christmas cake disaster help!

[ratclare]

made cake mark 1 at the weekend and its a disaster , i am having to use the top oven as the bottem one is broken,would the cake cook at 100c as it burnt at 150c ? should i cover the top completely as i covered it with a double layer of baking parchment with a little hole in the middle but the cake rose to the hole and burnt and cracked . this is my first attempt at cake so any advice gratefully recieved

hmmm...no idea! Sorry...but if you go to the Christmas cake club thread (look under the christmas topic)and post on there UCM is very wise on all things cakey and christmassy!!! ASk on there might be helpful?
(I'm a novice too...I think mine is too soggy..)

yes, check out the christmas cake club thread - UCM is our guru and lots of other tips. I had mine uncovered for 1st hour at 170 and then covered for 1.5 hours at 150. Other have advised covering for whole time though. How big is your cake? maybe it needs a longer slower cook. Mine was a 7 inch one

Silly question - forgive me for asking....but the top oven isn't a grill is it?

no it can be used as either !

I only ask - because I put pizzas in the "top oven" last week but turned it to grill by mistakeSmoke alarm!!!

Right I do it like this and it takes absolutely hours.

I double line the base and sides of the tin with greased parchment. Once I have put the cake in the tin I wrap a double layer of brown paper around the outside of the tin and it is about twice as high as the tin, in a sort of tube shape. I have one I keep from year to year stapled to size but you could tie it in place. Then I place a square of brown paper over the top of this. It obviously takes up the whole oven. And it takes maybe 6/7 hours to cook at a low temp. I might take the paper off the top for the last hour or two.