How long is it safe to keep a cae before decorating it?

Question

Hi Cake Decorators! I have a questions for you! How long in advance is it ok to bake the cake before decorating it?

Answer 1

I have been decorating cakes for several years now professionally, and I can say that a cake is good for a couple of days but it is best to decorate it as soon as it is completely cooled. If you wait, the cake will lose it's moisture. If you are needing to decorate a cake but don't have time to do it the day that it is needed, then my advice is to ice(frost) the cake with whatever icing you are using and wait until the night before to decorate it. This way, the cake has a protective layer of icing and the icing will help keep the moisture in the cake. I did my wedding cake 3 days before the wedding. I baked it, let it cool and when it was completely cooled off, I iced it (put it in the fridge) and waited to decorate it until the day before my wedding. The cake was as moist as when I first pulled it out of the oven. Hope this helps and good luck

Answer 2

When I worked for a bakery that was known for their great wedding cakes, we would make maybe twenty cakes a day and freeze them for maybe a few months before we needed to take them out and ice/decorate it.

You can safely bake the layers, wrap them in plastic wrap (and foil if you want to freeze them) after they've cooled and keep them in the fridge for a few days before you ice them.

The storage time can be longer if you do what a lot of professional bakers do, and put on a thin icing layer called a "crumb coat" before you store it. We frequently did that
in the bakery. Sometimes the flavor of a freshly baked cake needs to "ripen" for a day or two before it tastes really good.
The "crumb coat" seals in the moisture of the layers and keeps odors out. A smooth "crumb coat" makes the final icing much nicer because the crumbs from a freshly baked cake won't get into the frosting and make it lumpy.

A fun thing to do is to make the "crumb coat" one flavor (like vanilla buttercream, and after it has set, make the final icing a totally different flavor, like chocolate or fruity, like orange or lemon.
Between the layers, when you assemble the cake, you can put a layer of fruit glaze:

In a small saucepan, put in apricot or seedless raspberry jelly. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and let cool. You can smear this glaze onto the cake between the layers. Put the whole thing in the fridge to set it (a few hours at least) before you put the final icing on top.

A good combo is raspberry glaze and chocolate frosting. Another nice one is apricot glaze and orange flavored frosting...I could go on and on. I'm sure you'll think of some good combos yourself.But now I'm hungry for cake!!

Happy baking!

Answer 3

Cake can be frozen for up to 45 days. When baking, line your pan(s) with parchment paper and the cake will release easier. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack. Flip the cake out of the pan (leave the paper on) and wrap in plastic. Put into zip lock bag or other container large enough to lay cake flat in freezer. Semi-thaw and ice bottom side up (don't forget to remove parchment paper) to insure a level cake. Decorated cakes, in a sealed container can be frozen for 7 days. Just thaw and serve. Good Luck!

Answer 4

I wouldn't do it any longer then a day otherwise it wouldn't be fresh. bake it then chill it then decorate it .chilling it helps set the crumbs.

Answer 5

at least one day and you can freeze it for a week before decorating

Answer 6

That's wrong

Answer 7

I often end up writing the same question on other sites

Answer 8

Great answers, just what I was searching for.