Justin Woods, head chef at The Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, and Greenhouse restaurant

My fruit cake always comes out too dry and I can't seem to achieve the right balance of richness with moisture, can chef advise?

Dean Jones, Penrith

A dry fruit cake seems like a bit of a wasted afternoon, they take time to make, time to bake and they also cost a lot of money buying the ingredients. Although I’m more well known for eating cake rather than cooking cake, I do have a few suggestions that could help you. It could be something as simple as buying a oven thermometer to check that the temperature of your oven is the same as what your dial tells you. Are you over baking your cake - it’s always worth checking with a skewer to test for doneness half an hour before the recommended cooking time, it could be ready. Are you double lining your cake tin? The extra layer of paper will help with protecting your cake. Are you feeding your cake after cooking? Give a good splash of brandy over the top will add extra moisture after cooking. Also make sure your cake is well wrapped after baking to ensure it doesn’t dry out. Hope that helps with your baking.