Ok, think I finally realized why my cakes never look nice and neat after I am done decorating ( buttercream) I don't think I am giving enough time for my cakes to finish crusting. Now I was wondering...

Should I let the cake completely crust before adding my decoration? If so, will my fondant decorations stick well to the cake? How long in advance do you decorate your cakes before the event? I am always afraid of decorating the night before and my cake dying up inside, is that even possible?

Any input on this will be great !!!
Thanks

I bake on Wednesdays (baking 26 cakes today UGH), level, fill and crumb coat on thursday, Decorate Friday, deliver Sat. and Sunday.

I wrap the cakes really well after they've cooled down on Wed., once they're crumb coated (I do a thick crumb coat) the moisture will be sealed in, no worries about drying out!

Woow 26 cakes !!! Good luck !! Post pics. !

Thanks for the time line, my friend ask me to do her daughter's communion cake, but I need to take it to her house on Sat, but the party it's Sunday, so I was afraid the cake would dry out by then. Thanks again

Anna

well, they're not 26 separate orders, just 26 separate cakes I have to bake FOR the orders.......there are only 10 separate orders, and 18 individual cakes. I have a couple tiered cakes and some sheet cakes! (so if you figure a full sheet cake is acutually having to bake 2 half sheets, that counts as 2 of the 26, plus a 3 tiered cake, counts as 6 of the 26....you see. But that is still 18 separate cakes that all have to get boxed up and delivered at some point over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday YIKES!!!

My mom told me my brother was reading a book titled "How to say No nicely" I think I need to borrow it when I'm done this weekend LOL

Oh and I left a cake fully iced and uncut in a box for 5 days and cut into it and it was still as moist as the day I iced it. Once the cake is cut that's when it starts to dry out fast!

That's a lot of cake any ways !!!!

Good for you, that means business it's good!.. Put your feet up when you are done with all those deliveries

KHalstead,

How would you handle a fresh fruit filling covered in fondant? I made a test cake and left it out for 2 days and after it was cut and tasted another 2 days and used my family as test subjects On the fourth day the cake was soaked through and too moist to make a nice clean cut, but we all lived!

So to repeat, when would you fill a 3 tiered cake with fresh fruit filling due saturday? I'd like to have the cake settle overnight before I decorate, but wondering how safe it is to do that(I know this topic has been covered before elsewhere but my question wasn't quite addressed) I don't have a 2nd fridge to keep it in. Its funny how the cakes/supplies take over your whole kitchen and house . Starts with a small space in the kitchen cabinet and ends up with shelves upon shelves in the basement. I digress...what I mean is, I haven't kicked my family out of the refrigerator yet and dont have the space for 3 tiers of cake sitting pretty to be decorated the next day. TIA

by fruit filling, you mean fresh fruit?? If a cake has fresh fruit, I refrigerate it.....if it's sleeve fruit filling, it's fine at room temp for up to 5 days.

Thank you luvlyrics - made perfect sense to me. But the bride wants it just the way I had at the tasting, so I have to go with just the fresh raspberry filling.
And yes Khalstead, it is fresh raspberries that I tried my test cake with and will be using for the 3 tired cake. Thanks.