@phat - more evidence that people this side of the Atlantic have never had the great pleasure of "proper" fruit cake. The commercial offerings I have tried , both over here and back in the U.K., are as terrible as you suggest, but the real thing is a heavenly ambrosia - O.K. a really heavy heavenly ambrosia. As for calorific content, my mother's recipe used beef suet (makes lard seem like a wimp option). I have to admit that I use vegetable oil instead, but the finished product is loaded, and, IMHO, delicious. Think of it as trail mix with a fat laden binder.