How long before the event you're making a cake for can the cake be baked and frosted (with buttercream) if kept refrigerated? The reason I'm asking is because most the cakes I make are for the weekend and I work my actual job on the weekend (nights) so I usually have baked my cakes at night, refrigerated over night, then frosted the next day and scramble to get decorations on. Stressful!!

i bake my cakes 4-7 days in advance of order due. Then i freeze them. I take out for about 30-40 minutes before i decorate (the day or two before delivery depending on the size of final cake) to thaw on the counter. Ice them in buttercream or fondant. Once they're iced they can sit at room temperature as long as you don't use an icing or filling that has to stay refrigerated. The cake is sealed.

You also don't have to refrigerate you cake between baking and icing, the fridge can actually dry out your cake.