Hi everyone!
I'm going to be making some cakes soon that will have to be done early
because of my schedule.
If I bake and decorate them,can I freeze them till the day there needed?

Yes-

just wrap properly and yo won't have any issues. i do this quite often. The few people that have believed me have had success.

I take extra precaution when wrapping:

I place my cake in a cake box. I place inside a larger plastic bag (such as a trash bag). I tie it shut. Place in the freezer. I remove from freezer the night before and LEAVE IN WRAPPING for at least 12 hours).

Works every time!!

Thanks!I'll definitly try this.

I didn't know it could be that easy. Oh how I wish I didn't have a side-by-side! I can only fit 9x13s in there. I gotta get my DH to put a freezer in the garage.

Lisa,I saw your cake with the edible Scrabble Board and have someone in my family who loves scrabble,and her birthday is in two weeks.
Could you Please tell me where you got it?
I would greatly appreciate it.

I made that cake for my mother-in-law. We're all huge scrabble fans! That image took me forever to put together. Sizing the tiles and lining them up was a pain. It was worth the result though which had my MIL baffled . I'll PM you the instructions.

Dawn,

While we're on the subject, can you freeze cakes before they are filled and covered with buttercream? How do you package them if you can? Do they dry out if they aren't filled?

Thanks in advance...sorry to always bug you but you are so knowledgable and helpful,
Suzanne M.

Not just me- many people here are... in fact, I'm far from the top of the knowledge tree.

Yes, I freeze them before icing also. I package the same way with one exception. I wrap each cake layer in plastic wrap. Place as many will fit into a cake box and wrap on the trash bag.

When I want a layer or two, I remove it from the bag and box, leaving it in the saran wrap and allow it to thaw.

Make a layer or two and try it out just for kicks. Your freezer may produce different results. I've kept mine like this up to 2 months.

I also take left over cake, cut it into serving sizes and freeze using the method of freezing decorated cakes. then when a family member wants a slice of cake, I just grab one out of the freezer. I allow it to thaw under a paper towel for about an hour. I've even placed it into the microwave for a few seconds to hurry it along. It's not same day fresh- but I guess comparable to next day fresh. Just fine for a quick fix for the kids or hubby.

I also freeze my cakes in advance. Since almost all of the cakes that I have done have been for a Friday or Saturday, I bake mine on Sunday and freeze them. After they have completely cooled, I wrap them in plastic wrap and then wrap with freezer wrap paper. Reynolds sells freezer wrap paper in a BIG box for no more than $5- I think. I also like using the freezer paper to wrap my cake boards in, the shiny side is a little more grease resistant then the dull looking side.

I use a lot of freezer paper also. I totally forgot about that. You can use freezer paper or brown paper bags. They both work the same as using a box.

You will have a hard time finding freezer tape for your freezer paper. I finally found it in the grocery store near the duct tape and masking tape.... not any where near the freezer paper.

I just use clear scotch tape.
It sometimes requires a little more tape, but it is handier to keep around when I can just pull it off of a tape dispenser that is kept in my kitchen on the counter at all times.

So ya'll are saying you freeze iced & decorated cakes??? They won't get messed up when they thaw out? That would be a lifesavor if I could do that!

When I freeze a decorated cake, I only do so in a cake box so it doesn't damage the decorations.

Do a test run first to make sure you like this method. But yes, it works for many people.

Do you wrap the decorated cake at all that's in the box or just put it in the box and wrap that in the garbag bag?

Just wondering...I intend to try this,
Suzanne M.

Just be careful to check your colors so they don't run
I made a going away cake for a guy at my work, I made look like a giant green computer circut board since we worked together at a computer helpdesk. I forgot to buy the large rectangle cake boards that week, and so had put the cake on my really large plastic cutting board. After getting it decorated- and using ALOT of wilton green- I found out that it did not fit in my side by side fridge (I had recently moved to a different rental property so I had a different sized fridge) Soooo I stuck it into our upright freezer (it came with the new place) overnight. Took it out the next morning and the cake was frozen, as it started to defrost I had rivers of green running on my cutting board So for most of the morning at work I was wiping off my cutting board so it wouldn't look bad.
I think this is a good one to stick in the cake disasters area

I just can't figure out bleeding colors. I read over and over about this, yet I also know many people (including me) who have never had this happen. You've seen my black icing, my red and blue. All colors known to bleed.

I wonder if it's the Wilton brand that bleed, since I don't use Wilton and therefore need much less coloring. I have compared ingredients with others but never brand names. I don't feel it's the ingredients since that's all check out OK in the past. The reasons we're given for bleeding can't be accurate since many f us have never had a bleeding cake.

I don't know. So far, so good.....

Thanks for the advice.

This should really help me in the future.

Suzanne M.