5 fruitcakes available in North Carolina, ranked just in time for Christmas

'Tis the season for fruitcake. Or more accurately for some, 'tis the season to make jokes about fruitcake.

"The worst gift is a fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other," late-night TV host Johnny Carson famously quipped in 1978, a blow from which this oft-maligned wintertime sweet has yet to recover.

Typically dense and packed with nuts, dried fruit and candied citrus peel, it often bears little resemblance to the light, more delicate cake one might enjoy on their birthday. Rather, fruitcakes — sometimes soaked in liquor and stored for years — may look more like a doorstop than devil's food.

Do those jokes have any substance? Or does fruitcake deserve its long-awaited return to Christmastime dessert glory?

I tried five fruitcakes from local, regional and national producers that are widely available in North Carolina to find out which fruitcakes are worth serving and which are rightfully dismissed.

5. Walmart

Price: $4 for 13 ounces.

Walmart is good at many things. They open early, stay open late and have a bit of just about everything. I got my COVID-19 booster shot when I went to buy this fruitcake, which is something the local bakeries can't do.

But fruitcake is not one of those things. The texture was reminiscent of stale pound cake and with neither very much fruit nor nuts, it was the blandest of the bunch. The flavor wasn't offensive, per se, there just wasn't very much of it.

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4. The Fresh Market

Price: $19.99 for 19 ounces.

If you read our definitive guide to supermarket pecan pie, then you know that the Fresh Market typically has a top-notch bakery. While the flavor of this fruitcake was excellent, the texture and overall experience were off. This fruitcake emphasized the "cake," with a texture much more like that of a coffee cake than the denser textures often associated with fruitcakes.

The whole almonds mixed in were toasted and flavorful and the candied fruit added just the right amount of bitterness without drying your mouth out, but overall, it was like eating a fruit and nut coffee cake. And at $20 for a single cake, you'd expect it to be packed full of nuts, fruit or something to justify the high price tag, but it just wasn't there.

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3. Claxton regular fruitcake

Price: $3.99 for 16 ounces.

Probably the most widely available fruitcake in this area, this fruitcake hails from Claxton Bakery, baked not that far away in Claxton, Georgia.

This dense loaf is filled with pecans, walnuts and almonds, as well as big chunks of candied maraschino cherries, pineapple, papaya, candied lemon and orange rind and other fruit. It's as classic as it comes.

It's straightforward — not too sweet and heavy on the citrus, though not overly bitter. For a traditional fruitcake experience, it's a solid choice.

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2. Claxton Dark Fruitcake

Price: $3.98 for 16 ounces.

This fruitcake is nearly identical to its regular variety cousin, but there are a few differences. The dark fruitcake has more raisins and the addition of molasses, as well as more spices — I tasted cinnamon and clove, though the label simply lists "spices." The dried fruit flavor was more prominent in this version, while the bright, bitter citrus fruit took more of the spotlight in the regular version.

The differences are subtle but noticeable enough to make these two fruitcakes different. As for which one to pick, if you prefer darker, raisiny flavors, then this is the one for you. If you like a lighter fruitcake, then opt for the regular. It's worth noting that the regular variety is available in just about every supermarket, while the dark version is harder to come by.

I purchased the dark version from Carlie C's in Fayetteville, but depending on where you shop, the decision on which Claxton cake to buy might already be made up for you. That's fine, they're both good.

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1. Southern Supreme

Price: $16.99 for one pound.

Watch an interview with the Scott family or visit their store in Chatham County and ask about the trick to their famous fruitcake and they'll likely tell you: It's all about the nuts.

Berta Lou Scott founded Southern Supreme Fruitcake & More after originally baking the fruitcakes to give as gifts to the customers of her hairdressing business. They were so good, they told her she should sell them.

What makes this local fruitcake stand out is the dense, smooth texture that seems almost more like a candy than a cake and the intentional commission of the often polarizing bitter fruit. Oh, and all those nuts.

Her son, Randy Scott, told PBS NC that there are 95 pounds of pecans and walnuts in each 300-pound batch.

There is still plenty of fruit — the first ingredient listed is diced pineapple — it's sweet, dried fruit that happily plays second fiddle to the nuts. There are dates included, which adds a boost of sweetness and contributes to its dense, almost spreadable texture.

While candied orange peel is one of the main ingredients of the Claxton fruitcakes, which gives those cakes that distinct bitter flavor often associated with fruitcakes, the citrus has been totally removed from the Southern Supreme fruitcakes. It's unconventional, but if there's a fruitcake that is going to break the curse and convince the nonbelievers to try fruitcake once again, it's this one.

A trip to the Southern Supreme bakery in Bear Creek is a Christmastime tradition for many, but if you can't make the trip, many Fresh Market locations also carry Southern Supreme fruitcake.

At $14.50 in-store or $16.99 at Fresh Market, this one-pound fruitcake is not the cheapest. The Claxton cakes, at $4 for the same size, are certainly the best value. But Christmas only comes around once a year, so it's worth the small splurge.

Plus, the fruitcake comes packed inside a pretty box, making it perfect to give as a present that, unlike the fruitcakes Johnny Carson grew up eating, is too delicious to regift.

Jacob Pucci writes on food, restaurants and business. Contact him by email at jpucci@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @jacobpucci or on Facebook. Like talking food? Join our Fayetteville Foodies Facebook group.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fruitcakes in North Carolina, ranked in time for Christmas