A Piece of Cake?
How are you getting on with your Christmas preparations? I’m feeling fairly relaxed, but then I have the luxury of having this week and next off work, so I can potter about at my own pace getting things ready. I’ll be stocking up on goodies, wrapping final presents, cleaning and tidying, baking and generally enjoying the Christmas magic.
I’ll also be icing the cake which I’ve been lovingly feeding with brandy over the past weeks, but to be honest I’m not sure what it’s going to taste like. Here’s where I come clean and tell you I overcooked it (sob!). This was the first Christmas cake I’ve ever made and I have to say I was a little anxious about the length of cooking time and the instruction not to open the oven door until after four hours. Maybe I should have trusted my instincts and checked on it towards the end, but then would it have sunk?
I must confess I didn’t wrap the tin in brown paper as the recipe said, as I had none. Would that have made a difference? I’m not sure. To be honest I think the real culprit was my oven and the fact that I had it on fan assistance but didn’t compensate by turning the temperature down a little. The dial can be a little tricky on my oven so I may have even had the temperature a little too high. And herein lies the problem. A recipe can specify a temperature and length of cooking time, but every oven is different so the results will vary. This just highlights the fact that there is so much more to cooking than following a recipe. It isn’t really about following instructions to the letter; it's so much more instinctive than that.
Oh well, never mind, maybe when I cover the cake with icing no one will notice, or maybe by that point they will have had too much of the Christmas cheer to notice! There’s certainly enough in the cake!
16 comments:
I sympathise. We had our Christmas dinner at the weekend (going ski-ing over the real Christmas period) and I over-cooked the turkey. It was just so very very big! The FSA times seems on the excessive side but I thought they'd know best. Apparently not. :(
I'm sure your cake will be deliciously moist after having soaked up the brandy.
I'm sure the brown paper is critical and it's all messed up now! :) Looks great and I'll bet it tastes great. I baked all weekend. Cookies, candies, dinner . . I have lots to post on my blog if I can find a few moments to do so.
Oh no, was it really dry Wendy? The cake does feel like it might be moist actually, I think I'd better stop with the brandy now!!!
Hi greg, I know, Christmas is ruined and all because of a lack of brown paper! :-)) Looking forward to seeing all the goodies you've been making.
Well, Julia, I can surely sympathize with overcooking, as you know my partridge was a true disaster. Also, my first ever cake, I baked yesterday. But, my excuse is I only own a whisk!
Agree with the bit about reading recipe and adjusting temps. Frustrating indeed.
From the looks of it though, it looks pretty yummy and once you ice it, it's sure to be delicious!
How's your gingerbread house coming along? :)
Oh well, I can always use it as a door stop Pixie :-))
Haven't started the house yet, I might do that tomorrow or Wednesday.
Your tree looks good! It is a kot of work isn't it? But worth is! The cake looks yummy!
The cake will still taste good! Yes - the brown paper does make a difference it stops the cake from burning. Happy Christmas and New Year to you. Mx
Ah, so that would be why then Margaret! :-)) Thanks, I'll make sure I have some next year. Happy Christmas to you too!
Hi Julia,
Your cake looks delicious and I bet very moist with 'feeding'! If you haven't any brown paper next year its ok to use old newspaper to tie around the outside of the cake tin.
Wishing you a Happy Christmas & a Happy New Year!
Rosie x
Oh that's a good idea, thanks Rosie!
Happy Christmas to you too!
I've made a christmas cake for about 5 years now (so from when I was 17) and I think this years is the best I've ever made. It takes a while to get it right, I think. And yes the brown paper is critical! Two layers!
A suggestion: maybe saw the very top centimetre off of your cake? Icing masks the look, but saw the top off to get rid of the bit that would taste most burnt, if indeed you burnt it. Oh, and it shouldn't sink - there's enough fruit in them for peeking to make no difference.
I'll have to make sure I take some pics of my cake and pud nearer the big day. I've put some pics up from the 6-person pre Christmas Christmas dinner I had. Weeee! p.s. like your tree! I always leave the tinsel off too. In fact, I only tolerate tinsel on the pictures to keep him happy ;)
Right, note to self - make sure you have brown paper next year!!!
Yes I might cut the top off actually, then I'll also be able to see just how bad the damage is :-)
I'm glad you like my tree, I think I've got enough on it without tinsel! I'm off to look at your piccies!
Hi Julia, So..I made my first fruitcake this year (have been enjoying the cake for years though as my mom makes it every year for Christmas) and the edges turned out to be a little on the hard side - but just the edges - everything else was great - so I'm hoping that your cake might be the same - just the edges - and the inside will just be fabulous!!
Have a great Christmas! :)
Hi Julia,
I followed the same recipe and had exactly the same problem. And I did use the brown paper. But don't worry - I cut mine in half to look at the inside and it looks lovely and moist in the middle. I now, of course, wish that I hadn't cut it open! But I'm hoping noone will notice once I have iced it.
Similarly, I didn't adjust the recipe for a fan oven, so perhaps that was the problem. Still - yours looks delicious and I bet it will taste wonderful.
Happy Christmas!
Hi Antonia, thanks for that. Of course I wish your cake had turned out well, but it is interesting to know someone else had a problem, even using the paper. My plan is to get everyone drunk so they don't notice ;-)
Happy Christmas to you too!
With enough brandy, your cake should still be delicious! It looks very rich and dense.
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