To freeze or not to freeze?

I'm not sure what freezing would achieve in this instance - you'd still need the two days to bake and cover then the additional four days to decorate after it's been defrosted - same amount of time sitting at room temperature as if it had been baked fresh with the result of a cake that's previously been frozen, taking away the option to do so by the recipient.

Once a cake is covered in sugarpaste/fondant it does greatly improve it's keeping qualities so it would probably still be ok to eat after 6 days.  I know certain cake decorators do allow a week to decorate but I personally bake no more than 3 days before the cake will be eaten.  It's a matter of doing as much work to the decorations as possible in advance - is there anything you can have made before the cake is baked? - or working long hours to complete all the decorations after the cake has been baked and covered.

Ultimately you know your own cakes and how well they keep but I find that cakes baked with butter keep far better than those baked with margarine or spreads (I don't use anything other than proper block butter).  I have heard also that the addition of glycerine to the cake mix causes the cake to retain moisture for longer than normal - might be worth a try.
 

Have you thought about doing a mud cake?  My recipe says that it can keep for up to 3 weeks (refridgerated but I don't even do that).  I have left it on the bench and eaten it after more than two weeks.  I think it must be all that butter and chocolate!

I agree with the mud cake idea.  The cake in my avatar is a chocolate mud cake, and I made it 2 days before I covered it in fondant, and it wasn't eaten until the next day, and the next day, and the next day.   And it was never refrigerated at any point.

I was TOLD not to eat it until it was at least 3 days old by several very helpful people here, as it improves with age.  I can attest to that. 

I'm curious what would take 4 days to decorate.  I've done some big cakes and some complicated cakes and nothing every took more than 12 hours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by leah_s 

I'm curious what would take 4 days to decorate.  I've done some big cakes and some complicated cakes and nothing every took more than 12 hours.

Speaking for myself, I know I am not nearly as fast as some of the more experienced cakers out there and I generally don't spend more than 5 hours decorating at a time... my back can't take all that hunching!  So 12 hours, would work out to 3 days for me

Bramsley, the mud cake recipe I used is Pam's Chocolate Mudcake.  It can be found by searching recipes on this site.  There are quite a few recipes on here...I just picked that one.  Not sure what kind of cake your client is looking for, but there are other versions of mudcake if chocolate isn't the choice.

It was quite delicious and very moist.  I didn't need to carve it, but I could see where it would be good for that.

I always bake in advance and freeze my cakes, I use madeira sponge and have decorated 4 and 5 days in advance, I wrap it and freeze it as soon as ir is cool. I have never had any complaints, sometimes my time is very limited so I might only have 1 - 2 hours a day available to spend on a cake,  so freezing and decorating over a number of days is my only option, you could also use make sugar syrup if you are worried about drying out and brush it on before you ice it. Good luck  x

I have to take breaks... I also have a stool I use for the decorating that can be done sitting down as well as making sure to never have on unsupportive shoes when standing. I have issues with my back starting to hurt. I always end up decorating into the night because I work full time during the week and teach decorating on Saturdays... ALL DAY. It helps tremendously when you have those cushy supportive mats to use in the kitchen or on any hard floor you stand on to decorate. I used it once because it wasn't mine; however, I will certainly be investing in some!

I always try to be sure that I don't take on more than I can handle.

Having an iced, refrigerated cake won't dry out as quickly as you think. If you have just a crumb coat, it WILL. using a crusting buttercream will help too. As far as covering it in sugar dough, take into consideration if your structure isn't right, you'll get air bubbles underneath  your fondant as the cake comes to room temperature. You have to use a straight pin at a diagonal to get it out then flatten it out with your finger dipped in corn starch.

I'm not sure how much help I've been but I wish you the best of luck! I agree with a previous post. If the people you're making this cake for have a desire to freeze it as in the top tier of a wedding cake, I would suggest NOT freezing that top tier.

HI,

I am new at the baking scene, I hear lots of the mud cakes.. Does anyone have a great recipe they might be able to share?

Criminy, that would take me 4 weeks to finish.    Nice job!  It looks fantastic!

I was also going to say fishing line.