Will My 50/50 Leaves Wilt In The Fridge?

Decorating By rharris524 Updated 22 Jun 2009 , 2:25am by rharris524

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rharris524 Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 2:34am
post #1 of 9

I made a cheesecake (obviously being refrigerated) and I'm decorating it with some gumpaste leaves and strawberries. It would make my life so much easier to be able to assemble it now and just enjoy a family day tomorrow but I'm afraid that my leaves will wilt. How does gum paste do in the refrigerator and/or with the subsequent condensation?

8 replies
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maisyone2 Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 2:39am
post #2 of 9

Your leaves will be limp. The fridge is humid. I would assemble everything but leave off the leaves until you have the cake out of the fridge and ready to present it.

HTH
Gayle
SE MI

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rharris524 Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 2:43am
post #3 of 9

thanks...that is what I was afraid of. I guess it will be a last minute decorating job

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icer101 Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 2:49am
post #4 of 9

i have had clients , put their gumpaste project that i made for their cakes.. flowers..etc. in the freezer.. and kept them for a long time. some were just g/p. some were 50/50.... why don,t you lay a leaf in the frig. tonite and see how you like how they do.. and then you will know the next time.. that would be a good idea. hth

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artscallion Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 3:38am
post #5 of 9
Quote:
Originally Posted by maisyone2

Your leaves will be limp. The fridge is humid. I would assemble everything but leave off the leaves until you have the cake out of the fridge and ready to present it.




The refrigerator is NOT humid. Refrigerators are DRY, usually at about 20% relative humidity or less. They have evaporators continuously running to pull humidity out of the air, just like an air conditioner does. That's why they have vegetable drawers. Vegetables need higher humidity to stay fresh, the drawer separates them from the drying air of the rest of the fridge.

If your fridge were humid, the cold would be below the moisture's dew point, causing it to form condensation on your food. This is why refrigeration is made to be dry. Otherwise, you'd have puddles of condensation. If your fridge is wet, you probably have a leak that is letting the humid outside air in, where it will then condense.

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maisyone2 Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 10:47am
post #6 of 9

In my 30 years of decorating, I've learned that cakes that are refrigerated, especially in the summer months have a higher incidence of condensation and possible problems once removed. I won't ever take that chance. I've seen many a wedding cake in the next room as I was sitting up mine that were covered in condensation....colors running...etc... Unless the cake has a highly perishable filling...I'll never refrigerate it.

Everyone has a different way of doing things...and I for one respect that. But the experience I have gained throughout the years dictates my way of doing things, just like everyone else's experiences dictates theirs.

Bottom line.....I've have found that refrigerated fondant and gumpaste don't stay dry. That's my experience........

And another thread with people who sound like they just might agree with me just a little...

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6443745.html#6443745

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artscallion Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 12:40pm
post #7 of 9
Quote:
Originally Posted by maisyone2

In my 30 years of decorating, I've learned that cakes that are refrigerated, especially in the summer months have a higher incidence of condensation and possible problems once removed. I won't ever take that chance. I've seen many a wedding cake in the next room as I was sitting up mine that were covered in condensation....colors running...etc... Unless the cake has a highly perishable filling...I'll never refrigerate it.

Everyone has a different way of doing things...and I for one respect that. But the experience I have gained throughout the years dictates my way of doing things, just like everyone else's experiences dictates theirs.

Bottom line.....I've have found that refrigerated fondant and gumpaste don't stay dry. That's my experience........

And another thread with people who sound like they just might agree with me just a little...

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6443745.html#6443745




You're misunderstanding my post. I never disputed any of that. I don't disagree with what you, or anyone in the other thread say. Yes, cakes accumulate condensation when you take them out of the refrigerator. That is in line with my thirty years of experience as well. I don't refrigerate my finished cakes either for that very reason. Nor was I suggesting that OP should put her leaves in the fridge

What I was specifically addressing in my post was your statement that "refrigerators are humid". I was pointing out, and explaining why, that statement is factually incorrect. That's not my opinion, or a matter of your or my experience. It's a scientific fact. The condensation you and all of us experience when we take a cake out of the fridge does not come from humidity inside a refrigerator. It comes from the humidity in the air OUTSIDE of the refrigerator.

Condensation happens when the humidity outside the refrigerator, in the warm room, comes into contact with the cold cake when you take it out into this moist humid air. The humidity is cooled, by the cake, to the temperature below its dew point, changing it from a gas to a liquid, forming drops on the surface of the cake.

I'm not trying to discredit your experience, or pick a fight. But I hear this misinterpretation of condensation all the time (that fridges are humid, or other folks who think that the condensation is coming from inside the cake, sweating out because of the cold)

I make corrections on misstatements like these when I see them, not because I enjoy disagreeing with folks. But because I believe it's a disservice to the CC community to let a misstatement lie there in a thread to be taken as truth by others that will see it. Then people, acting on this misinformation, may make unnecessarily misguided choices that may cause them trouble with their cakes.

I apologize if my post rubbed you the wrong way. icon_smile.gif

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TamiAZ Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 2:13pm
post #8 of 9

I think it all depends on the humidity level where you live.. When I was doing wedding cakes I put all my cakes in the fridge..I found chilling them made for an easier delivery. I used buttercream and fondant. I live in AZ and I never had issues with condensation or dropping fondant and gumpaste pieces. In fact, I tested a gumpaste flower by putting it in the fridge overnight and pulled it out the next day..It was fine. Experiment and do what your comfortable with.

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rharris524 Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 2:25am
post #9 of 9

It is bizarrely humid here icon_sad.gif Anyhow, I did like icer101 suggested adn place one leaf in the fridge over night and it was fine...it turned out not to really matter b/c the cake went together in about 5 minutes so it wasn't worth the chance. Here is the cake in reference
LL

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