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Help – I baked the fruit cake layer of my wedding cake for the time stated and it appeared to be fully cooked. Having left if for a few weeks I decided to check it and, disaster, the middle was not cooked. Is there anything I can do apart from start again. Has anyone had to cook their cake for considerably longer than the receive stated? Mine said cook at 140 for 3 hours for a 10″ cake. 🙁

Hi Dianehibbeard

Unfortunately you can’t really re bake it. A 10″ round cake at 140 should bake for around 3.5 hours, however timings are guides and not all cakes will bake within the stated time as all ovens are different. Some bake faster and yours by the sounds of it needed a little longer. Seeing as it is for your wedding it would be better to start again. This cake doesn’t have to be wasted, you can still use it by cutting out the part which is under baked and eat it as a pudding with cream or custard. Freeze any that you don’t use.

Hi Dianehibbeard
I usually agree with MIWL and think she gives out lots of great advice but on this occasion I disagree with her (sorry MIWL). I would try and salvage your cake by putting it in the oven again – a low oven say 135 for a while then switch the oven off and leave the cake to cool in the oven that way it won’t burn but will finish cooking. I have done this before successfully as fruit cake is expensive to make so the ingredients are not wasted by doing this. Anyway you do not have much to lose so it is worth a try. Hope it works out for you.

Worth a try definitely, I agree gracecay, fruit cake is expensive. I can only go by my own experiences and by what is generally rule of thumb. I hope it works too.

If that doesn’t work you could bake another little cake, cut the undercooked bit out the middle the same size and plug the hole with the new cake and fill in any gaps with marzipan!

I’m a perfectionist so I would start over……I always have to cook longer than the recipe says, even for fairy cakes!
You need a metal skewer or old style knitting needle to test your cake, if you test and the needle comes out with cake mixture stuck to it you need to keep cooking, your testing spike should come out clean.
I don’t worry too much about over-cooking a little with fruit cake because you can rehydrate it with whiskey while maturing it 🙂

Hi Hibbie

If you type in the search box ‘help with fruit cake please’ there are answers there which may be helpful too.