Fruitcake Gift Alternatives

In a selfless act of public service, the folks at the Wall Street Journal tested five festive mail-order desserts that are alternatives to fruitcake.

In reviewing these holiday cakes, they discovered that some cakes beautifully depicted on a retailer's Web site can't withstand the rigors of shipping and handling. Also, remember that the price of the cake doesn't reflect the cost to ship it. They paid anywhere from $13.50 to $34.45 for shipping, a price that will vary based on location and shipping method.

Sweet Elise Christmas Poinsettia Cake

Price: $74
Availability: sweetelise.com
Comment: The cake arrived snuggled in a festive hat box, but the secure wrapping didn't prevent the damage inside. The outer layer of fondant was cracked and sagged badly. Despite its appearance, the cake was popular among most testers, who noted the moist white cake and flavorful fruit filling. One taster characterized it as "exquisite." A few people found the cake too sweet for their taste.

Carousel Cakes Holiday Red Velvet Cake

Price: $41.95
Availability: carouselcakes.com
Comment: This was the humblest cake, looking something akin to a grocery-store bakery cake sold in a plastic clamshell. Still, it arrived in excellent shape and sliced beautifully -- a plus for the holiday dessert buffet. The red velvet cake was somewhat bland, but the cream-cheese frosting was a pleasant surprise.

Black Velvet Cake

Price: $49.95
Availability: gourmetgroceryonline.com
Comment: Despite the form-fitting foam packing, this black-velvet cake arrived slightly crushed. The pastry was further decimated when sliced and served. That said, the bittersweet chocolate mousse filling was a hit with testers, who noted the espresso flavor as well. The bottom layer of white cake and outer layer of sponge cake made the mousse seem less dense, but also contributed to the difficulty in slicing the dessert.

Dean & DeLuca Santa's Hat Cake

Price: $130
Availability: deandeluca.com
Comment: The seamless fondant hat -- complete with sparkling faux fur trim -- drew "wows" from testers. It came out of the box easily and remained stable when sliced. We found the white butter cake dry and flavorless, though it got a bit of a boost from the chocolate filling between layers. It would look great on the dessert buffet, but the taste fails to live up to its price tag.

Donald George/The Wall Street Journal

Williams-Sonoma's holiday-gift confection tasted as good as it looked.

Williams-Sonoma Present Cake

Price: $89.95
Availability: williams-sonoma.com
Comment: The only cake that testers enjoyed both seeing and tasting. (Having their cake and eating it, too.) Inside the fondant "wrapping paper" were four layers of chocolate cake separated by creamy chocolate ganache. Be careful when cutting the cake -- the red on the fondant stained our hands. It was on the small side, about 5 inches square, but the rich chocolate called for thinner slices. Even so, some testers returned for seconds.