You can eat a 10 year old fruitcake as long as it's been stored and preserved properly.
Fruitcake is low in moisture content and the alcohol if present in your fruitcake can help the fruitcake last for a very long time.
Although the quality of the fruitcake can degrade over time, even if it's technically edible.
Fruitcakes can even age as long as 25 years and still be eaten safely and enjoyed as long as it has the proper amount of preservatives and is stored in an airtight container.
The oldest fruit cake is a fruit cake that is currently 147 years old and was baked in the year of 1847 by Fidelia Ford.
The 147 year old fruit cake baked by Fidelia Ford in 1878 is a family heirloom that is currently being held by her descendants in Michigan.
While the 147 year old fruit cake is not a record holder in terms of age for all cakes it is notable for it's age and the family tradition of preserving it.
An Egyptian cake that was found in a tomb is also much older.
The family keeps the 147 year old fruit cake in a glass case with the original baking date and intends to preserve it for as long as they can as a symbol of their ancestor.
A 106 year old fruit cake was also found in Antarctica, dating back to Robert Falcon Scott's expedition in 1910.
The 106 year old fruit cake is now 115 years old.