I am sorry If I offend anybody by saying this. But FREEZING YOUR CAKES is a CRIME. It tastes bad and it just plain bad practice. I now feel better I have said that! I have been keeping my mouth shut for a long time about this subject It seems that certain elements in the cake world are trying to make this a standard practice in cake decorating. It is not normal for a person to freeze a cake then serve it as a freshly made cake. I think this is wrong and a crime to the art of cake decorating. I feel so much better I said that!

for me, it's a must that i occasionally freeze cakes. i work full time and bake part time. for me to be able to do cakes for people for the weekends, it's necessary that i be able to do things in steps, and this usually involves freezing or refrigerating the layers, if not the final product. i also find it's better to wrap in plastic wrap and freeze than allow the layers to sit on the cooling rack and become stale, and quite often, it makes the cake more moist!
i'm not a pro baker or decorator, just someone who does this for fun, for my friends and family
just my 0.02$

i too freeze.

mine come out of the oven and just 10 min later are in the freezer in both plastic wrap and foil --> wrap in plastic and then plop back in cake pan (maintains shape) and then cover with foil.

love how moist they are when I finally do decorate -- and so far, w/ the exception of chocolate cakes...they always taste wonderful....and on the chocolate -- no they don't taste bad -- it's just that overly picky me, the chocoholic, has yet to find THE chocolate cake recipe to end all chocolate cake recipes that I actually like.

ah the quest for the perfect chocolate cake -- the perfect excuse to eat choco cake!

I've tried the freezing thing, even just for a short time (like a day or two) the idea being if it was Hard it would be easier to maneuver and if you frosted it frozen you wouldn't get any crumbs. But what happened was when the cake thawed under my frosting it took FOREVER to crust and parts of it never did because of the excess moisture. The only time I do it now is for layering a 16" or bigger. I freeze the top half just till solid then put it on the bottom and wait for it to thaw before I frost. This also helps keep it from cracking because it resettles onto the bottom layer and conforms to any imperfections. Great tip I got from my Wilton instructor who felt exactly the same way you do about freezing.

I need to freeze cakes to carve them for designs--there is no way around that since trying to carve a room temp cake only makes it crumble. My cakes never taste ANY different after freezing than if they had not been. As long as it is done properly, there should be no difference.

Some people WANT their cake to be frozen so saying it's a crime is a little harsh. When I was in high school I spent a couple summers working at a little bakery, mostly bread and donuts, but he did basic sheet cakes and round and we would have people come in and say that they wanted us to make sure that the cake was frozen before he decorated it because they said it tastes better that way.

I think it's just like the argument over box and scratch cakes, it's a matter of preference and to attack a method isn't fair.

I will say that personally I don't taste the difference but I can tell if icing has been in the freezer so I don't freeze iced cakes but other people like it and that's fine.

please explain then why companies like pepperidge farm make some tasty FROZEN cakes that you thaw on the counter.

I freeze cakes often. As long as you know what you are doing and freeze them PROPERLY there is nothing wrong with it. All kinds of cakes and pastries and breads are frozen. They taste just fine.And just saying"no offesnse intended" doesn't mean you then get to say whatever the heck you want.

don't freeze your cakes. that's fine. but I think you're out of line to disparage the work of many people on here who do something differently than you do. Many well known and very well thought of decorators DO freeze their cakes.

This argument will turn nasty just like all of the box vs scratch, or the crisco vs butter debates turn. It all is a matter or preference to the person that is baking and decorating. Its an arugment on the same lines as stay at home mom vs work out side the home mom, or the breast fed vs bottle fed, or the home school vs public school. No one is right, and no one is wrong.

This is why: jmt1714

Those company's have 1 goal in mind, dumb down the taste buds of the average consumer so they can sell their inferior products to you. 30 years ago those company's did not sell their products that well. They new they needed another generation for those products to take off. Now when a customer gets a cake that was just baked that day and eats it that day they go absolutely nuts on how good it is. That is because the expectations of the the consumer has been lowered by inferior products on the market produced by those big company's. So the real sea of change is back to the operations that sell just made cakes not frozen and thawed and decorated cake. Do this Please try a fresh bread that you make in your own oven, please make your own dough and make a pizza, please make your own ice cream and you will see the difference in taste.
Thank you for hearing me on this subject.

