A Trip to Claxton Bakery in the "Fruitcake Capital of the World" - Bake from Scratch

      By Shelby Duffy

      The festive season is synonymous with delightful confections. I often find myself flooded with nostalgic memories of the delightful scents of cinnamon and brown sugar wafting through our home as my mother baked. She filled our stockings with holiday candies and chocolate bars, and tucked away boxes of chocolate-covered cherries under the Christmas tree. However, there was always one holiday dessert that left me puzzled: fruitcake.

      For many years, I steered clear of the classic Christmas cake, considering it old-fashioned and irrelevant. It wasn't until I became an adult, determined to shed the "picky" label that had followed me since childhood, that I dared to taste the cake I had been avoiding for so long. In that moment, the traditional dessert clicked. The rich, buttery cake, the vibrant flavors from chewy dried fruits, and the spices that lingered on my palate after the initial bite, all harmonized by the gentle warmth of rum. It was a complex array of flavors that I couldn't fully appreciate as a child, yet now find irresistible as an adult.

      To deepen my understanding of these cherished treats, visiting Claxton, Georgia—the so-called "fruitcake capital of the world" and home to the 115-year-old Claxton Bakery, famous for its traditional fruitcakes—seemed like a fitting choice. Founded in 1910 by Savino Tos, an Italian pastry chef who immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s, he eventually moved to Claxton, drawn in by the welcoming community and the realization that this small farming town lacked a bakery. Although he offered a variety of delightful pastries and homemade ice cream, many looked forward to the fall, when Savino would craft his own specialty fruitcakes. These cakes were based on his cherished pound cake recipe and included a mix of raisins, pecans, and candied fruits, quickly becoming a holiday favorite.

      Upon Savino's retirement in 1945, he handed the bakery over to long-time employee Albert Parker. Albert soon began seeking ways to expand the business, noting that items previously found only in local bakeries were appearing in grocery stores nationwide. He decided to concentrate on large-scale production of fruitcakes, allowing the company to reach a much broader audience. Inspired by the nostalgia of Southern traditions, he designed packaging featuring the now-iconic image of a horse-drawn buggy, reflecting the bakery's traditional values, with festive red and white stripes that evoked the holiday spirit while ensuring the cakes were easily recognized.

      Albert and the bakery maintained a commitment to tradition, making minimal adjustments over time. The current fruitcake recipe is a contemporary version of Savino's original, emphasizing a greater proportion of fruits and nuts. Notably, their "light" cakes consist of 70 percent fruit and nuts, each bite revealing crunchy, earthy nuts; chewy papaya, pineapple, and orange; and luscious raisins and cherries. They also offer a "dark" fruitcake, which enhances the spices and incorporates swirls of rich molasses directly into the batter for a deeper flavor. Both light and dark varieties are available as loaves, cakes weighing 1 and 2 pounds, and in slice form, dubbed “Clax Snax.”

      Albert's family continues to operate the bakery, and while their celebrated recipes have remained mostly unchanged, they have seen steady growth. During peak baking season, the small-town bakery employs more than 100 seasonal workers who collaborate with the year-round team to prepare, bake, package, and ship their fruitcakes. Claxton Bakery produces around 3 million pounds of fruitcake annually, and during the peak season from mid-August through December, they can bake over 65,000 pounds of cake each day. Their offerings are available in most major grocery stores across the United States, online, and at their local retail shop.

      As the holiday season approaches, with dreary afternoons rapidly shifting into cold, dark evenings, I can't help but reflect on some of my most cherished memories. Being swept through a crowded mall full of people all on a quest for the perfect gifts; a gust of cold wind ruffling my hair as I look up at the sparkling lights against a dark, snow-speckled sky; and the soft, comforting sound of Christmas jazz playing in the background of grocery stores as I pass tables overflowing with cellophane-wrapped cutout cookies and displays showcasing red-and-white-striped boxes filled with loaves of jewel-toned fruitcakes.

      Go There

      Claxton Bakery

      203 W. Main St.

      Claxton, Georgia

      claxtonfruitcake.com