I am baking a cake for a friend. The party is on Sarturday. I'm very slow at decorating the cakes, so I need to start today (Thursday). I really need to have the cake finished Friday night. If I bake the cake today and need to decorate it tomorrow, do I need the freeze the cake after I bake it and then let it thaw as I crumb coat it? Will is still be fresh and taste as good on Saturday if it's baked, crumb coated and fondant today? I would like the freshest taste. Please let me know what you think.

Definitely bake it today. Your cake needs time to settle. I am baking tonight for a cake that I will ice and decorate tomorrow. You can freeze it, just make sure it is completely cool and wrap it well in plastic wrap. It will still taste fresh baked.

Good luck-- post pics!!!!

I bake my cakes the day before I decorate them. I can't start working until my toddler goes to bed, so I don't have time to bake and decorate in the same day. If it were my order, I would bake tonight and then turn out onto a wire rack covered with a towel to cool overnight. Tomorrow before I go to work, I would wrap the cakes in saran wrap and leave out on the counter. Then tomorrow night, I would crumb coat and decorate.

I use a WASC base for my cakes and they stay moist for days. Plus the flavor develops over a couple of days - it seems to peak and plateau on the 3rd day. That would be Saturday, the day of delivery so it works out well.

If you are using a scratch recipe, you can use a simple syrup to keep you cake moist. Sorry I can't offer any more info on that topic since I don't bake my decorated cakes from scratch (only my dessert cakes which are all usually eaten the next day anyway so I don't worry about it).

Good luck!

I always bake on Wed. and Thursday, decorate on Friday, deliver Saturday and I don't freeze them and they're perfectly moist and yummy. Just make sure you cover them up nice and airtight once they're baked before you decorate and you'll be fine!

I only freeze if I have to bake more than 3 days before I decorate!

hi, i figured i would jump in here...
i am brand new at this, all your help is appreciated.
I baked (box)cake last night, wrapped in plastic wrap overnite on counter,
was planning on buttercream frosting today, (now). then start on fondant covering, with fondant decorations today, and any final touch ups tomorrow(because i think it will take me that long). I am just making a kids birthday party cake, rectangle, with bowling ball on it. covering cake and ball in fondant, with fondant pins/decorations around the walls of the cake. Once complete I really cant cover it, just a box...and I am serving saturday at noon. Am I starting tooooo soon? Will the fondant be hard? or only hard if I use gumpaste in it? I remember making gumpaste flowers in class and they were like glass...but I think the fondant stays soft? please help and thanks!

Thank you so much for your replies! I LOVE Cake Central! You guys are great!

if a cake is due sat morning or afternoon:
mon-tues: mix all my fondant colors and start any modeling chocolate/fondant/gumpaste figures
tues-wed : I bake and freeze in deep freezer
wed-thurs: cover cake boards, finish modeling chocolate/ fondant/gumpaste figures or gumpaste royal icing accents
Fri AM/afternoon: make fillings and buttercream
....carve,trim, ,torte, fill,ice cakes.. dowels cakes ( if applicable)... refrigerate
Friday night ( late , usually 8 pm to midnight) : place cakes on cake board(s)roll out fondant, cover cakes with fondant, stack cakes and dowel them with center support (if applicable)and apply trims / border,airbrush ect, apply fondant shapes (if any) , royal icing piping ect...
store in cool area ( 60 around degress) but not refridgerate
SAT AM: apply any figurines or anything that is 3-D that sits on the cake... add buttercream border or accents ( if any) .. put together a travel kit for cake repair and serving (if applicable) & prep cake and vehical for transport...

i do most of my cake related stuff after my kids are in bed for the night or during the day while they are at school... so this is the scedule that works best for me.