i dont know, maybe im doing it wrong..but my cakes are deff less moist when i freeze them...i use box mix and add a pudding to the mix..as soon as it comes out of the oven i wrap it in saran wrap n it goes straight to the freezer..then to dethaw take it out of the freezer and leave to thaw in the wraping on the counter..usually for a couple hours..ans ice when its still cool to the touch..

I don't use pudding in my mix so I can't speak to that ( I use WASC and it's always moist after being frozen). How long do you keep it in the freezer? And I don't just use saran wrap alone - that is not enough. I use Glad seal n' wrap AND a thick freezer zip lock. If I cover it in fondant first, I'll put it in a box or big plastic container and double wrap it with garbage bags and push the air out. They last at least 6 -8 weeks and are very moist. Sounds to me like you're not wrapping it well enough.
HTH

I am baking my daughter's wedding cake, and I would really like to have as much done in advance as possible. That leaves time to re-do anything that isn't good enough. The neighbour has offered me the complete use of a small chest freezer, so I have the room, but I don't know how far I can take the process and still have a nice product. Do I freeze the layers:
1. Naked (no icing)
2. Crumb coated?
3. crumbed and buttercreamed?
4. Crumbed, buttercreamed and fondanted? (is that a word?)
5. all of the above plus any royal icing decorations?

Obviously wrapping is a HUGE part of getting it right, but how far can I go in pre-fabbing the layers?

On a related note, how well does a butter icing (not half high-ratio shortening) do in this situation? Can I use it under fondant or is there something I don't understand that will make it a fatal error?

Many thanks

I froze mine for a little over a week..and it was still good but when i dont freeze and pickup is the next day i get comments on how its the "most moist cake they have ever eatn"..how big of a bag do you get that fits a 13x9? i dont think i have ever seen one!
and Ladysmyth i always freeze naked cake

I don't understand the OP's problem. It sounds like she is doing everything right. I have fzn 1,000s of cakes wrapped only in plastic wrap or in a plastic bag for up to 6 months! and they are not dry. I'm thinking that those cakes are overbaked. If it is overbaked there is really nothing that will restore moisture to it - even a simple syrup bath won't help.

..Ladysmyth asks: ......... Do I freeze the layers: 1. Naked (no icing) 2. Crumb coated? 3. crumbed and buttercreamed?
4. Crumbed, buttercreamed and fondanted? (is that a word?)
5. all of the above plus any royal icing decorations?
Obviously wrapping is a HUGE part of getting it right, but how far can I go in pre-fabbing the layers?

You can freeze cake any one of the 1st three ways you mention - naked, crumbed, or b'creamed.
Do NOT fz cakes covered in fondant (you will get some who will say they have w/o a problem, but overall it's best not to.) And Never fz royal icing.

I did my daughter's wedding cake. I baked, cooled for 10 minutes wrapped in several layers of saran wrap, foil and a freezer bag. I had everything baked a week ahead and they were all great! I always freeze, usually only overnight, but I couldn't tell the difference between a week or overnight. Good Luck!!!

Its funny how everyone has a different experience. So many variables. I always freeze my cakes, and I think they are too moist, I use a doctored mix too.

I know this will start a debate but I have done what was recommended above "wrap while still warm and pop in the freezer" and I have cooled completely and wrapped and stored in the freezer. Although both ways worked well I found the ones that I wrapped while still warm were more fudgy almost gummy...what I would consider almost too moist if you can say that while the ones that I cool completely thaw to my regular cake texture. To the mom making her daughters wedding cake...do a quick test run. Buttercream for me freezes beautifully but I don't use an all butter recipe so it's worth doing a test run on that as well. Do one small cake and one small batch. Freeze for a couple of days and see how it goes.

I agree wrapping with saran and then press n seal then into a zip lock bag (for the smaller tiers) works great. I saw at Walmart they have GIANT zip lock bags in their kitchen accesory section.

Okay - another opinion. I always let my cakes cool completely on a rack before wrapping well with saran/plastic wrap, then freeze. I ice them frozen the day before I need to decorate and let them sit. Then I go back and touch any buttercream if needed, put on the fondant and/or finish decorating. I get lots of compliments about how moist my cakes are.

so you don't need to completely cool cakes before putting them in the freezer? Just for 10 minutes and then wrap them?

Although I generally bake from scratch, I basically do what MrsAC does (at least 2 layers of plastic wrap, by the way), and my cakes are quite moist (in a good way!) and they have time to settle nicely. I sometimes freeze just overnight and often for much longer, so that I can take advantage of baking lots of layers on the days when I'm going to be baking. Ladysmyth, I agree with kakeladi about not freezing fondant, and about not freezing the royal icing (RI decorations need no refrigeration - just store them away from the light and dust). I've frozen all-butter buttercream with no problem, and I've used it under fondant with no problem either (as long as it's not too hot either in your kitchen or at the venue!). As long as you're giving yourself some lead time, sillywabbitz's idea of doing a test run is a very good one. You'll save yourself lots of aggravation and you might come up with a whole new set of questions, which you'll have plenty of time to get answers to. Best of luck with your wedding cake! I'm sure it will be stunning.

Can I really ice a frozen cake with a shortening/butter mixture? How do you freeze and thaw a cake that you have the final coat of buttercream? I always freeze my cakes. I have wrapped them warm and cooled. I have frozen them overnight and as much as 2 months. I have not had any complaints and the cakes are always moist, I do scratch and doctored mix but not ever tried to freeze with the buttercream already on.
Thanks,
Molly

I was taught to ice the cake when frozen to reduce the amount of crumbs in the icing. Then I let it thaw and touch up the buttercream - if necessary. I use a shortening/butter buttercream