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Leaking liquid Rich fruit cake following marzipan and sugar paste
My friend has baked one of these in the past and after the cake was covered in marzipan and sugar paste is started leaking a caramel looking gooey substance. Would you have any idea what could have caused this and what she could do to avoid this happening in the future?
TIA
Hi higgy040
Could be a number of reasons.
Butter which hasn’t been thoroughly creamed in with the sugar and eggs will remain in tiny lumps and liquify during baking causing a leak. This doesn’t appear to be the cause in your friend’s cake as you say it happened once the cake was covered.
It’s possible the fruit was leaking soaking liquid. If the liquid wasn’t completely absorbed during baking, the surface of the cake would remain over moist. This moisture will begin to dissolve any covering ie marzipan and sugarpaste. This seems the most likely reason but it’s also possible the fruit itself was beginning to break down and ooze sugars.
Feeding a fruit cake too close to the time of covering will also affect the covering. It’s best to stop feeding fruit cake approximately two weeks before covering. Once covered with marzipan, let the cake sit in a cardboard box for approximate three days to dry before icing.
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Hope some of the suggestions help.
