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Who hasn’t tasted a fruitcake? They are visible at every checkout counter at every store, and are prominently featured in every holiday gift catalog. You will probably be treated to fruitcake at least once each Christmas season, either at a holiday office party or at a neighbor’s Christmas open house. It is almost impossible to experience the holiday season without a fruitcake crossing your path in one manner or another. But where, exactly, did this sweet cake comes from?

Fruitcakes did not originate in modern times, but actually originated in medieval times when cooks first started developing a confection known as sweet bread. Old World cooks would hoard their most expensive cooking ingredients so they could be combined into a particularly special treat for the holidays. The basic ingredients include the finest wheat flour, white sugar, eggs, sweet butter, and exotic dried fruits. But variations of the bread might include rich filling such as marzipan (almond paste).

Stollen, the famous German fruitcake, is believed to have originated in Dresden. A traditional Stollen is oblong in shape, with each end tapered and a ridge running down the middle. It usually contains brandy or rum, candied fruit peels, almonds, raisins and currants. The Stollen is first baked, then melted butter is brushed on and sugar is sprinkled, then additional fruit pieces are sprinkled over the finished loaf.

A variation of the fruitcake is known as three kings cake (or King Cake in New Orleans) and is associated with Mardi Gras and Twelfth Night. The Twelfth Night cake was developed from very old Araab recipes, although it containes many of the same ingredients that can be found in a traditional Christmas fruitcake. The basic recipe consists of a yeast-based brioche that is mixed with various nuts and dried or candied fruits. The cook often adds a dried bean or coin to the cake batter so it can discovered by one lucky person who will enjoy good fortune throughout the year.

Regardless of what it is called, the fruitcake is known as an international symbol of holiday abundance and tradition. Not all recipients of this holiday tradition consider it a treat. A story published in the New York Times, 1983, tells of a man who received the family fruitcake that had been baked in 1794 as a Christmas gift for George Washington, but the President sent it back with a note of refusal. It is a tradition in some families to pass a traveling fruticake back and forth between themselves, with each family “babysitting” the cake for a year until it is passed on.

In Anglo countries, the traditional holiday fruit cake may be served on Christmas Eve by a family member dressed in a traditional Santa costume, making the evening both traditional and memorable.

With its centuries of international history, it is unlikely that the fruitcake will disappear from holiday traditions anytime soon.