I have done a search in the forums and haven't quite found the exact question/answer I'm looking for. This question is not to start the age old debate about whether or not you can/should refrigerate a decorated cake. I have refigerated many fondant covered cakes with no problems, so that isn't my issue. Here's my question:

How long can it stay in the fridge? Normally my cakes would only be in the refrigerator overnite. But I'm in a situation where I need to decorate/finish the cake on a Wednesday for a party on Saturday. I'm planning on covering it completely in fondant.

Another question - what if I ice in buttercream and use fondant decorations (like letter cut-outs and polka dots). Will this last in the fridge - or will buttercream affect the fondant decorations. I know sitting out on the counter, the fondant decorations will get soft & mush on the buttercream after a while. Will this happen if it is in the fridge for two days?

Any experience & advice is much appreciated! Thanks!

I've kept fondant covered cakes in the fridge (of coarse wrapped in a couple layers of plastic wrap) for 5 days in advance...any more and you may end up with a cake that is starting to dry out.

When you take it out of the fridge, do you leave the plastic wrap on while it comes to room temperature? Or take the wrap off immediately?

I keep the plastic on so that condensation doesn't collect on the fondant itself but rather the plastic.