Lawmaker’s fruitcake recipe wins praise

Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s fruitcake recipe is getting a thumbs-up from one woman who said she sampled the congressman’s take on the classic (and sometimes controversial) holiday dessert.

In a message titled “Zen of the Fruitcake” posted on the Oregon Democrat’s website earlier this month, Blumenauer described his love of baking the seasonal staple: “Over the years, making fruitcake has become very important to me.”

Blumenauer says he crafted and distributed more than 200 of the cakes this year: “There is an amazing sense of satisfaction as I complete each batch. Like each mile or vista on the trail, each dozen cakes gives me the same sense of accomplishment.”

The congressman’s reelection campaign held a contest ahead of Christmas to award “a fruitcake handcrafted by Earl Blumenauer, plus a certificate of authenticity,” randomly picking a donor in a drawing.

Linda Chion Kenney, an editor and writer for Brandon, Fla.’s Patch site, says her daughter was able to taste the cake since “she knows someone who knows someone who received a fruitcake from Blumenauer.”

According to Kenney, her daughter gave a positive review of the baked good, telling her mom, “I never had a fruitcake, so my expectations were pretty low. But it was a pleasant surprise, and I couldn’t stop eating it.”

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