I have now tried the 1 2 3 4 recipe and then just a white cake recipe. Both had good reviews here. I made them and then put them in the freezer to decorate the next day. I'm wondering if this ruins the way the cake tastes a little bit. I wasn't overly impressed with either. Both had weird textures w/ okay taste. I will warn you....I have REALLY bad luck with everything and that goes into cake making too. I'm doing my sons B-day cake this weekend and want everyone to be really impressed. I don't want them thinking that it would have just been better had a bought a cake...gosh!!!! could you imagine the heartbreak. I need a good recipe that will be good for a sheet cake with the sports ball cake placed on top.
Any tips...... is this something I can bake the day before, or should it really be "fresh?"

I always use boxed cake mix and have always had good reviews on how they taste.

I freeze cakes sometimes for a week and then take them out to decorate. I usually bake my cakes a little less then what the box says so that are more moist.

I did a cake with a soccer ball on top of a square cake, it is my pics.

Good Luck- Don't Stress

Angela

You can easily bake a cake, let it cool then wrap well in plastic wrap and freeze. The next day take the cake out and let it thaw out while it is still wrapped. I have started doing this with all my cakes if I have time. They are more moist that way.

If you are going to freeze for any longer then you need to wrap it in plastic wrap and foil.

For the cake itself, I have not tried the recipes that you mentioned. If you want to start really simple I would suggest Betty Crocker butter cake mix with pudding already in the mix. You could add a teaspoon of vanilla to give it a richer taste. I have found this one to bake up moist and tasty. Another good source is the Cake Mix Doctor book.

Cindy

Hi
I never freeze mine, but alot of members here do. However, if you are going to decorate it the next day, I don't think you should have to freeze it.
I think the freezing comes in when it is going to be several days or weeks before it will be needed.
Everyone has their own "schedule" of doing things, but here is mine:
If I have a cake due on Sat. I make my frostings and color them on Thursday, I bake my cakes as late as possible on Friday and then start decorating after they have cooled. I use the baking/cooling time to get my frostings bagged and ready to decorate. Then all I have left is the decorating...but I always (like a lot of folks here) pull an all-nighter on Friday night/Saturday mornings. I know this may not be ideal, but at least my cakes are as fresh as they possibly can be. And this is really important to me.

The only drawback is....if something were to happen, say a cake broke or something, then I might be frantic!!! LOL

But again, if you are going to be decorating the next day, I don't think you should freeze it. (but that is just my opinion)
Good luck!!!
Leslie

I swore I would never freeze a cake - until I had to make 23 for the same event! I baked them in advance and froze them as they cooled. Everyone loved them! They were so moist and tasty. I haven't had a problem freezing them since. I actually find it easier to frost when firmer.

Debbie

Hi,

I always try to freeze my cakes before filling and frosting. I find that they are moister and easier to split that way. Have you tried Sarah Phillips Ultimate Butter Cake? YUM!! It is so good! It is one of my favorite recipes! I have never tried a doctored cake mix so idk what those are like.

Berta

Debbie!!!
You must have a huge kitchen!! LOL Well, if I had 23 cakes to do, then yes my freezer would be full. ha ha I was only talking about one cake in my post. lol

I find it hard to make space to decorate (1) cake!!! I couldn't imagine 23!!! WOW!!!

Doc farms,
I forgot to say that I don't think freezing the cake would make that big of difference in the flavor, if at all. Especially for such a short time frame. If moistness is your concern, I read a post here once where the members were adding frosting to the cake batter. I don't remember what forum it was, but you could do a search for it.


Leslie

I rarely freeze my cakes, but when I do they always come out moist and great tasting. I use box cakes. My schedule is something like Leslie posted, but I always bake my cakes the day before. Especially if it's during the week, because I work full time, but I sometimes do the Fri/Sat all nighter.

missmersh - unfortunately I don't have a big kitchen either! I had to make 23 centerpiece cakes for a wedding last November. I pulled an all day and nighter decorating them. My dining room and kitchen were wall to wall cakes! I'll have to post a pic of them setting everywhere. The cakes are in my photos near the bottom - square white with black ribbon and loopy bows. It was definitely an experience!

Debbie

No, you can safely freeze cakes. Just wrap them well, and make sure you don't have any odors in your freezer or fridge. Also, keep a box of baking soda in both the freezer and the fridge, and replace it every three months. Write the date right on the box with a black marker. (It's also great to put it in closets too!)

