So, made the Christmas cake yesterday, knowing the oven to be increasingly volatile and vindictive I braved the smell of overheating cardboard and baked it in a box. Sides and bottom perfect, top which was covered only with baking paper burned.
So, this morning I cut the burned top off, flipped the cake over in foil and doused the thing in brandy as I usually would, it is wrapped in foil in the garage. I feared the taste of burned bit would infuse through the cake with the brandy, now I fear that cutting the top will make it dry out unless I actually pickle the damn thing.
Anyone done this and got away with it? Shall I marzipan and ice early? Cake and expensive thing to waste so keen to preserve if possible..... The rest honestly is just nicely browned squishy perfection.....