# Fruitcake question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-question/475289>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 2, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-question/475289 "2008-12-02T03:00:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-question/475289/1 "2008-12-02T03:00:26Z")

</div>

Not that this is relevant, since [I don’t have a stand mixer](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=495215), there’s no chance on earth that I have [this recipe](http://southernfood.about.com/b/2005/12/02/spiced-dark-fruitcake.htm) in the oven right now ;)…

But there’s one step in the instructions that reads

> [@](#):
>
> Place the fruitcake on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. After 1 1/2 hours, _cover the pan with a piece of brown paper_ (do not use foil) or set the pan in a paper bag and return it to the oven.

(italics mine).

What is the paper supposed to do?

Also - if I were making this fruitcake, the toothpicks would be coming out clean, but shiny right about now, and I remember this happening last year. The cakes actually wound up sorta soggy. Think they’d need to bake a bit longer?