I have made some pound cakes and used fondant to cover after a few days the cake is molded. What am I doing wrong or is there a timeline to eat the cake?
Not sure where you are going wrong without more detail on what you are actually doing, but your cake should not be going moldy that quick. By a few days are you saying 2 or 3. I have made cakes and eaten them after a week and they are fine as the fondant keeps them fresh. They are just kept in an airtight container, not kept in the fridge.
Maybe if you give more details of your processes we can help you out.
I have never had a fondant cake going mouldy even in our heat and humidity. Did have trouble with a mousse filling once. What kind of fondant are you using? What are you using underneath the fondant?
My sister is in florida and she has to be careful because of the humidity.
Did you add a simple syrup wash to the pound cake before covering? Is it hot and humid where you live?
Mold needs moisture to grow so if your cake is moldy after just 3 days I would venture to guess it's the moistness of the cake or the atmospheric conditions in which the cake was stored.
What recipe do you use?
https://www.aibonline.org/researchandtechnical/faqs/cakes.html
I have run into a problem with moldy cakes. What can I do to the formula to eliminate or to reduce this problem? My customers do not want me to use a chemical preservative.
There is nothing you can do to the formula to prevent mold growth without changing the cakes significantly. Your problem is not the cake. Your problem is coming from other sources; your cakes are sterile when they leave the oven. Check on the following sources for contamination with mold spores:
1. Dirty oven pads or gloves.
2. Dirty cooling racks.
3. Fan moving outside air into the bakery.
4. Open windows or doors, even when screens are used.
5. Mold growing on surfaces inside the bakery where moisture condenses, like freezer doors, refrigerator doors, air conditioning ducts, behind sinks.
Packaging cakes (uniced) while still warm may cause condensation of moisture inside the package, which will promote the growth of mold spores present. The problem can possibly be alleviated through changed Aw (water activity) of the cake through major formula modifications. Refer to AIB Technical Bulletin Volume VII, No. 9, September, 1985 for suggestions.
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Not sure I agree with the 'your cakes are sterile when they leave the oven' phrase, but there are some good suggestions.
Not sure I agree with the 'your cakes are sterile when they leave the oven' phrase, but there are some good suggestions.
I'm pretty sure that, at the moment the cake comes out of the oven, assuming that it is fully cooked, to the point where the internal temperature is high enough to kill any microbes present, the cake should be sterile. That is, if the potholder used to remove the cake from the oven hasn't already reintroduced microbes.
I think it would be safer to say that the cake, in the moment before the oven was opened to remove the cake, was sterile, assuming that it was properly baked.
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