I have my first leopard cake (hand painting on fondant) coming up and of course she wants carrot with cream cheese which means refriderating. I just want to make sure that my spots won't start to bleed and drip. Any hints or tips? Thanks!

refridgerate the cake until firm before you cover it with fondant. Prep the cake as usual, with the icing and filling, then let set up until chilled and firm. Right before covering with fondant, give it a quick once over with a THIN layer of icing to let the fondant stick, and you should be good to go. I do it all the time.

Since the issue is the cream cheese, you can also use LorAnnn's cheesecake flavoring. It's really quite good and eliminates the need for refrigeration.

If the cake is small, place it (on its board) in a trash bag and tie it loosely at the top. If it is 3+ tiers, cover the cake with the trash bag top down and tape it to the sides of the cake board. The bag will keep the cake from forming condensation. I learned this tip in a class from Mike McCarey and it works very well.

DanaG21,I use Earlene's creamcheese buttercream recipe no need to refrigerate the cake for a couple days..

Thanks I'll look at both options the bag and alternative flavorings or recipies!

Love Mike McCarey, but I'd never put an unboxed cake in any type of trash bag. Many bags have a distinctive smell--they're NOT food safe--and I'd be afraid that the cake might pick up a plasticky odor.

Before removing the box & plastic, the cake needs to be at room temp or condensation will form and it'll sweat.

Rae