How You Can Preserve Your Cakes

– Make Your Cakes Last Longer

Cakes at different stages of making can be preserved to prevent it from spoiling. The factors against cake include heat, artificial light and humidity. You should take into consideration that cake is a perishable food and you should be able to maintain its freshness until it’s ready to be eaten.

Storing Before Decorating

Rule number one here is to leave it to cool completely. If a cake is still warm, it would create steam when wrapped. Be sure to wait until the cake has cooled to a room temperature, then wrap it up with plastic. You should however not wrap it on top of a plate or platter. For loaf cakes and cupcakes, you can use a freezer-type bag with a seal.

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Prior decoration

Already sealed in plastic, you can store cakes in a dry place for a few days. You can also keep them in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, and wrap the cakes so they don’t absorb the odours of other items in your refrigerator.

If the cake layers won’t be needed for a while, you can store them in the freezer for a month, which will allow time for the cakes to thaw before using.

Storing Iced Cake

Buttercream and fondant help seal in moisture in a cake. They act as a seal between the cake and the environment temperature. The covering for these type of cakes should not be an airtight seal. You can cover the cake in a keeper or with a large overturned bowl for as long as 4 days. Just like undecorated cake layers, you can store the cake in the refrigerator if your home is humid or hot. Avoid quick changes in temperature and probably transfer any refrigerated cake to an air- conditioned space first, thereby reducing condensation which can make colours bleed.

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Cream-iced cake

Fondant and buttercream topped cakes can be frozen, but allow enough time for them to adjust to room temperature. Transfer them to the refrigerator, then to an air-conditioned space. This will help to avoid damaging condensation that can occur when the cake changes to a heated environment.

Cream cheese or whipped cream icing

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Red velvet cupcakes

Do not leave a cake that has cream cheese icing or whipped cream at room temperature. Instead, cover and put it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The texture of whipped cream icing is usually altered and not for the usually great if it’s frozen, so it’s not advised.