Don't Knock This Fruitcake Until You Try It

In Corsicana, Texas, Collin Street Bakery carries on 129 years of cherry-crowned traditions

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WE'VE ALL heard, or even shared, stale old jokes about fruitcake.

The oft-defamed dessert has been called a blunt-force weapon, a formidable doorstop, and the white elephant regift you hate to see coming. Usually, the offending party has never tasted a good one, and Collin Street Bakery is the place that changes minds. “We constantly get compliments from people who thought they hated fruitcake,” says Bob McNutt, a third-generation owner whose family took over the business in 1946. “It’s fun to exceed their expectations—going on 129 years now.”

The shop originally opened its doors in 1896, after a young German baker, Augustus “Gus” Weidman, showed up in Corsicana with a family recipe for fruitcake. It’s barely changed since then, other than swapping out walnuts for pecans, which are much more abundant in the region. “We don’t know how to make it any better, truly,” McNutt adds. “We try to guarantee it'll be the best you've had, or you deserve your money back.”