I need help with Delia's Christmas cake PLEASE!

[ElspethDiggory]

The recipe says, between 4- 4 3/4 hours in a conventional oven but doesn't say what to do in a fan oven . What do those of you with fan ovens do, lower the temp/shorten the time? I'm not sure what to do Thanks.

Lower a bit and cover with GP paper or teh top will dry out.

A fan oven is generally hotter, therefore the cake would cook more quickly.

I'd do a combination of a lower oven temperature than specified and start checking the cake much sooner.

This might help

I've just made mine using Delia's recipe - make it every year. I would drop the temperature by 10 deg C and check at 3.5 hours.

Mine was cooked half an hour earlier than the recipe stated.

I have used Delia's recipe with a fan oven and I found the cooking time to be a lot less than she said.

Wrap newspaper around the outside of the tin and a disc of GP paper with a hole cut out on top.

I always check after 4 hours, have made lots of her Christmas cakes.

I also add a double collar of paper around the outside of the tin. Newspaper is fine.

Thanks BecauseImWorthIt, that is a great link. Right, will go for slightly lower/less time combo as that is the consensus and I won't forget to double wrap it! Thanks very much.

i make this in my fan oven and lower the temp to 120oc
have always found that other than this adjustment her timings are spot-on

I did mine in a fan oven at 125 degrees for 3hrs 55mins but, having forgotten the newspaper collar till it was too late, have now got a cake with quite burnt-looking edges. Stupid question (it's my first Christmas cake), but can i just slice these off when it comes to icing?

you may find that with regular brandy feeding between now and xmas that the edges soften and aren't that bitter
also bear in mind that it will be covered in both marzipan and icing too

Just slice them off. TBH, in order to get flat/straight surfaces for icing it's often what you need to do anyway.

And as ASBM says, lots of brandy as well as the icing will cover a multitude of sins!

Kitchen looks like a sketch featuring the swedish chef from the muppets has just been performed in it BUT the cake is in the oven!! Thanks all

For those who are interested I cooked it on 120 for 4hrs 15 mins and it looks (and smells) great

Should I feed it before I wrap it up?

I would - I'd assume it would absorb the brandy nicely whilst still slightly warm.

However - YABVVVU to have a thread that is clearly BOASTING about having made your christmas cake this early, when you know fine well that I won't be making mine until a week before christmas because I am a lazy mare such a busy and important person! [hwink][hgrin]

LOL STDG Are you going to answer all my threads? Thanks! Off to feed self cake.

ooh sorry for late post,glad to hear that 120oc worked well for you too
and yes i always give mine a cheeky feed whilst cooling

I could stalk you, if you like, Elspeth! I've never been a mumsnet stalker before.

OOOH! How exciting, my very own mn stalker, happy days!

Sorry late to the post, can I ask how much brandy and how often to feed the christmas cake??

i usually feed it with a capful of brandy each week and alternate between top and bottom of the cake

Oh Elspeth - I was just innocently wandering through this thread - I had no idea I might see you here.

Thankyou Aseriously, think I may have been overdoing it alttle. Have been putting in 3 tablespoons a week Have done that 3 times!
Hope I've not ruined it!

ooh
nah i'm sure that it'll be uber moist

I also do 20 degrees less in my fan oven and wrap at least three layers of newspaper around the tin with a double layer of grease proof (with a small hole cut out of the top) for the top of the cake.