Have made many fruitcakes in a 7" metal angel food pan, for ease of time and cleaning. I was excited to try the 7" paper tube pans, but what I ended up with was soup on the inside. The paper pan was slightly thinner in width and higher in depth, so it held the same amount of ingredients.
I played with the time and temperature but for the most part I got dried out, and/or burnt, or gooey. What can I do to make this work?
In general, metal is much more thermally conductive than paper (see http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-d_429.html). The heat is very likely not making its way through to cook the bottom of your fruitcake as quickly as it would with metal. I would suggest extending the baking time by about 25%, but also dropping the temperature about halfway through to prevent drying out or burning.
That, or go back to the metal pan that you've had success with in the past. If it ain't broke...
