I have a wedding cake to make for Saturday, the 28th. I'm concerned about my timing on this because of Thanksgiving. My plan is to make my bc this weekend, bake my cakes Monday and Tuesday, tort and fill (with bc) and crumb coat on Wednesday, and refrigerate until I apply the basket weave to all on Friday. I also have a t/f dk choc 8" round with ganache I want to have completed by Wednesday.

Does my timing sound okay here? I have to have them done enough by Wed. afternoon that I can have Friday just to decorate. It's been years since I did a wedding and this one right after a holiday has me nervous.

I know not everyone refrigerates cakes but I like to when possible, and I just can't see having these sitting out at room temp (boxed) for two days before the wedding. Will they be okay in the frig just crumb coated? They'll be in boxes/containers so they won't pick up scents etc in the frig. And it's my extra frig for cakes.

Debi, I got an angel food cake comb from King Arthur Flour just this week, so I'll be set for serving, I think.

Thank you!
Carol

I don't have any advice for you, I just wanted to wish you luck and a Happy Thanksgiving!! I'm sure whatever you do will work out fine, and I can't wait to see the basketweave cake.

Personally, I would bake on Monday or Tuesday, torte, fill and crumbcoat, wrap well and freeze . (I am NOT a fan of refrigerated cakes, they seem to dry out so quickly) My frozen cakes are always so moist. Finish decorating on Friday.

A cake served on Saturday, to ME, would start to get stale if made as early as Monday and then not frozen to preserve freshness. IMO.

Good luck in what ever you decide.
Cris

The reason I need to have them done up to and including the crumb coat is because I simply won't have time on Friday to to put them together AND decorate. Basket weave is time consuming and I'll have lots of it to do, so I have to allow plenty of time to do it AND rest my hands AND get organized to head out fairly early Saturday morning to get set up. I sometimes will wrap and freeze my cakes too, but in this case I need to get them together and refrigerate until the day I decorate. Having Thanksgiving in there just throws me off, so these cakes will have to be in the frig for 24 hours. They should by no means become stale in that time. As a matter of fact I feel that several hours to over night makes them more moist and flavorful.

I guess I know what I'm doing here, I just feel low on the confidence since I've been out of the "cake for hire" loop for a couple of years. You know, sometimes you just need the right person to say " You're on the right track. You'll do just fine!" I really need that just now.

Oh, I'll be so glad when it's Saturday night and this is all behind me.......... Thanks for listening cc friends.

Carol, you are one of many many talented decorators on here..that being said, you should trust your instinct about leaving them for 24 hrs in a fridge, especially one that you use specifically for cakes. I had to do a cake that was to be eaten on Saturday, but the girl who needed it, had to leave on Thursday. I actually baked the Sat. before, wrapped and froze it. Took it out Tuesday morning, crumb coated, put in fridge til Wed, decorated it Wed nite, delivered Thursday.

The customer came in this week and said she has NEVER had a more moist, flavorful cake as she did this one. So, will it be fresh...YES...don't second guess yourself!!

Good luck...and Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the day...the next day you'll be busy!!

Hi Charlotte,
In regards to your response to my post about wedding cake stress I have to say BLESS YOUR HEART!! I do second guess myself at times and it stresses me out every time. Guess what I needed was someone to tell me to just stop! Thank you for doing that for me. Really! I sure do appreciate it. I'm wanting to get back to making/selling cakes but do wish I wasn't doing it with a wedding cake during the holiday. It'll all go fine but I'll be glad once it's over. Dd and I will be hitting the Sonic for a big drink as soon as we've cleared up too.

I refrigerate all my cakes for several hours to over night whenever time allows. I know for a fact that it makes them more moist and flavorful plus enhances the texture over a freshly baked cake that's iced as soon as it's cooled. Thanks again for the kind words.

Have a blessed weekend and Happy Thanksgiving,
Carol