Burned my Xmas cake :(

[PassTheTwiglets]

Blinkin' Delia. She said 4.75 hours but not to even peek until 4 horus had passed. After 3.5 I smelled burning and the top has burned slightly in the centre. I did everything right (all the brown paper gubbins) and I know my oven temp is accurate, grrrrr.

Anyway, my question is - do you think the cake will taste alright? It's only a little bit on the very top and I have to cut that bit off anyway, to level it. But will the burned taste have permeated through the cake and will it be all dry and horrid inside? (the sides are quite dry). I'll be feeding the cake fortnightly until Xmas so hopefully that should help with the dryness to some extent.

What do you think?

Oh no!
Sorry to say this happened to me last year, 4.75hrs is way too long imo.
I took mine out after 3.5hrs, as it looked/felt done but despite feeding (very liberally) for 2 months it was dry.

I think it will taste fine, don't worry. As Soda has said try and feed it regularly,
and keep it tightly wrapped.

My 2nd cake is the the oven at the moment,(I make 5), Delia's recipe, but cooked in our AGA simmering oven for 8 hours! When I have used this recipe with an electric oven it has taken 4.5 hours.

Must say though, it is ridiculously better cooked for 8 hours, really moist and quite sticky, yum. :)

Oh dear, soda, I was hoping you would say "I did this and it was fine" not "I did this and it was dry" :) Oh well, I don't eat Xmas cake anyway (yuk), it's for my family, so at least I won't be eating it :)

5 cakes, BoiledEgg?!?!