Tis the Season for Holiday Fruit Cakes

With the start of the holiday season just around the corner, it’s never too early to start preparing. Luckily, Beatrice Bakery can help you check one thing off your list—fruit cakes! We don’t produce plain, bitter fruit cakes… instead, we use the freshest ingredients to bake quality, handmade fruit & nut cakes. Our staff believes that every moment in life should be enjoyed with something delicious. Nothing says ‘holiday tradition’ better than our famous Grandma’s fruit cake brand. Each cake is made with the just the right amount of rum, bourbon, and brandy along with ripe cherries, succulent pineapples, plump raisins, plus almonds, walnuts, and pecans - then baked to perfection.

A Slice of History

Where did we come up with idea to bake such delectable holiday fruit cakes? It all started 100 years ago, with two German immigrants known as the Lantz Brothers. While operating a bakery in St. Louis, MO, the brothers came across their grandma’s favorite fruitcake recipe. She remarked: “Use only the freshest ingredients!” Through their grandma’s secret baking process, the world’s finest fruitcake was born!

The next step for the Lantz Brothers was to find a manufacturing company that could produce large quantities of their delicious fruit cakes. They visited a town called Beatrice, NE that was nestled right in America’s heartland and found the perfect facility—Wilke Baking Company. Once the brothers were confident that their grandma’s recipe was in the right hands, they decided to sell the recipe rights.

Several successful years passed. Between 1974 and 2001 several different companies bought the bakery and the name was changed to Grandma’s Bake Shoppe. Then, in 2001 the last corporation ownership announced plans to close the business. Fortunately, the company had such a powerful impact on the area that a group of local investors and community members formed a corporation of their own. On April 22, 2002 Grandma’s Bake Shoppe officially became Beatrice Bakery Company.

Today, we still bake with the original recipe. Not only do we have a line of holiday fruit cakes, but we also hand produce a line of artisan cakes and desserts that are the perfect addition to any holiday gathering year-round.