Fruitcake-Inspired Charcuterie Board

How to Make A Fruitcake-Inspired Charcuterie Board

If you've been to a restaurant recently, you’ve probably seen this food trend—charcuterie boards. Its fashionability has been well-documented by food bloggers. It’s even spilled over into everyday kitchens, with an increasing number of at-home chefs creating their own compilations of finger foods. That’s because making your own charcuterie board is actually super easy—so easy, we’re going to teach you how, right now!

What Is Charcuterie?

But, wait! For those of you who might feel a little embarrassed to ask, "What’s a charcuterie board?", we’ll explain. You probably have seen one before but didn’t quite know its name. A charcuterie board (pronounced "shahr-ku-tuh-ree") is essentially a delicious smorgasbord of meats, cheeses, bread, pickled veggies, fresh or dried fruit, veggies, and nuts, decoratively laid out for continuous grazing.

Charcuterie boards are French creations that have been adapted and modified throughout various parts of the world. In France, their boards mostly contain a variety of pork products. In fact, the word "charcuterie" translates to "pork-butcher shop." So, a truly authentic charcuterie board contains mostly pork-based meats, such as pâté, cured ham, or mortadella. But, Americanized charcuterie boards have been adapted to include other components like cheeses, crackers, fruits, nuts, and even various dips.

Balance Is Key

Now, the key to creating a truly phenomenal spread is to have a balance of tastes and textures—sweet and salty, chewy and crunchy, savvy and bright, and so on. This can be accomplished by breaking down these flavors into food categories like sweets, meats, cheese, crackers, fruits & jams. The balance of flavors makes charcuterie boards excellent fruitcake pairings. We like to start with sweets.

How to Build a Charcuterie Board

SWEETS: We recommend slices of our DeLuxe® Fruitcake or Texas Pecan Cakes. Because our fruitcakes are packed full of the types of nuts and fruit you might typically find in a charcuterie board, a couple of slices of our DeLuxe® is the perfect fruitcake pairing for just about any spread.

For tips on how to best slice our cakes, watch our slicing video found here!

MEATS: As the cake’s salty counterpart, we recommend a variety of cured and uncured meats, such as prosciutto, uncured soppressata, and hard salami. With the addition of these salty meats, your board will have both depths of flavor and color. For a delectable selection, check out New Braunfels Smokehouse.

CHEESE: We recommend a variety of both hard and soft cheese. Softer cheeses, such as brie or fresh mozzarella, provide a rich creaminess that won’t overpower the palate. While harder cheeses, like sharp cheddar and gouda, provide a twangy bite and depth that’ll help balance the sweetness of the jams and cakes.

”For a variety of Texas-made cheeses, check out Antonelli’s Cheese Shop.”

CRACKERS: Ahhhh, the cracker. A humble vehicle for dips and cheeses, but a vital component to your board nonetheless! Upon what else can you stack and snack? We recommend a variety for a texture-rific experience—butter crackers, rye chips, sesame crackers, rice chips, and dried-fruit-filled crisps.

FRUITS, SPREADS, & NUTS: We suggest a variety of fresh and dried fruit. Fresh fruits like papaya and cherries offer a tangy brightness that perfectly lightens up your board—Just don’t forget to pit those cherries first! As for dried fruit, try dried pineapples, apricots, and golden raisins. Chewy and full of flavor, these dried fruits are basically nature’s candy. As for your nuts and spreads, we recommend roasted pecans, strawberry preserves, and a touch of honey.

QUESTION - Where can I find all these ingredients?

ANSWER - Most all these ingredients can be found at your local grocery store. For Texas natives, we recommend H-E-B. They’ve been proudly serving Texas since 1905 and have everything you need to build the perfect board. You can even order online and have it delivered to your doorstep!

Putting it All Together

So, you have all your ingredients. Now what? Now, it’s time to put it all together.

Step 1 - Pick Your Platter

Really any large serving platter or cutting board will do. If this is your first time making a charcuterie board, we recommend a tray with a raised edge. This way none of your ingredients will fall off the sides. Don’t stress about how decorative the board should be. Remember! It’s going to be buried under a mountain of food.

Step 2 - Gather Your Ramekins

Gather a couple of ramekins and place those on your tray. These will hold your more liquid ingredients or smaller ingredients that may get lost in the shuffle—your honey, jams, nuts, and raisins. If you don’t have any ramekins, any shallow cup or bowl will do.

Step 3 - Work Bigger to Smaller

Around your ramekins, begin adding your larger ingredients—your fruitcake slices, pecan cake slices, and your brie. Next, add your medium-sized ingredients—crackers, cubes of cheese, and cuts of meat. Finally, fill in any open spaces with your smallest ingredients—like your dried and fresh fruits.

Step 4 - Stand Back & Admire Your Masterpiece

Stand back and look at the food magic you’ve made. Maybe even take a photo or two, because those Instagram foodies have nothing on you! You didn’t even realize till today what a spectacular food artist you were. All you needed was a little guidance. We’re glad we were able to help you unlock your new hidden talent.

Try Out This Trend For Yourself

The most important thing to remember is, there’s no right or wrong way to make your board. If you like the way it looks and you like the way it tastes, you did it right! There’s no real rhyme or reason. Seriously, anyone can do it. So what are you waiting for? Try out this trend today. Order one of our DeLuxe® Fruitcakes or Texas Pecan Cakes today for the perfect fruitcake pairing on your board.