I have 5 whole fruitcakes in my home right now. F I V E! People at my house over the holiday season brought all sorts of yummy things with them when they visited, but we also ended up getting a lot of leftovers from neighbours and friends… so we had so much fruitcake that we didn’t know what to do with it all. My boyfriend and I spent last weekend thinking of some creative ways to use up fruitcake leftovers, and we came up with a few. I’m sharing my favourite 3, and hopefully you’ll be able to work through and use up fruitcake in your house faster than us.
Crostini
Slice your fruitcake into thin rectangles, and toast in your oven after drizzling with olive oil. We’ve had our toasted fruitcake with mascarpone and honey, cream cheese and maple syrup, and strawberries and cream, and we love it.
Bread Pudding
This one is actually ridiculously delicious, I can’t believe we didn’t think to do this years ago! Just replace bread in any traditional bread pudding with fruitcake, and you’re ready to go. I like to add a splash of rum into the custard mix (but only a splash!) to bring out the alcohol flavour that’s already in the fruitcake.
Croutons
I like putting fruit in my salads, particularly berries and grapes. There’s something nice about the sweetness of the fruit contrasting against the bitterness of the salad greens and the savoury notes in the dressing. We made a small test batch of croutons to use up fruitcake the other day, and they actually go really well with my usual spinach salad! I loved them sprinkled on top of my salads, and I think you might as well!
