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Another newbie question!

post #1 of 11
1/28/12 at 8:13pm
Thread Starter 
Hi all! Just wanting advice - If I'm doing a buttercream cake and wanting to finish it the night before it is to be delivered, how do I store it that night so that the colors in the icing don't bleed onto each other? Is it even possible to keep this from happening? I was told refrigerating would make it worse because when it comes to room temp it could have condensation, making the bleeding worse. Just wondering if there's any way to do this, it'd make delivery day much less stressful if i could finish the night before since I have a toddler hanging on my leg during the day! Thanks in advance!
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post #2 of 11
1/28/12 at 8:35pm
As long as the filling doesn't need refrigerating, you can just leave it out on the counter.
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post #3 of 11
1/28/12 at 8:36pm
As long as you don't have any perishable fillings (like fresh fruit for example) you can box it up and have it sitting out. There's no need for refrigeration at all. The colors really shouldn't bleed together. I do this for ALL my cakes. I used to worry about it when i just started out too...and am SUPER familiar with the toddler-on-the-leg scenario...lol
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post #4 of 11
1/28/12 at 8:40pm
Thread Starter 
Hmmm...well the second cake I ever made, I finished the night before...it was a hunting scene, with a sky blue background and orange& yellow grass (so it'd look like fall)...the next day the tips of the yellow grass had mixed with the sky blue background and turned green! Thank goodness it was just for my dad. If you should be able to finish the night before then why'd this happen? I left it on the counter boxed and taped up!
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post #5 of 11
1/28/12 at 9:10pm
Was the cake able to breath in the box? If it didn't have enough air, the moisture in the frosting could have filled the box, causing it to bleed some.

You want to make sure it has good ventilation.
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post #6 of 11
1/28/12 at 9:15pm
There are several variables that can cause bleed including refrigeration, the type of icing, the icing being too wet, if you smooth your cakes with a wet knife, humidity, etc. However, having a good crusting butter cream can go a long ways from keeping bleeds from happening. Just make sure not to have a filling that requires refrigeration so it can be left out at room temperature. Actually leaving a crusting butter cream cake out where air can get to it is the desired method. I do scenes with sky, grass, etc. all the time and don't have bleed problems. Make sure your base butter cream layer has sat out for a little bit and is dry and crusted before you decorate. If the weather is going to be humid then take that into account and decrease your butter and increase your shortening (Hi Ratio shortening is even better) and/or add some meringue powder to increase the crusting quality. HTH
Creating works of art every chance I get! And yes, I am licensed, permitted, inspected and insured! Check out my website!
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Creating works of art every chance I get! And yes, I am licensed, permitted, inspected and insured! Check out my website!
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post #7 of 11
1/28/12 at 9:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by KateLS

Was the cake able to breath in the box? If it didn't have enough air, the moisture in the frosting could have filled the box, causing it to bleed some.

You want to make sure it has good ventilation.



Ah! I bet that was the problem. The box was taped up, definitely not good ventilation! Thank you SO much!!!!!!
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post #8 of 11
1/28/12 at 9:25pm
You're welcome! =)

Good luck!!
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post #9 of 11
1/28/12 at 9:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by heartsnsync

There are several variables that can cause bleed including refrigeration, the type of icing, the icing being too wet, if you smooth your cakes with a wet knife, humidity, etc. However, having a good crusting butter cream can go a long ways from keeping bleeds from happening. Just make sure not to have a filling that requires refrigeration so it can be left out at room temperature. Actually leaving a crusting butter cream cake out where air can get to it is the desired method. I do scenes with sky, grass, etc. all the time and don't have bleed problems. Make sure your base butter cream layer has sat out for a little bit and is dry and crusted before you decorate. If the weather is going to be humid then take that into account and decrease your butter and increase your shortening (Hi Ratio shortening is even better) and/or add some meringue powder to increase the crusting quality. HTH



These are great tips, thank you very much! My icing recipe doesn't include butter - the recipe is 2 lb sugar, 1/2 cup water, 3/4 cup shortening (I use Quick Blend brand), 2 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp almond or butter flavoring, 1 tsp creme bouquet. I always get tons of compliments on my icing, so I don't really want to change it, and it seems to come out to a perfect consistency and crusts nicely. But if I used a recipe with butter, would that help prevent bleeding?
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post #10 of 11
1/28/12 at 9:36pm
Your butter cream recipe should not have bled. I think it was because you had boxed it up too well so that when the moisture that naturally exists in a good cake rose to the surface there was no where for it to evaporate since you had a well sealed container. Butter cream cakes need to "breathe".
Creating works of art every chance I get! And yes, I am licensed, permitted, inspected and insured! Check out my website!
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Creating works of art every chance I get! And yes, I am licensed, permitted, inspected and insured! Check out my website!
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post #11 of 11
1/28/12 at 9:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by heartsnsync

Your butter cream recipe should not have bled. I think it was because you had boxed it up too well so that when the moisture that naturally exists in a good cake rose to the surface there was no where for it to evaporate since you had a well sealed container. Butter cream cakes need to "breathe".



Thank you very very much for your help, i really appreciate it! Another lesson learned. I checked out your website - your cakes are fabulous! I hope one day I'll be as good as you!
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