Entry for the Hill Show - Marble Cake

[ugly gourd]

The cracking is caused by to hotter oven as somebody said before the cake cooks a crust then the next lot of mixture to cook bursts through like potatoes after alot of rain after a drought but why cook for 90 mins it seems a long time and cover with ungreased grease proof or it will mark the top good luck with your next attempt

[Hazel at the Hill]

Ok, grapes - mk II marble cake is in the oven!

Have checked temp is ok with the oven temp measurer thingie, put dent in cake, have set pinger for 1 hr 15mins when I will have TINY peek with greaseproof at the ready (Wellie says that foil will make the cake 'sweat'. Honestly, if I was in at gas 3 for an hour and a half I'D sweat!!)

D'you know, I never knew I was this competitive!!

I'll update you later...can't tell you how grateful I am to each and every one of you!

(Especially you, twelvetoes! )

[Alice]

Looks like a great cake to me Hazel. Hope you can find a way to make it competition class.

[wellie]

So.... 25 or 20 to then..... I tell you wot luvvlie, I'm not moving from this spot now, until I know that you're happy with Mark II when it comes out of the oven? And even if I have to 'sit up with you' for a Mark III, I'm absolutely not going anywhere....?

I think you are incredibly brave to enter A Show in your first year of growing, and I shall look forward to stealing all of your ideas if that's ok?!

[Hazel at the Hill]

Breaking news.....!

Well, grapes - Mark II marble cake is on the cooling rack, and it's looking ok - and, I've decided, good enough for the show.

BUT I'm sure it's not a winner and I would be quite happy doing a mk 3, 4 and so on until I'm entirely happy - but this is not practical for a number of reasons - marble cake overload being just one of them.

(note to self: expecting to be instantly an expert in something that others have strived for years to master is very arrogant - not an attractive trait!)

It's not going to be an embarrasment to enter tho', so I shouldn't be too downhearted!

Pics in the morning - and thank you again for all your help - I've learned so much!

[wellie]

Phew! There's Lovely....!

[Hazel at the Hill]

Well, fairly lovely........

[Jaxom]

I'm glad cake Mark II worked out well.
I only put paper or foil on top of cakes if they are slow cooking fruitcakes. As other grapes have said ovens can say one thing and do another. Whenever I get a new cooker, the first thing I do is cook a sponge cake. The main reason for this is to know how the oven is operating so that I can jiggle timings and settings for all things in the future.
Over the years I have had to use ovens that needed gas mark 6 to cook a sponge. My oven now cooks sponge at mark 3, but I always have to remind myself of the new setting as for years I used mark 4 for the same mixture.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Well, here it is, grapes - of course I will let you now where I come in the Hill Show!

[Headfry]

Wow Hazel that looks fab.
Mr Headfry made his first ever cake last night!!!!
He is entering the 'chocolate cake baked by a man' section of our village show!
Cake looks good.
I hope you do very well.....any crumbs left over?????

[HappyMouffe]

Ooh - that looks nice, Hazel. Best of luck!

[moggssue]

Looks good to me Hazel - and even if you dont win you can enjoy eating it after the show!! Good luck ... got everything crossed for you over here ....

[shirlthegirl43]

Looks lovely Hazel. When is the show? If it was in my house, it would be just as well there were others made for practice - that one wouldn't stand a chance of lasting long enough to get to a show

[Seahorse]

Looks fabulous! Good luck in the show!

Claire

[wellie]

Grumpy Fert 'n' Liza?

Hazel,

On opening Fert 'n' Liza's mail today, and recognising the 'I Saw This And Thought Of You' Gold Box that Royal Mail dutifully deliver to and fro for us, I instantly put The Flobalobs on a ten minute diet, so that Trousers and I could devour the yummy slices of mk1 Marble Cake 'guilt-free'....
(You do make me laugh...) And knowing that mk2 will be equally as yummy we shall be proud standing 'Virtually' shoulder to shoulder with you on Sunday to add a little moral support.