Christmas cake - been in for nearly 6 hours and still soggy

[wineymummy]

I am making my own Christmas cake for the first time (sick of going to parents/in-laws house and being told "I didn't make a cake because no one likes it." I like it!!)
I have used this Delia recipe www.deliaonline.com/recipes/occasions/christmas/christmas-cakes-icings-and-toppings/classic-christmas-cake and she says cook it at gas mark 1 for 4-5 hours. Well my cake went in at 9.30 this morning so nearly 6 hours ago...and it's still feeling rather soggy in the middle. When I skewer it, it's just about coming out clean but I had a rummage (hell it's getting iced) and it's definitely still pretty wet in the middle. I've used my top oven which isn't as reliable as the main voen but the cooker is only 4 years old so not too bad, and have just put the gas up to 3 in an effort to get the thing fully baked. (I have horror memories of my mum's rather stodgy, and frankly, raw, Christmas cakes.) But I don't want it to be dry and hard either. Anyone know if I should be taking it out already? Will the stodgy bits dry out?

That seems too cool. Nigella and Good Food suggest mark 2.
If you are leaving it on 3 keep checking, don't let the outside get too dried out.
Uncooked stodgy bits will stay stodgy. If you think you have overcooked it, lashings of booze poured in will help.

It's always easier to re-moisten a slightly overcooked Christmas cake with copious booze feedings than it is to sort an undercooked or stodgy cake.

I've cooked it at 140C (fan) successfully - that's about gas 2 or 3 depending on how hot your oven runs.

Also if it's the middle that's the problem and you're not precious about the top of the cake because it's getting iced - Do you have a metal rod (or small spoon or something) that you can leave poking out of the middle of the cake in the oven to get some heat straight into the middle of it?

Thanks for the tips! Had to turn it off to go collect DD and left it in the warm oven for an hour. Definitely still soggy so it's gone back in at 3 with a tea spoon in the middle. Looked a lot perkier for its earlier blast at 3. Good point re. feeding it after if it's too dry. I've got a whole bottle of brandy which won't get drunk so may as well er on the side of caution! Thank God it's getting iced, the top looks like the face of the moon now!

When you get to the icing stage, turn it upside down, the bottom will be flat and easy to deal with.

Ha funny you say that Tricky. When I turned it out of the tin last night, having thought it was fine, the bottom was really soggy!! So I put it back in, inside out in the tin and gave it another blast. Poor cake. Anyway the bottom has now got lots of holes in too . Big thick layer of marzipan will sort it out I'm sure.

Upside down not inside out

I wish I'd seen this a fortnight ago.

I cooked mine at about 90 for 5-6 hours. It had a bit hotter at the beginning as I hadn't read the recipe

I think it's still soggy. I've been feeding it a bit. Can I put it back in the oven now? A week or two after taking it out?? It still tastes delicious but I'm not convinced it's turned into cake, more dried out batter with lumps of dried fruit in

Hilly sounds like you have my relaxed attitude towards recipes too. I was wondering whether substituting the currants (none left in Aldi) for more sultanas was part of my problem, if they're juicier. Haven't told my DH who can never understand my inability to follow a recipe completely. Bake Off is not calling my name.
Perhaps one of our more experienced posters can answer your question? My cake was cooked on and off for 14 hours yesterday and I'm still not convinced it's ok! Oh well, good job it's only me that eats it. Apparently I'm not allowed to give the toddler any because it's too boozy.

Substituting sultanas for currants shouldn't make any difference as long as the overall weight of dried fruit is more or less the same as the recipe.

Hilly, not sure about post-feeding cooking. I would be inclined to try to dig out a bit from down in the middle of the cake, taste a bit and poke the crumbs back adding and/or patching the hole with marzipan.