Wedding cake disaster

[Loopyaboutmy2boys]

So, tried to make a 12 inch round, deep fruit cake using an online calculator to scale up ingredients and cooking time. It burnt on the top and bottom, but think the sides might be ok. The cake is deeper than I need ( 5 inches at its highest and I need 3.5 inches ideally).

Should I a) slice the top and bottom off to leave me with the size I need then feed it and wrap in grease proof paper/foil.

B) leave burnt bits on, feed and trim right before decorating?

C) make another one? (Which would take time and more expense :( )

I put 3 layers of grease proof at base of tin, 4 layers around inside edge of tin, and 4 layers around outside of tin, covered the top part way through cooking, and it was in for 7 hours at 150 as per recipe. ( fan oven)

If I dropped temperature to 130, and put a layer of cardboard under the tin in the oven, and covered the top from the outset, would this work better? Anyone ever baked a large/deep cake and know how long it would take to cook at that temperature?

Got 2 months until the wedding to sort it out.

Ouch! 7 hours is a long time. I would never bake it for take long (despite recipie) I think some recipies don't scale up that well tbh. I would attempt to trim it but be aware that making a new one may be a better option. Is it for your wedding or someone elses?

Will it be marzipanned and sugarpasted? If you're trimming it you may find it quite difficult to get flat and smooth but you may have to risk it. At least with marzipan AND icing you stand a better chance.

Using cardboard is a good idea but honestly, fruit cake isn't my forte, I'm more of a sponge girl!

An alternate option would be to carefully cut it in half to see what the inside is actually like. It may be better/worse than you think and could massively affect your decision. If it turns out to be very lumpy and doesn't look great if cut and iced then use it as a cutting cake- make a sponge which can be iced smoothly and get them to cut that, then both fruit and sponge cakes could be served.

7 hours :o Should have been 4 and half on a 160 oven, so a bit hotter than yours..

I would slice off top and bottom and see what it looks like under the burnt bit and what it tastes like. Burnt fruit cake can taste burnt in non burnt bits.

If you have to do it again, bbc food.

12 inch round is 113 sq inches. I have just checked the recipe for a 12 inch square cake (27% bigger at 144 sq inches) on our website and we suggest only 6 hrs at 140 deg.C in a conventional oven.

I know recipes differ, but it would seem that your cake was in for too long, at too high a temperature, particularly when one normally uses a lower temperature in a fan oven. Furthermore, the fan could dry the cake out when it is in for so long. Is it possible to turn your fan off?

a 12 inch round fruit cake should take around 5.5 hours at fan 120 C / 250 F so it was far too long. I'd start again . Cut off the burnt bits now though and see what you're facing. If you have to cut it down dramatically it could form a smaller tier or be used differently- a cutting cake as someone has said already or mini iced cubes ( a lot of faff though). Or keep the cut down version for Christmas?

also is the temperature of your oven accurate? I do a lot of baking and use an oven thermometer I bought on Amazon . Well worth the money.

Always wrap your fruit cake tins in a newspaper.

Take a newspaper about three sheets, fold in half down the lenght (sheet folded out fully) and then again, then wrap around cake you want the newspaper to stand quite a bit higher than the cake. If the tin is to big for repeat and wrap the newspaper round over laping each other.

Then fold a square again about 3 sheet thick, fold in half, and in half again.

Put cake in over and put the folded square on the top first. bake and then take top off about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through.

For a wedding cake I would be honestly not being using the cake you have made already (sorry) but you can do all sorts with the one you have so don´t bin it! If it is honestly totally gone, then crumble it up and freeze you can use it for all sorts nearer christmas.

Hth

I'd start again. I have a 12" fruitcake recipe which reliably comes out at about 2.5" deep. It is usually about 4.5-4.75h to bake, sometimes 5. I bake at gas 1 which is about 135C. I always wrap newspaper around the outside and turn after 3h. By the time it's marzipanned and sugarpasted it'll be 3".

I'd cut off the burnt bits of the first cake then feed it, and freeze pieces. Perfect if you like boozy pudding with custard!

Custard is the cure for most baking "disasters".

Personally I would trim it flat and see what the inside of the cake is like. Feed it well and let it rest, I'm sure it will be fine

It depends how burnt it is. A bit browned - you'll probably get away with it. Black crust - it'll probably taste burnt even in the non-burnt bits and the cake nearest the burnt bits will be dry and crumbly. It's also obvious when a cake has been trimmed even with decoration on top - there is a natural crust to a cake (like a loaf) and it looks and feels odd if it isn't there.

I would personally start again. 7 hours is waaaaay too long for any cake, it really is. What I would do is search the internet for recipes for a cake size that you are trying to make and start from there. bear in mind that there is a science between the size of the cake tin and the ingredients and the temperature/timing - you can't just "scale up" (it doesn't work like that).

I would also try writing emails to Delia/Mary Berry website - you might just get a reply from one of their team with suggestions on how to do it.

Once you have done all your research I would pick the route that seems most obvious - ie the ingredients/timing/heat/cake tin size that is the common denominator.

I would say preparation in terms of research is key here.

Store & feed. Trim when you get to marzipan stage.

(tip .....cut a small wedge from one of the edges which you plan to cut ....just to ensure the scaling up hasn't also affected the cake in more ways than the timing/temperature issue. And while you have time to make another if it has turned into Christmas pudding!!)