Fruitcake - by Marie Rudisill (Paperback)

About the Book

Fruitcake: Heirloom Recipes and Memories of Truman Capote and Cousin Sook

Book Synopsis

Fruitcake is a jaunty little collection of heirloom fruitcake recipes selected by Marie Rudisill from a nineteenth-century family farm journal owned by Sook Faulk, a cousin of Rudisill and Truman Capote, who immortalized Sook in his novella, A Christmas Memory. Rudisill, made famous as "The Fruitcake Lady" on Jay Leno's Tonight Show, aims to elevate the much-maligned reputation of what she calls "the queen of cakes" in this book, which features 23 enticing recipes, including Peacock Fruitcake, Chocolate Fruitcake, Civil War Fruitcake, Pore Man's Fruitcake, and Farmer's Fruitcake. These are interspersed with pithy facts about fruitcake, an excerpt from A Christmas Memory, bits of kitchen wisdom and baking tips, and charming family reminiscences, most of which feature Truman and Sook. With a new foreword by cookbook author Jean Anderson, this entertaining volume enriches our experience of southern cooking by raising up one of its least-trumpeted culinary traditions.

Review Quotes

"A sweet holiday treat."--Publishers Weekly

"A welcome little volume. . . . Rudisill has elevated the fruitcake back into its rightful place as an American culinary icon appropriate for any time of the year."--Midwest Book Review

"An enchanting book. Don't be afraid to try a few of the recipes, as they are simple to make and delicious."--Bloomsbury Review

"Even a reader who harbors no love for fruitcake will delight in this little book."--Baton Rouge Advocate

"For those who still think that it's not worth it, or who think that they do not have the time or stamina for making their own fruitcake, Rudisill's book is an inspiration, though not as much of an inspiration as she is."--Oxford Eagle

"Marie Rudisill aims to rescue from ignominy the dessert she considers to be 'true ambrosia--the queen of cakes.' Rudisill knows whereof she speaks. . . . Just reading [the recipes] . . . is satisfying enough."--Gourmet

"Rudisill is an accomplished cook and writer."--St. Petersburg Times

"The humble fruitcake gets another chance."--Athens Banner-Herald

About the Author

Hailing from a large family in Monroeville, Alabama, Marie Rudisill (1911-2006) was Truman Capote's doting aunt, an energetic family memoirist and writer, and a fruitcake fan. She was winner of the 2001 Jack Daniel Lifetime Achievement Award of the Southern Foodways Alliance.