Cake Tin Prep

A whole page dedicated to the art of lining a cake tin for your Ruby Christmas Cake?
This just shows you how much I care about your bakes!
This little bit of time spent wrestling with greaseproof paper, brown paper, and string, will mean that you get a wonderfully baked piece of cake and not something burnt on the outer edges and raw in the middle.
It is a big ask for you oven to cook a heavy fruitcake like this through to the middle, even going low and slow, so this preparation is essential.
Measurements provided in this method are for an 8” cake
Basic circumferences for your cakes (with an extra inch added for overlap are:
6″ cake = 20″
8″ cake = 26″
10″ cake = 33″
12″ cake = 40″
You will need
Sturdy cake tin, 3” deep
Greaseproof baking paper
Heavy brown paper (the kind used to wrap parcels)
String
Information
- Begin by wrapping a length of greaseproof paper around your cake tin to measure the length that you will need (for an 8” tin, you will need approximately 26”) and cut this to allow for the height to be around a few inches deeper than your cake tin. My tin is 3” deep so I have cut a 6” deep piece of greaseproof paper.
- Fold a guide line around ½ inch up from the bottom edge of your paper. Cut ‘teeth’ along the bottom edge of this strip of paper, around ½ inch apart, up to the guide line that you made. When you lay this piece of paper around the inside of your cake tin, the teeth will fold inside the tin and sit perfectly.
- Cut a circle of greaseproof paper to sit in the bottom of your cake tin. With the ‘teeth’ from your edge strip of paper beneath this circle, you will have created a perfectly lined cake tin.
- Cut a length of brown paper to line the outside edge of your tin. I like to fold my brown paper so that I have a double thickness. You will need to tie this paper around your cake tin with string so that it is secure – I use a small piece of tape to hold the paper while I am tying, then peel it off as this is easier than growing the third hand required! This extra layer of paper protects the cake from the heat of the oven and prevents burnt edges.
Did you make this recipe?
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