Christmas Fruitcake Anyone? A Monastic Bestseller {Holiday Shopping Idea} {Fragrant Recipe}

The New Camaldoli Hermitage located in Big Sur, California is reputed for baking one of the best brandy-dipped fruitcakes in America and if you listen to the friars talking about it, it is quite frankly the best. They did comparative testing. Last year the fruitcakes were so popular they had to increase the production from 6000 to 8000 loaves........

According to the Oakland Tribune, Trappist monks in Massachusetts started preparing wine jellies and preserves for retail more than 30 years ago and friars such as the ones from the New Camaldoli Hermitage soon followed suit. Without having tasted their fruitcake (yet) one can only notice how luscious it looks on the pictures, apparently offering the right degree of moisture and a noticeable richness of ingredients.

The monastery also offers a darker Brandy-dipped date fruitcake. Each 2 3/4 lb cake retails for $29. You can also order a sampler set of both, weighing 1 lb each for $26 all purchasable here.