I have two birthday cakes to make for my cousins' birthday on Friday. I'm baking the cakes today so I will all day tomorrow and most of Friday to work on them. How should I store the cakes until tomorrow? My aunt recommended freezing the cakes because they're easier to decorate then. What do you guys suggest?

I also have a wedding cake to do for Sunday. I'm baking Friday and decorating Saturday. So, same question applies. What's best? I'm still a rookie at this! Thanks!

you could bake them now and freeze them. but, make sure you wrap them properly. i wrap them in plastic wrap and then put them in a garbage bag...or you could use brown bags. the main thing is to wrap them so as no air can get to it.

oh...others wrap their cakes as soon as they come out of the oven to trap in the moisture. i haven't done this yet...so maybe someone here can give you more info as to if that works or not.

I tried wrapping them out of the oven and my cakes DID NOT do well. They stuck to the pans and broke apart. I will not do that again. I have had no problems with letting them cool before storing them in the freezer.

If you're going to decorate the cakes tomorrow, I would not worry about freezing them because you'll have to allow time for them to competely thaw before icing them. I would just wrap them well and put them in the fridge.

It is going to depend on what time you bake today and what time you start decorating on Thursday. If I know I have nearly 24 hours of freezing time, I'll freeze it --but, I also allow for the time it takes to come back to "thawed." I do not decorate my cakes frozen as I feel the condensation causes problems with the way the frosting settles as it settles. Results can be something as simple as the cake settling long after you have decorated (causing a bulge between layers,) or more dire as a "cake fart" (bubble) developing.

Generally, if I am going to start early the next morning, I'd bake today, allow it to cool, fill it, then wrap it in a plastic bag and refrigerate it. That is much the same way Sharon Zambito teaches in her buttercream video; however, I don't think she chills the cakes as they are allowed to settle. I have not watched the video for about a year, so don't quote me on that.

Most important, IMHO, is the time you allow for the filling and cake to settle as this keeps the "bulge" from appearing. So, if you don't have time to allow the cake to thaw (and I thaw in the fridge not on the counter) I'd simply work with the chill process and not trying to start from frozen.

If you are baking your wedding cake at all in the same time frame, go ahead and freeze those as you go. You have time to allow them to thaw properly.

This is just my method... not saying it the gospel, so other opinions will probably differ. HTH!

Thanks! I've wrapped the layers in plastic and I'm going to keep them in the refrigerator until I need them in the morning. Is it ok to frost it if they're cold? Not frozen, just out of the fridge?

Yeah, that would be a good idea. The sheet cake has already cracked. But I think I can work around that.

I have decided that I will decorate cakes the same day I bake them. That just works a lot better for me. And since I'm not in the cake business, it's really no big deal