I thought I'd get a head start on the baking for my farmer's market which starts in a few weeks. I did 10 mini light fruit cakes, of which all but 2 sank, and two-bite caramel brownies, which won't come out of the pans (despite putting squares of parchment in the bottom, which I hoped would help). Everything tastes good, but looks like crap - can't sell it. I'm starting to lose my nerve over this whole market thing. Any suggestions how to get my confidence back?
Thanks, Tubbs.
We all have times our recipes don't turn out right - don't get down! Have you used the fruitcake recipe before with success? If so, then there must have been some silly mistake that caused this mishap! I think when a cake sinks it's because the sugar/liquid ratio is off? Not enough liquid to dissolve the sugar in the recipe? And when you say mini, what size is that and have you done that size before? With the brownies, have you had these come out nicely before? Brownies are notoriously messy - have you thought of covering and putting them in the freezer for a little bit so they'd come out of the pan easier? Just some thoughts!
Yes, I made my practice cakes last week (in 1lb loaf pans) and they were great. The only thing I did differently was to cover the fruit and nuts in flour because they sank last time. Could that be it??
Will try the brownie tip - no, they never come out of the mini-muffin pans 
, which is why I tried the parchment this time. (My kids raved about the flavour and said I MUST sell them on my stall!). I do like the recipe - perhaps I will make a big pan and cut them up to sell as brownie bites instead.
Thanks for the encouragement. I've baked for family and friends for years, but suddenly doing it for money, I'm a nervous wreck!
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