Turning Disaster into Triumph

Everybody has a cooking disaster every now and then and one of mine happened recently. When this happens the main thing is not to dispair. Unless you have dropped it on the floor and the dog has nibbled it, something can usually be done to rectify the situation. You may not be able to use it as intended, but it is usually possible to prevent the total waste of all the ingredients and associated cots.

If the cake is burnt, wait until it is cold and then trim off the burnt bits before ‘feeding’ (see item 9 in basic rules) in the normal way and wrapping up and storing the cake. (The wild birds in your garden will love the burnt bits soaked in water).

If it hs risen to a point, then ‘feed’, wrap and place upside down to store for a few weeks. This has the effect of flattening it out somewhat. If it is still too high in the middle when you come to decorate, simply trim off the uneven bit and enjoy the sample (that is if your family let you get a look in).

Should the cake be not properly cooked in the middle or the air has got in and it has sunk in the middle (see my poor cake below) a bit more work is required, but with a bit of imagination, no will know you had a dissaster.

You may click on any image in this guide to enlarge it.

This cake has not only sunk, but appears to be quite hollow in the middle (I was bulk baking and took the wrong cake out of the oven and it was not properly cooked in the middle). When I realised I popped it back in the oven to make sure it was cooked, but the damage was done.

Over the coming weeks I will show you how this cake can be turned into a beautifully decorated ‘Holly Wreath’ ring cake.

Firstly I have ‘fed’ it as normal and wrapped it up to mature for a couple of weeks.

Click here to see how this was achieved. Holly Wreath Christmas Cake.