It’s the season to bake rich, traditional fruitcakes. However, many home cooks prefer to avoid baking their own because of the time and effort involved. Line a cake pan with layers of baking paper, and brown can take a lot of time. I have a method that’s just as efficient but takes only a fraction of the time.
CWA judge Norma Allen, an agricultural show judge, showed me this method many years back. This method is much faster than using multiple layers of brown paper. It will also protect your cake while it bakes slowly. It prevents the outside of the cake from becoming too brown before it reaches the center.
Line the bottom and sides of the cake pan with nonstick paper.
Place four sheets of newspaper on top. You will have a 12-layered strip of paper if you fold the paper in thirds. Continue with four more sheets of newspaper.
To secure the newspaper strips, wrap one around the pan’s outside and tie it with kitchen string. The remaining section can be cut to fill in the space where the ends of one strip don’t meet. There should be a 5cm overlap at each end. To completely cover the pan with newspaper, slide the strip under the kitchen string.
Place an old magazine on the baking tray. Then, place the lined pan on top. Fill the pan with the mixture, and bake according to the recipe.
CWA judge Norma Allen, an agricultural show judge, showed me this method many years back. This method is much faster than using multiple layers of brown paper. It will also protect your cake while it bakes slowly. It prevents the outside of the cake from becoming too brown before it reaches the center.
Line the bottom and sides of the cake pan with nonstick paper.
Place four sheets of newspaper on top. You will have a 12-layered strip of paper if you fold the paper in thirds. Continue with four more sheets of newspaper.
To secure the newspaper strips, wrap one around the pan’s outside and tie it with kitchen string. The remaining section can be cut to fill in the space where the ends of one strip don’t meet. There should be a 5cm overlap at each end. To completely cover the pan with newspaper, slide the strip under the kitchen string.
Place an old magazine on the baking tray. Then, place the lined pan on top. Fill the pan with the mixture, and bake according to the recipe.