I think EPI just likes to make trouble and must be lol! at all of us. I would love to see one of EPI cakes..

I have to freeze because I CANNOT do the baking the day before. People have said they loved the 'richness' of the cake. So I guess it concentrates flavor or something? Well, my cake turned out good (taste-wise) frozen, so that's all.

I, too, occasionally freeze a cake for a day or two. But not for prolonged periods of time. I've never had any complaints. It always seemed better to me to freeze for a day or two, rather than leave a cake sit out awaiting decorating. I'm a mom with 2 preschoolers so I have to plan, plan, plan! If I have multiple cake orders for a weekend I bake on Weds & freeze cake, make icing on Thurs and decorate on Friday so cakes are ready first thing Sat morning.

Doug- I love the idea of putting the cake back in the pan to freeze it. GREAT idea!!!

I cook everything from scratch. I make my own bread. I make my own crust. I make my own ice cream . I make scratch cakes. and sometimes I freeze them. and they taste fine. I also aim to not be condescending towards others. You might want to try THAT sometime (sorry in advance to the moderator).


Thirty years ago the stuff didn't exist because of the technology, not because of "dumbed down tastes." Today we have some of the most taste conscious consumers ever. As mentioned before, do what you want with your cakes - but please stop knocking the efforts of others. don't like frozen cakes? don't eat them.

I dont really as us Southerners say "have a dog in this fight" however I do find it snooty to completely trash another bakers way of doing things...there is a market for all... the uber rich and snooty are willing to pay 160.00 per serving on cake and might would faint at the thought of someone freezing the cake... I will say that when properly protected I find little difference in taste...but also that I dont usually freeze my high end cakes for weddings. I do know that saying that NO professional bakers freeze is a totally untrue statement and impossible for one person to say they KNOW that to be true. I was watching Martha Stewart the other day and what she considered one of the finest New York bakers was doing just that! Freezing some of her cakes for distribution to restaraunts around the area.

I dont think that having a solid opinion on something irritates people, so much as the need to take the stand so forcefully and trash others methods in the same sentence. I dont think that 100 years of culinary expertise makes up for 15 minutes training in good manners and how to present ones ideas when it comes to sharing ideas, beliefs and techniques here...but again just my 2 cents...and like all opinions ...not right or wrong ...just mine. ...

I too wrap my cakes in saran wrap or foil and freeze for at least 45 minutes.. Most of the time overnight.. It makes the cakes very moist and rich. Everyone loves the taste...

That's hilarious!!!!!!!!

As someone mentioned earlier, different decorators have different preferences.

EPI may not like to freeze, but clearly there are several other decorators who do choose to use that method and are happy with their results.

So I say, to those who choose to freeze, Stick with what you like to do.

"Different Strokes for Different Folks"....

please close this thread

I have done both and did not taste any difference. One client specifically asked me if I froze my cakes because she heard it kept them moist!

I guess its a preference not a crime. If it were a crime, walmart, costco, supermarkets would be sued all the time!!!

Wow I was just trying to talk about a subject that is close to my heart. I did not expect it to go this way. I am a very polite and caring person. I was under the impression that I could speak my mind here like others. I am sorry about my opinion. I will not speak of it again.

Was there really any benefit to having aired this discussion? Did I miss something?
I just recently joined this site and although I enjoy reading the topics I would hope that they would be more informative than the posting of opinions and hence counter attacks.
Everyone's experience is different. Leave it at that. Do what works for you.
I don't think people pass frozen cakes off on people. You would then be accusing people of dishonesty and therefore passing judgement on someone that you have never layed eyes on. You should not assume the worst of people.
People are used to frozen cakes that is what comes out of every grocery store, Costco and Sam's club in N. America. That is where people go for cheap cakes. Can't change that.
Move on. I am sure that there are more important cake problems that frozen versus fresh.