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Freezing a fully decorated cake

post #1 of 20
4/8/05 at 2:56pm
Thread Starter 
As some of you may know, I'm making a cake for my grandparents aniversary, However, the date of the party is about a week after I fly home, so I was going to make the cake and freeze it.

So... I'm wondering how well do frozen cakes hold up?

If I do buttercream or ganache icing, will it crack when frozen?

Will fondant get soggy?

If I did I layer with mouse in it, will it separate or anything?

How can I keep it from getting a freezer taste?

Anything else I should knwo?
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post #2 of 20
4/8/05 at 4:24pm
I hope that someone with more experience will answer you, but I have been reading the forums obsessively and I will share what I've learned that may help. What I've read here is to never decorate the cakes you freeze because the moisture will be a problem. I think you have to separately wrap each layer in plastic wrap and then foil, and freeze them that way.

You can make your buttercream ahead of time by about a week or two and keep it airtight refrigerated. Royal icing flowers can be made up ahead of time and kept at room temperature in air tight container once they have dried. Those last several months like this.

I'd say make the separate parts and store separately and then when you get home thaw the cake layers still wrapped until completely thawed (at least four hours, but more like a day for large layers like 16" or sheet cakes). Then decorate each layer with the crumb coat, buttercream, and/or fondant. Do additional decorating as you want on top of that. Decorate each layer individually.

Assemble it a few days ahead of time and if the temperature isn't too high you can keep it on the counter in a box or cake keeper. If you have to travel with it, don't do the stacking or tiering until you get to the location.

Best wishes,
~Angel Wendy
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post #3 of 20
4/8/05 at 8:52pm
You can freeze a cake with buttercream. If you use dark colors as decoration on your cake they can bleed once you've taken it out of the freezer.

I wouldn't freeze ganache. It will melt after taking it out of the freezer.

You can not freeze a cake w/ fondant on it or refrigerate a cake with fondant on it.

I'm sure you could freeze that mousse but wouldn't it get watery when you take it out of the freezer?

I think you should just bake your cakes ahead of time, crumb coat them. Wrap them in a few layers of saran wrap, then in tinfoil, then in a trash bag. They will stay fresh for months.

I need some more info from you. Are you saying you are going to carry the cake on the plane with you? I would be afraid to do that. Why not just make your cake when you get there? All you would need would be the recipe for cake & icing. I'm sure someone there would have pans for you to use. Maybe you can carry tips, bags, coloring etc. in a suit case or a carry on bag.

I hope I could help you some. icon_smile.gif
"Learn from a turtle... it only makes progress when it sticks it's neck out"
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"Learn from a turtle... it only makes progress when it sticks it's neck out"
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post #4 of 20
4/8/05 at 8:56pm
I didn't explain myself good enough about the crumb coat. Don't use BCI use apricot glaze or sugar syrup. Then you can freeze.

I personally wouldn't freeze a decorated cake. That's what the stores do! When they melt everything looks gross! And they do bleed big time!
"Learn from a turtle... it only makes progress when it sticks it's neck out"
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"Learn from a turtle... it only makes progress when it sticks it's neck out"
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post #5 of 20
4/8/05 at 9:58pm
Ganache, even when just refridgerated, loses its nice sheen, Like other said, even though some folks do freeze fondant, it is not a good idea, the appearance isn't the same and it can get slimey.
Personally I wouldn't ever freeze that kind of filling either.
Buttercream is your safest bet and like you were warned, some colours may bleed out once defrosted.
I don't really like freezing an iced cake, if I don't have to. But of the two buttercreams, the one that is half butter half shortening, freezes best, mainly because when it thaws out, it is very similar to the unfrozen product. The other buttercream - the all shortening one, can be frozen but I find it gets a bit of a dried texture and the icing, if done in rows of stars for example, tends to break off in rows when you cut it and can be a bit messier.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
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post #6 of 20
4/8/05 at 10:21pm
Thread Starter 
sory, I should have been more clear. I'm a student, I go to school in ontario, my grandparents live about 30 minutes away.

My home is in new brunswick though.

I need to make the cake in advance because I'm not going to be arround right before their aniverary party.

I think the cake I wanted to make would be a two tiered chocolate cake, with a glossy chocolate frosting/filling. I was thinking either chocolate buttercream covered with chocolate clay, or a chocolate mouse filling covered in ganache. And decorated with a chocolate bow and ribons, with gold luster dust.

