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Even if you like fruitcake, the fruitcakes from Robert Lambert will raise the bar beyond any other fruitcake you’ve had. It is fruitcake for those in the know. It has nothing to do with the mass-produced versions loaded with neon candied fruit. Robert Lambert, a cookbook author and pastry chef, is one of America’s great food artisans. He has been one of our “food heros” since we met years ago. His products have been our Top Pick Of The Week more often than any other producer, including: Anything you purchase from Robert Lambert is a delicious treat for yourself, or for gifting. We’re focusing on the fruitcakes because they’re seasonal items, and they sell out quickly. So buy them now, even if you want them as Christmas or Thanksgiving gifts. The fruitcakes don’t go stale. Robert Lambert’s artisan fruitcake are made by loving hands by a gifted baker. As previously noted, these are the best fruitcakes you can buy. All of the candied fruit is made by hand. There’s nothing processed or artificial. Robert Lambert’s small-batch fruitcakes are made in Marin County, California, using local fruits and rare varieties he painstakingly sources. The main difference between his Dark/Winter fruitcake (photo #2) and the White fruitcake (photo #1) are the sugars. Traditional dark fruit cake is made with brown sugar and molasses. For those who don’t want molasses, white fruit cake is made with white granulated sugar. In fact, Mr. Lambert sells aged fruitcakes. In addition to purchasing the current 2019 “vintage,” you can also buy the rarer year-old aged cakes from 2018. Aged fruitcake? Yes, fruitcakes including figgy pudding are typically aged for five weeks or longer, so the flavors can meld. Then there’s extra-long aging. Mr. Lambert explains: “Over time the flavors radiate out from the moisture of the fruits and peels. They intersect, and form new flavor compounds. This intensifies the complexity. “In the 2-year-old cake (at the bottom of photo #2), that process is complete.” As with the 2019 vintage, the aged cakes are available in both Dark/Winter and White Fruitcakes*. Here’s a brief history of fruitcake. Robert has a boutique food operation in the San Francisco Bay area. Within an hour’s drive or so of the city, heritage fruits grow on trees that have been owned by families for generations. Robert Lambert buys some of those fruits, and creates marvellous products from them. As a tiny operation, Robert doesn’t have the time or marketing budget to improve his website, which is homespun and difficult to navigate. So your biggest challenge will be navigating the website. But once you do, it will be so worth it! Here are the direct links: |
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