With experience, when cooking a cake such as Victoria sandwich - the skewer/knife will come out greasy but without cake mixture on it when it's done. Fruit cakes etc are a bit trickier - I think the method for testing is to press the middle and see if it feels 'springy'. If in doubt with Christmas cake, you can aim for overcooking then 'rescue' it with brandy.
Me and Mr Gemlad made some flapjack last weekend. We followed a recipe which said '20 mins or until just firm in the middle'. Flapjack will be on fire before it's firm in the middle, as it doesn't set until it starts to cool. We did it for about 30 mins, which was over-cooked but not burnt. We will have to do more experimentation! (I think with flapjack, aim for underdone. The cooking process isn't as critical as for a cake, so you can stick them back in the oven if they turn out too raw).
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Date: 2009-04-03 03:26 pm (UTC)Me and Mr Gemlad made some flapjack last weekend. We followed a recipe which said '20 mins or until just firm in the middle'. Flapjack will be on fire before it's firm in the middle, as it doesn't set until it starts to cool. We did it for about 30 mins, which was over-cooked but not burnt. We will have to do more experimentation!
(I think with flapjack, aim for underdone. The cooking process isn't as critical as for a cake, so you can stick them back in the oven if they turn out too raw).