Wrapping Christmas Cake Tin With Brown Paper

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Fruit Cake (from FEAST) is baked in a tin that is double lined on the inside with baking parchment (parchment paper) and then lined on the outside with brown paper. This is quite common for rich fruit cakes, as they have a long baking time, and it is fine to put the lined tin on the middle shelf in a regular domestic oven.

The parchment paper and brown paper linings provide some insulation against the heat of the oven, which means that the cake bakes more evenly. If the tin is not lined in this way then the outside of the cake can cook too quickly, leaving the inside undercooked. It is a good idea to have some of the parchment paper lining protruding above the top of the tin, as this helps to reduce the risk of the top of the cake becoming too dark. But if towards the end of the cooking time it does look like the top or edges of the cake are scorching then you can lay an extra circle of parchment on the top of the cake until it has completely cooked through.