Two Fruitcakes Meet For The First TIme

Utah Fruitcake Meets California Fruitcake

I woke up at 2:30 a.m. too excited to get much more sleep.  I picked Carrisa up at the airport this morning.   She is on spring break and we intend to spend the next eight glorious days together.

We gathered supplies, mostly organic produce and some organic pasture's raw milk, on our drive back from LAX with a stop at Maddy's Market in Agoura. Imagine Carrisa's surprise, coming from snow covered Utah, to find the hills green and fattened by spring rain.  The temperature, in the 70's, feels downright luxurious.

Back on the home turf Carrisa got settled into the guest bedroom which I affectionately dubbed "the nest."  One of the first items that Carrisa unpacked from her suitcase was a mysteriously wrapped parcel of parchment paper and aluminum foil.  I held it and hefted it in my hand for a moment and, with a quizzical look on my face, asked "fruitcake?"

Yes, indeed, it was a lovingly wrapped and preserved slice of fruitcake - special delivery from Utah.

I dashed into the kitchen and from my own freezer brought out my own version of the same recipe carefully wrapped in parchment in the style Mimi taught me.  Wrapped like a little present.

After our hike today the two fruitcakes met for the first time.

It was extraordinary how different each cake tasted.  Carrisa's version which was made with sprouted wheat flour has a buttery-caramel flavor with a hint of graham cracker.  The texture is sturdy and dense.

My version of the fruitcake, made with rice flour and tapioca flour, has a sprightly fruity flavor with hints of pineapple and the tropics.  The texture is light and crumbly.

Needless to say we both enjoyed every bite, fully appreciating the individual difference of each cake, and mopped up every crumb from our plates.