Okay--if this is a duplicate posting, I apologize.

Another cake decorator told me that if you freeze your cakes it makes them more moist and easier to frost. I completely agree. However, when I've done this, as the cake thaws, the condensation makes the BC bubble up and I think makes the cake look not so great...one cake actually had a crack down the center once it thawed. Also, I attached royal icing flowers (probably should've waited) and it deepened the color 1/2 way through the flower. That wasn't too bad though, it looked 2-toned
Any suggestions, opinions, ideas?

Thanks!

I'm still pretty much a novice with most of this, but wanted to reply to your post. I think what this decorator must have been talking about was freezing your cakes after they are baked and cooled, but before you have frosted and decorated them.

It is possible to freeze a decorated cake, but it has to be wrapped extremely well in about three layers to protect it, and then thawed carefully in the wrapping to prevent the spots that you are seeing.

I've only frozen a decorated cake once and didn't like the way it came out, so unless it was an absolute necessity, I probably would not freeze one again. I'm sure you will get more detailed info as the day goes on. Janice

I freeze my cake before it is decorated. When it is time to decorate it I take it out at least 30 minutes prior to let it thaw out. HTH
Tammy

I freeze all my wedding cakes unfrosted. I take them ou the night before I decorate and let them thaw. Then decorate the next day. It makes a moist wonderful cake!

Hello!
I have frozen my cakes before but what I do is freeze the layers and then before I'm ready to decorate, I pull them out, put them together and crumb coat the whole cake. I let the cake thaw with the just the crumb coat on because then it won't dry out and condensation won't build up on the finished icing.
Hope that helps,
Heather

Thank you guys for your feedback! I think the problem might be that I didn't let the cake thaw long enough before frosting it. The other decorator I talked about emphasized that the cake being frozen makes it easier to create a smooth surface w/ BC so I pretty much pounced on it after taking it out of the freezer Heather, I'm new to decorating and haven't taken any classes or anything, what is 'crumb coating' a cake??? Thanks!!

Crumb coating, is a thin layer of icing over the cake, and it is intended to hold the crumbs in that
layer of icing. You smooth it then let it sit, crust if that is the type of icing you are using, and then add a second thicker layer on top of it. Janice

Thanks Janice- I figured that's what it was, but I never seem to win if I assume!

I have also heard that you can use apricot preserves brought to boiling then wiped acrossed each cake to make a crumb coating, it hardens and then you frost.. But..... I haven't tried it.. I have just only read about it on Wilton. But if you do let me know! lmao
=0) ~Sweet

I freeze all my cakes when possible. When you thraw out your cake, leave it wrapped in the aluminum foil because the condensation is what makes the cake moistier.

Another tip:
If you can't wait for a frozen cake to thaw before you frost it. A tip i received and have used a few times. Board your frozen cake and poke your flower nail into the cake many times through out the cake. Than you can decorate while it is frozen.

Now the reasoning I got for this is as follows: If you ice a frozen cake with buttercream, the icing will get very cold-almost freezing. Then as the cake thaws out so does the frosting. When things freeze the shrink, when thaw out they expand. Well the cake will expand but there is not enough icing there to expand with it and then the icing can crack-very common. However poking a lot of small holes in the cake gives it room to expand without moving the buttercream with it, this creates less of a chance of cracking.

However still good practice to just wait 20-30 mins for your cake to thaw-in my opinion.

I hope this helped and didn't confuse anyone. It is a little hard for me to explain, although it makes a little bit of sense to me.

Leily

I have come to solve a problem i was having with frosting frozen cakes.. when frosted partly frozen... the parts that are more frozen then otheres WOULD NOT smooth out with viva paper towels! it kept sticking. Soo irritating. so i did another cake.. let it thaw all the way.. frosted with the same BC and it smoothed out wonderuflly...

Thanks for all the great feedback. I love this website, I think I learn about a year's worth of info, everytime I log on! You all rock!

leily: i LOVE the scientific explanations! very clever solution!

when freezing cake layers before decorating, do be sure to wrap them properly. by freezing while they're still warm, you are trapping some of the moisture in the cake that would otherwise evaporate during cooling at room temperature. proper wrapping will help prevent condensation from the fridge or freezer environment forming on the surface of the cake.