Wow, so I'm going to take it that it must have been either the recipe or me, because from the sounds of it, it should be the same if not a little more moist. I know what you mean about frosting and filling the frozen cake - WAY easier. Thanks for the advice and sharing your experiances.

Hey Debbie! Your centerpiece cakes were beautiful!!!

To answer the original question, I just started doing cake stuff, but I have frozen the cakes because it seems to make it easier to shape them and torte them.

I use press and seal to wrap them in, works great!

Barbara

Thank you Barbara76!

Debbie

Debbie,
I saw all your cakes not too long ago and was wondering how in the world you did all those at once!!! They were gorgeous!!!

I bet your house reeked of icing!!! Mine does with only one cake!! lol

Leslie

I have frozen cakes before and never had any problems. I think the most important thing is to make sure they are well wrapped and there are no odors in your freezer, as Sangria stated. I almost always use box cakes because of time constraints, unless it's a specialty flavor such as carrot or apple. I definitely agree that it's easier to work with when firmer. Give a box cake a try sometime, there is no shame in it. Anyone who says so doesn't have a full time job, a 3 hr daily commute, a toddler and classes to take (if they do, my hats off to them. They must not sleep!) You might even find a box cake easier to work with. Good luck!

he he he missmersh! I think the smell of icing is what kept me awake! I started the Friday morning after Thanksgiving at 7:30 - 8:00 - luckily I had off work that day AND I had Thanksgiving at my house for 30 people on Thursday! I worked straight through until about 3:30 am on Saturday morning. I was determined to be asleep when my husband got up for opening day of deer season as he kept saying "See you when I get up!" I pulled all the cakes out of the freezer and unwrapped them a few at a time - rolled the fondant out for one - iced it - covered it and set it aside until they were all covered in fondant. Started rolling the black fondant out and cutting strips out and wrapped them one at a time. Then I started with the swiss dots - I think my hand was curled up for a week when I got done! They sat out all over my kitchen and dining room until I "got up" and put them into boxes. (I heard the alarm go off for my husband to get up so I jumped on the couch real quick and acted asleep). After placing each cake at the reception I went through and placed a bow on each one. Making the bows is a whole other story but I think I have the mass production of bows down pretty good now!

Debbie
The things we'll do to make a cake!

You all make me laugh...... I LOVE that!

I have been baking cakes for several years but 2 years ago started making them for others (custom orders). A friend told me to freeze the cake as it would be easier to frost (and handle). She was right and I freeze all my cakes (even tho I try to bake them the day before) and get RAVE reviews about how moist they are and that I must have a special secret. I use box cakes and maybe one day will make some from scratch but then again, should I mess with something that works???
Not yet! It's dificult to decide sometimes as most of the sites I have seen say to thaw the cake so I just do what has worked.
I think you have to try a few things and find out what works best for you and it's great to have the wealth of information here in the internet.
Happy Baking!

doc_farms:

I tried the Durable Cake for 3D and Wedding Cakes recipe from this site on Sunday and it was excellent. It's a cake mix with added ingredients. The texture was nice and it had a good flavor. I think you should go with a cake mix or a doctored mix if you're nervous about getting good results.

I never used to freeze cakes, but have done so often recently because of time constraints. I have never noticed any negative difference in flavor or texture. I made 20 cakes and cheesecakes (chocolate chocolate chip, coconut, carrot, etc) for my mom's wedding open house last spring. I froze them all (unfrosted) before the event and they all thawed nicely and tasted delicious.

Good luck!

It's good to find out I'm not the only one who's stayed up all night working on a cake (or cakes).

Hi i am new to all of this but what is the 1234 recipe?
Mynon

That's okay, I'm pretty new to. The 1 2 3 4 recipe is a cake recipe from this site that has almost 5 stars I think. It's supposed to be a little more durable for 3-D cakes, etc. I heard another poster mention it, so I looked it up and tried it out.

Miah

doc_farms, I just viewed your 23 cakes and WOW very impressive. As far as freezing you can if you need to but like everyone else said be sure and wrap good. I learned the hard way be sure and let cakes thaw good before frosting or you'll see those nasty little water spots, good luck

I always freeze my cakes.. I think they are easier to frost after they have been frozen..they seem a little firmer and they are always nice and moist.. My favorite boxed recipes are from Earlenes sites.. I love her recipes and no one ever guesses that they are from a boxed mix..
http://www.earlenescakes.com/index1.htm

Liz