The Mysterious Christmas Fruitcake Prank

Last year in Yerevan, I prepared two traditional English Christmas fruitcakes. The fate of the second one remained a mystery for quite some time...

Let’s go back a year. Without a second thought, I wrapped the second cake in marzipan, signed a card, packed it up, and sent it to my sister. I did have to confess what was inside and why she would have to wait until the next New Year.

That cake spent a whole year in her apartment with her husband, mentally terrorizing them—they feared it would turn into a monster that would devour them all!

Finally, yesterday, the cake made its way to my parents' home.

The prank was a success! 🪄💫

For those of you who didn’t bake one this New Year, now is the perfect time to start preparing for the celebration in 2027!

A couple of tips:

💛 This year, I bought a new cake pan specifically for this recipe (18 cm). I recommend using a larger pan; it’s quite challenging to bake it thoroughly in a smaller one. The one we tried this Christmas got a bit burned on top.

💛 Don’t overdo it with the rum. It’s best to drizzle it five times with 20 grams each, and not more. The cake has marinated well over the year.

I think I’ll keep this tradition going every year, perhaps with a longer interval!