled substance, I would rather put Black Bart's fish head stew on my fruit cake than marzipan.  BTW, I am not suggesting I would like FHS on my cake, I'm merely trying to get across the depth of my antipathy towards marzipan.

Sibling _{marzipan free} Bluenose

[Aggie]

Classic case of looks before taste (the blight of western produce, distilled into dessert form!).

Most homemade play-dough recipes are better for modelling and nearly as tasty.  It's a crime against almonds. 

I don't hate marzipan, but I can't imagine who would choose it as a method of converting almonds (tasty!) and sugar (tasty!) into "food".  Perhaps it's like fruit cake itself... originally tasty but commercially corrupted.

I did run into a recipe for Pecanzipan that looks much tastier...

Pecanzipan

    * 3 cups (.75 lbs) pecans
    * 3 cups (.75 lbs) powdered sugar
    * 1 tbsp rose water
    * 1 1/2 tbsp bourbon

[Sibling Chatty]

Leave out the rosewater and put in more bourbon...

Anything's good with bourbon in it.

Reminds me. Bourban Pecan pie. I need to post that one.

Marzipan isn't really for eating, you know. It's for people that are too lazy to wrap a fruitcake properly...

Purchased marzipan is foul. Homemade is marginally better. I used to use it for the mushrooms and berries for my yule logs, until I found that it was easier to use plastic or 'silk flower' kind, and just as edible.

Hmmm, I wonder where my jelly roll pans are. I ought to go back to the Buche' Noel business. (I'd use 3 shades/strengths of chocolate and texture the frosting on the logs to look as real as possible.) And I wonder where my pastry brushes are?? Hmm, maybe next year.

This year, i'll just get my Wilton Candy Cane shaped pan and do a peppermint cake and decorate that. Red Twizzlers or red sugar? Both??

[Opsa]

Mmm... peppermint cake? We need that recipe, too!

I love fruitcake. We used to get those little Claxton fruitcakes from a local charity. They were just big enough without being too much. http://www.claxtonfruitcake.com/

I was just going to look them up on line and found this monastery which makes them. Maybe if we can make and sell our own, some day!

http://www.monasteryfruitcake.org/

[ivor]

Hey!  We're a fruitcake monastery!  Maybe we can have an exchange program with them. 

Just kidding...

[Opsa]

Dear MB,

Please note that you have just been hugged for that comment.

Your pal
Ops

[ivor]

Dear MB,

Please note that you have just been hugged for that comment.

Your pal
Ops

Hope everyone took that in the good nature that I meant it.  After I read it again I though, "What a smartass!" LOL.

MB

[The Meromorph]

I gave yer another hug, matey!
If it weren't too soon after, Id give yer anuther for the second post...

[Bluenose]

S'OK Mero, I did it for you...

Bluenose

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

*** Fruit Cake Update ***

Bluenose, I've tried out your (or your Pop's) fruit cake recipe.  It came out of the oven last night and is cooling on the table as we speak.

I know the recipe said to let it sit for two weeks; hopefully it's okay after only one week, since I'd really like to have it on Christmas Eve.


*** Marzipan Update ***

I was hanging out with Norwegians on the weekend; apparently marzipan is the Christmas candy in Norway.

[Opsa]

Hmmm... maybe if we form it into little toadfish...

[Bluenose]

...I know the recipe said to let it sit for two weeks; hopefully it's okay after only one week, since I'd really like to have it on Christmas Eve.
...

Well, Lambi, I don't know, we always make our cake on Melbourne Cup day (the first Tuesday in November) it's just a family ritual.  I imagine that it will be fine.  IMO recipes are for the guidance of wise men and the strict adherance of fools.    My advice is always, suck it and see!  And I really can't imagine that the cake is going to be no good because it has not had the extra week.

Sibling Bluenose

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

I'm relieved about the cake (and actually, it's likely to be more affected by the fact I had to make some ingredient substitutions because of local availability), but I am very disconcerted about the fact that...

I MISSED MELBOURNE CUP DAY!!!

For some reason it's not that widely celebrated in Canada.   

Edit:

I just realized something shocking!

An anagram for "marzipan" is "Nazi pram"!!!

Could marzipan be an effort to convert our babies to fascism?!