Should Cakes Be Stored In The Fridge? Help!
Decorating By grumpyx07 Updated 16 Sep 2007 , 3:03am by cakenutz
Just curious....
I've only made two decorated cakes, but I make a lot of cupcakes and I have two questions maybe you guys can help with.
When I make my cupcakes and frost I leave the top open over night so that they don't get too moist and taste or look wet. Is that okay? Any other ideas on what to do?
The other is on the cakes I did, I baked and decorated the same day for a party the next day, using an edible image and Wilton's BC recipe. I finished around 5AM and left them in the cake box on my table with the lid cracked, and they were picked up around noon or 1PM. Everyone said they tasted great.
But after reading post here I'm a little worried. Should I be putting the cakes in the fridge (while in the box)? And in the future IF I do that with any decorations (fondant, edible images, colored icing, etc) will anything bleed or get messed up?
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
I always put my finished cakes in the fridge after I've finished with them until time to be picked up or delivered. I find that they stay fresher and are more set up and stable for when they are being moved around. So far have had no problems with decorations.
I never refrigerate my cakes (unless they're cream cheese or something else perishable). I've never had a problem with them. I would think after refrigerating them, that when you took them out they would bleed, etc. My vote is that you are just fine. 
Always make sure you dont have anything strong smelling in there with them. I had a cake in the fridge once and with a wrapped onion. BIg mistake. My sons friend still wont eat anything I make. 
I couldnt believe it picked up the flavor. I had it wrapped well. BUT not well enough. 
Live and learn. I couldnt smell it but the cake could 
I agree with Staceface81 I don't refrigerate my cakes unless they contain something perishable such as fruit filling. Refrigerating can dry out the cake rather than retain the moisture. If you refrigerate fondant, the condensation can make permanent water marks.
I always, always, always refrigerate all my cakes, no matter what they're iced with, BC, IMBC (my standard), or fondant. I chill them between filling/crumbcoating and frosting. I chill them during decorating if I need to stop for a bit, and then I store them in the fridge when finished. I can't imagine driving a cake anywhere that isn't very cold and firm, and they warm up to room temp before they get eaten anyway. I have a separate fridge, so the odor thing isn't a problem. I even stored some giant finished sheet cakes in an empty freezer one weekend because I ran out of fridge room and they had perishable fillings, but those were huge cakes and they had to drive an hour in the summer heat, so they were still fine (in fact the MOB said they were almost *too soft* 
by the time they finally cut them!).
As for bleeding: I've done hot pink and royal blue royal icing on BC, and gold-painted royal icing, and I've done yellow fondant overlays on dark purple IMBC, and had them all sit overnight in the fridge, and I've never had anything bleed.
Hope that helps.
I agree that I would never want to transport a cake that was not thoroughly chilled. The only cake I've done that I did not refrigerate was the green house cake in my pics because it wasn't likely to slide during (transport-the fondant adds stability and it was low) it was only filled with buttercream, and it was covered with fondant. The other fondant cakes I've done have had perishable icings or fillings and had to go in the fridge. If your not transporting and there's nothing perishable, then I say don't worry about the fridge.
I don't like putting my cakes in the fridge after they are decorated. I find the fridge dries them out too much. I bake and freeze my cakes the same day and usually decorate them the next day. I find the cakes are fresher and moister. I HATE dry cake and I think my fridge does that...so I'd rather just leave it out. However, if you are going to use cream cheese or something like that like a PP mentioned, then certainly refrigerate.
I know cream cheese frosting has to be and certain fillings, but does plain BC?
countrykittie - I heard from a lot of people that they bake, and freeze then decorate another day. How does that work exactly? Like what are the steps?
I've been baking and decorating everything the same day. For the last one I started at 11am and finished at 5am the next day, almost no breaks. I would love to freeze and decorate later.
grumpyx07, I freeze all of my cakes. When I take it out of the pan I put it on a wrapped board, wrap it in plastic wrap or the glad wrap, or in a freezer bag depending on how big the cake is. When I take it out I unwrap let it set for about ten minutes, crumb coat it let that crust and frost it. When I'm done working on it I box it up and put it back in the fridge. If I have a class it's out about a 20 to 30 minutes before I frost. It makes tha cakes so moist. This lets you do everything in steps so you don't have to do it all in one day.
Kat
I know cream cheese frosting has to be and certain fillings, but does plain BC?
countrykittie - I heard from a lot of people that they bake, and freeze then decorate another day. How does that work exactly? Like what are the steps?
I've been baking and decorating everything the same day. For the last one I started at 11am and finished at 5am the next day, almost no breaks. I would love to freeze and decorate later.
I don't about freezing but I bake one day and decorate the next. I let the cakes cool completely and then wrap the in plastic wrap. I don't like to put them in the fridge so I leave them on the countertop. I usually bake in the late afternoon or early evening.
The next day, I make the filling and the icing then fill and ice the cake. I have only made small cakes and have always been eaten, or at least mostly eaten, on the same day I decorate them.
June
countrykittie - I heard from a lot of people that they bake, and freeze then decorate another day. How does that work exactly? Like what are the steps?
What I do is actually what I learned from on here at CC. I let my cakes cool for 10-20 minutes, then remove them from the pan. I level my cake at this point. I clean the pan up, then wrap the cake in saran wrap, then aluminum foil. Then I replace the cake back into the pan. Sometimes it's a bit of a tight fit, but I think it allows stability in the freezer since I just have freezer that has no shelves and is just a small one. I do this with all my cakes and they are always very moist and remain delicious for days.
I HTH's alittle. Some people say to let the cake cool completely, but I this is the way I do it and I've never had a problem with it. Good luck!
I once thought that buttercream made with real butter and milk had to be refrigerated. Then someone here said that the sugar is a preservative and it doesn't have to be. So does sugar not help preserve cream cheese frosting? It DOES have to be refrigerated.? I am confused.
I freeze right after baking thaw torte fill crumb coat and fridge to set crust . I would never refridgerate a cake without the crumbcoat. Our modern day fridges stay frost free by sucking the air out of itself every so often. Thats why your meat and cheese dry up so bad. Cake should stay moist a couple days once it is frosted.
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