I have a weekend coming up where I need to make 3 cakes for pick up Sat. at noon. I work full time. I need to start the baking early in the week. What do you do to ensure the cakes are moist and fresh. Bake and freeze? Do you freeze hot or cold? I want to bake on Tues/Wed. I'll start icing on Thurs. What is the best way to keep my cakes fresh and moist?

I bake and freeze all my cakes. I bake the cakes, let them cool about 30-40 minutes in the pan (some say this causes the cakes to stick to the pan but I have never had a problem), then triple wrap them with saran wrap (I buy it by the 4500 square foot roll at Sam's Club) and pop them in the freezer.

I have found that wrapping a cake before it is cool enough will cause the cake to warp from the pressure of just wrapping the plastic wrap on it. Don't stack the frozen cakes until they are completely frozen or you will squish the bottom cake.

Thanks for the tips.

Does anyone bake early in the week and not freeze? Is it possible to do this and keep your cakes fresh? It's not safe to just keep them at room temperature as it's getting warmer and more humid - I find my bread starts growing mold after 5 days in the cupboard. Refridgerating the cake just dries it out, right?

I usually always bake 2 days before so freshness is not a problem. I wasn't thinking when I agreed to 2 3 stack cakes in one weekend.

Once iced, the air can't get to the cake to dry it out.

It shouldn't start to mold until it's left out for about two weeks.

Untill recently, like you, I always used freshly baked cakes....I found myself in a similar situation and posted on here the same question. I got many replies regarding freezing cakes, I decided to give it a whirl and i can honestly say I freeze all the time now. Once defrosted, filled and iced the cake stays so moist and everyone I have made a cake for has commented on how tasty my cakes are.
I would also add the cakes are much easier to handle after freezing too. Give it a go, you'll be amazed. Good luck xx

After you take a cake out of the freezer how long does it take to thaw out before you can put the icing on?

I too have a question on this topic that someone might be able to help me with. Should I tort the cakes before freezing, once frozen, or after it's been frozen and thawed? TIA!

I was wondering about the torting and filling as well. I will have a lemon cake to be brushed with a simple lemon syrup and filled with a homemade mixed berry preserve. I will also have a Chocolate cake filled with chocolate ganache and a red velvet filled with cream cheese. I've read various threads on here and some say to torte and fill frozen while others say to torte and fill thawed.

Secondly, I know the ganache and cream cheese cakes need to be refridgerated. What about the lemon with berry preserves? These cakes are all being iced in buttercream (no fondant) and I won't have room in my fridge to store all 3 until Sat. morning. Is the lemon cake safe at room temp once thawed, filled and iced?

I take them out of the oven, wait 15 minutes or so, wrap the cakes in the pan, and stick in the freezer. I do this sometimes a week ahead or even a few days ahead. This actually makes the cakes more moist, because it traps the moisture in the cake instead of evaporating off as steam on the counter. I take the cakes out and stick them in the fridge the morning I need to decorate them and when I get home, they are ready to go Just don't have sliced onions in your fridge I have a fridge for cakes only thanks to my hubby getting tired of me spasing about needing room and smells in the one with the food (basically they would eat out of the deep freeze for several days before the second one).