The buttercream I use is pure butter, milk, vanilla, powdered sugar, and cocoa.

the mouse I make uses both whipped cream and egg whites.
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post #7 of 20
4/8/05 at 10:46pm
Well, I wouldn't freeze the mousse filling. The fondant bow and such would be ruined from freezing, but you could make those ahead and just have someone else place it on the defrosted cake. For a really shiny or glossy icing, well freezing is going to ruin that effect.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
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post #8 of 20
4/8/05 at 10:55pm
Thread Starter 
forgot to ask:

How can a keep a big cake from getting freeser burnt and getting a bad taste?

I was thinking I'd just put it in a cake box and then seel the box by wraping it with saran wrap, but the cake is going to be too tall for that, I think.

How would I go about preparing it for the freezer?
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post #9 of 20
4/8/05 at 11:37pm
You have to wrap each layer individually with saran wrap and then foil to prevent freezer taste. You won't be able to stack or tier it and then freeze because you can't freeze fondant without problems in thawing, nor can you usually fit a tiered cake in a freezer nor wrap each part individually that way.

If you have time try freezing a sample smaller cake and see how it works. In fact, that's what I need to do for my wedding in a couple months because I need to freeze layers ahead of time, too.

Best wishes!
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post #10 of 20
4/8/05 at 11:41pm
I definitely learned something in this thread! I did not know you could freeze a buttercream iced cake at all! I'm going to have to try it and see how it works. Does it affect the flavor much at all? I'd like to be able to do a buttercream coat on my wedding cakes and freeze that way and just have the fondant covering and finishing decorations to do after thawing.

Thanks!
Angel Wendy
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post #11 of 20
4/9/05 at 9:53am
Angel, actually you would be better off freezing it without the buttercream crumbcoat and then doing that just before you cover the cake with fondant. Now some folks will not freeze a cake that will be covered with fondant eventually, due to moisture, but I don't find it to be a problem. Make sure your cake is good and dense and firm, then wrap. You basically are putting on the buttercream to act as a glue for the fondant, so this is why you really want it to still be not set before applying the fondant. I am talking about regular fondant.
The original reason for using buttercream under the fondant is for the glue factor. A frozen crumbcoat will be a dryer one and so not as effective.
Some people do let their crumbcoat set before applying the fondant, but this is not the traditional method.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
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post #12 of 20
4/9/05 at 3:49pm
Thank you, Squirrelly Cakes! I didn't realize that buttercream under fondant was mostly for the glue factor. if you were making wedding cakes way ahead of time, would you coat them with anything before freezing? Would you sugar syrup coat them or apricot preserve coat them or just wrap the plain layers very well and freeze???

Thanks!
AngelWendy
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post #13 of 20
4/9/05 at 4:04pm
I made 1/4 double layer sheet cake for a childs birthday, and due to unforseen circumstances on the day of the party, the party was delayed for one week. Having the cake already made and decorated, the only option at that time was to freeze it. It was wrapped in several coats of saran wrap and then in aluminum foil and placed in deep freezer. The following week, early in the morning of the party, we pulled the cake out and unwrapped it, completely, and let it thaw on the counter. It tasted as fresh as the day it was baked and decorated, and the decorations were all intact and looked good. However, we were VERY careful wrapping it and selective where it was placed in the deep freezer. I also did not have any deep colored icing....so there was no bleeding of colors. I've sinced used this method in a pinch and it has turned out very well, but I haven't frozen longer than one week. Good Luck if you try it.
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post #14 of 20
4/9/05 at 6:43pm
Hi there. Well personally I would coat it with either the sugar syrup or the apricot glaze, for one thing, when the cake defrosts, it makes it very easy to then just ice it.
How far ahead are you having to bake the cakes and what kind of a cake are you going to make? A cakemix, a from scratch?
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
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post #15 of 20
4/10/05 at 12:27am
Quote:
Quote:

How far ahead are you having to bake the cakes and what kind of a cake are you going to make? A cakemix, a from scratch? - by SquirrelyCakes



I think you're talking to me in response to my comment. I already answered and then closed the page before posting it. Oops!

I'm thinking of trying the Chocolate Explosion cake posted on the Recipe Request Forum the other day. It was a devil's food box cake mix with added pudding, sour cream, and chocolate milk and chocolate chips. I think that would be good. We want a very rich chocolate cake. Have you tried that?

I'm not positive when we're going to have the wedding, though! It may be in June or July or might be Sept/October. Sigh. We have to get that planned. The cake is the part I have the most planned, actually. I have a lot more practicing to do - to learn how to stack cakes, how to use fondant, and choose the exact recipe. Also have to practice my gumpaste and make some orchids, and practice freezing/thawing cakes.
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