Mumsnet Talk

Ooh, thank you *LoveMyBoots

Off to buy the ingredients today, very excited. I bake with two friends and we spend the afternoon together chopping fruit, nipping the brandy and talking bollocks!

I'm planning on doing the Delia cake again this year, it was a bit burnt using her timings last year so I'm going to put it in on a lower temperature and take it out earlier.

I do have a question for those who do her cake but don't use her almond paste and icing recipes because I can't be arsed this year how much marzipan and fondant do I need to buy to cover the cake and do a few little decorations ( think trees or snowmen)?

A vote again for Mary Berry's recipe. It doesn't have to be as hard as Delia makes it.

vamosbebe Hope the cake went well!

I make her cake every year, it always takes much longer than 4 hours in my oven it never burns. In fact I'm going to be making it today.

Don't know if she'll do it again, but that Mary Berry Christmas Cake Kit was amazeballs last year......tesco reduced them to pennies afterwards and I bought a couple, gave one to my ma as a joke present, cos she makes fabulous cakes.

I was going to do the other one, but she stole it from me as the first one had gotten such rave reviews from all her chums!

Ive used the Delia recipe lots of times and never had a problem. I also got a few cheap packets of the Mary Berry kit and it was lovely. But someone on here posted last year they had managed to burn it at least twice, when i had to cook it at least an hour longer than it said on the packet.

I attempted to make the Delia Christmas Cake yesterday and it burnt on the bottom! Tempted to try the Nigella one tomorrow now!

I did this one last year. I took it out after 2 hrs and it was done. It would have been cremated after 4 hrs.

Cut off the burnt bits and feed it brandy every day. That should help

In defence of Delia, when I made it a few years ago, it took a lot longer than 4 hours. In fact, we forgot about it, went to bed, woke up in a panic at 2am, dashed downstairs expecting clouds of smoke and it was fine. Actually a little over moist in the middle, it turned out. I think the thing is that ovens are very unreliable at low temps, and some are obviously hotter than supposed to be, mine much lower. I don't have an oven thermometer but keep thinking about getting one for this very reason.

I've been making this cake for about 15 years, in lots of ovens, luckily has never burnt.

I do use loads of alcohol and soak fruit for a couple of weeks. I make 7 every Christmas.

It now takes 10 hours in the bottom oven of the AGA!

Oh you did make me laugh !! Sorry ! I use the all in one easiest Christmas cake recipe in the world. It really is easy and works. If you google you will find it. I think it was from woman and home.

I've made Delia's cake several years and every year it was burnt and dry. I always blamed it non my lack of baking experience and never crossed my mind that the recipe might be wrong, as isn't Delia a cooking god?