(Belated) Advent Calendar 14 Dec: Fruitcake

Did you like fruitcake? Did your family receive fruitcakes? Have you ever re-gifted fruitcake? Have you ever devised creative uses for fruitcake?

I've never cared for fruitcake and neither has my mother or grandmother (my mother's mother).  My father claims he likes it  "loves" it but I'm not sold that he does.  We've gotten him them over the years and he always eats a piece or two and then it sits until it has to be thrown out - now does that sound like someone who "loves" fruitcake?!  There was always the joke in my family that the only good thing you could do with a fruitcake is use it as a doorstop and I think my grandmother did that once for laughs. 

I recently tried the German equivalent to a fruitcake, stollen and while I wanted to like it, it really isn't much better than fruitcake.  The stollen I had was less dense and filled with "things" as American fruitcake so I liked that but not enough to recommend either fruitcake or stollen.  I think it is the "things" they put in fruitcake that I dislike the most.  I've also had the ice cream version of fruitcake, tutti frutti and it is actually worse than fruitcake if you can believe it. Italian fruitcake, panettone, is a little better... but not much.  I think fruitcake may be good if it didn't have the fruit or candy or nuts (or whatever it is they put in it) and if I ever make fruitcake, I'm leaving the "things" out.