How Do You Cool Your Cakes After Baking???
Decorating By ranbel Updated 1 Feb 2009 , 2:14am by Cakepro
Hi All,
I use a cookie rack to cool my cakes on. Do you put them directly on the rack or do you put a paper towel on the rack first. I usely put a paper towel, but this time with a WASC, it really got stuck to the cake and peeled off alot of the top.
Tell me how you do it!!
I put on cooling rack for a bit, wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge. If not going to decorate right a way, then also wrap in foil and put in freezer.
With the WASC, it does get sticky. You might try parchment instead of paper towel. HTH!
My method is this...I dump mine straight from the oven, wrap them in Press N'seal wrap and place them in the freezer to freeze overnight. This method produces a super moist and flavorful cake. My method for super moist cakes was published in Cooking Pleasures magazine in Dec. of 2004. Decorate semi frozen as this produces the easiest way to frost and decorate. You can still move & manipulate the layers without them breaking due to the moist nature.
Just so I understand, Cakesdivine...you are dumping a hot cake onto press 'n seal and immediately putting in the freezer? I want to try that, as I have heard a (fresh) frozen cake is very moist when thawed out. I just want to do it all correct. Thanks.
I let mine cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then turn them out onto wire racks. While the top of the cake is still on the wire rack, I put a piece of parchment paper on the cake bottom, then place another rack on the bottom of the cake, flip it over and let it cool. I cover with a clean white dish towel after an hour or so and decorate the next day.
I like both ideas of flipping the cake and spraying the rack.
Never thoght about flip flopping it onto another rack cover with parchment paper. The bottom of the cake is less gooey then the top..I'll try that next time.
It never hurts to ask a question, even one so simple can result in new ideas..
Newbie here, but as I have learned on CC, I cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then wrap in Press 'n' Seal tightly then let cool completely on counter before unwrapping and icing. It only sits at room temp for 1 to 3 hours. Might use a paper towel, but I only use it on the pan side not the cake top, which it will stick to.
This method has worked so well to keep cake extra moist.
However, a friend that is a Wilton inctructor, when told of this method, stated that the jury is out on this method because of moist heat/contamination/possible sickness.
After reading the forum asking our "real" jobs, is there a caker scientist that would know any pitfalls with this method?
Not wanting a controversy, just facts. I'm ducking while covering my ears, and cringing, hoping that someone throws cakeballs at this Newbie!
I cool in the pan for 10 minutes then put on wire rack until I start icing - usually do a crumb coat within an hour or so. If I dont have time to ice it within a reasonable time frame I dont bake.
Oh my goodness - its a small world huh? I actually live in Erwinville!
Okay. I posted this on the Recipe Tips and Requests board my first day here (back in November). It started a WAR. Not sure why, because logic and SCIENCE tells you that when an item bakes at 350 degrees long enough to transform it into a different state that all the bad guys (germs and bacteria that is) is eliminated. There will be NO MORE contamination from the Press N'Seal wrap than what naturally floats through the air! So the whole argument of contamination + moisture + heat doesn't fly just because you are flash freezing the cake. Also, if you use box cakes they have preservatives which also will keep the bad stuff gone. It would take quite some time (about 10 days or more) for one of these cakes to begin to have mold, and ALL BAKED GOODS are subject to mold growth once sitting on a counter top at room temp.
I have been using this method successfully for 20 years and NEVER have I ever had a customer complaint! My own family as have I have left my cakes covered sitting at room temp days after the event and still had a great, moist, flavorful, SAFE piece of cake.
I have non-stick racks and that helps a lot. But try spraying your regular racks with Pam, etc. first. It makes a huge difference.
Yeah, I spray the cooling rack first and have no problems.
After I take them out of the oven I let them cool for about 10 minutes, or until the side of the pan is cool enough to touch. Then i take them out of the pan and seal them in saran wrap until cool. This doesn't necessarily quicken the cooling process, but it makes the cake VERY moist.
Immediately when they come out of the oven I run a knife around the edge to loosen, put wax paper over the top and flip the pan upside down onto a plate or cookie sheet and leave it like that until I'm ready to decorate. Since it's completely closed up all the moisture stays in.
I just leave my cakes in the pans until they are cool, then I turn them out unto their boards and put any icing or filling in them. Then I put them in the walk-in cooler and they are ready to go and decorate when I get to that order. Each board has the name of the person and the flavor on the bottom so we don't grab the wrong cake.
If my cakes are to be iced that day, I cool in pan x 10-15 mins and then turn out onto a cooling rack.
If the cakes are to be iced the next day, I leave them to cool in the pan overnight.
And just to make a probably silly point, none of us likely has the ability to actually "flash freeze" anything. Flash freezing is supercooling something, like lab samples or Green Giant vegetables (if you've seen their commercial, they say they flash freeze right after picking).
When we place items in the freezer, we simply freeze them.
I also leave my cakes in the pan until completely cool with a paper towel on top to keep the moisture inside the cake, but the paper towel also allows the steam to escape thus avoiding that nasty bacteria growth from building. I then wrap my cake in heavy duty foil and put in the freezer - even if I decorating the cake the next day.
Tammy
my cakes are trimmed and flipped out of the pan in less than 2 minutes.
To avoid a "wet" cake, one idea has already been mentioned .... flip the cake onto a 2nd cooling rack, so the cake is resting on it's bottom ... the top of the cake is actually top-side-up.
Also elevate your cooling racks. If you dont' have the pampered chef stackable cooling racks, you can place 4 glasses or coffee cups upside down and place the cooling rack on these. What this does is gives the steam from the cake a place to escape.
When the cake is on a regular cooling rack, it's only got about 1/2 to 1" clearance between counter and cake. The hot steam is trapped under the cake and a pool of water is formed. (I hate cleaning up this pool of water!) This moisture goes up into the cake, creating a super moistness on the outside, cause the cake to stick to the rack.
When the cooling rack is elevated 4" or so, there is plenty of room for the steam to escape, alleviating it from going straight up back into the cake.
Primarily, flipping it so that it's top-side-up is a big help.
I turn my cakes out on the cake board I am using for that cake, as soon as it comes out of the oven, it will be very hot. Then I wrap it right away, very very good with plastic wrap, I use the big rolls for Sam's. And let it cool. It make the cake soooo moist. I normally bake one day then decorate the next. I get wonderful comments on how moist my cakes are. I read this way of cooling cakes here on this site. It works great for me.
I also leave my cakes in the pan until completely cool with a paper towel on top to keep the moisture inside the cake, but the paper towel also allows the steam to escape thus avoiding that nasty bacteria growth from building.
Tammy
What bacteria can grow on top of a cake that has just spent half an hour or more in a 325+ degree oven?
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