Refrigeration And Cake Batter Questions - New To This! :)
Decorating By LindzerBee Updated 16 Aug 2011 , 2:22pm by cakeastic
I am making a cake for my niece's birthday party, which is on Sunday. I wanted to assemble the cake Friday, as I will be gone most of the day Saturday.
My first question is if the cake batter contains cream cheese, does the cake have to be refrigerated? It's not a cream cheese frosting, just an ingredient in the cake.
Also, I am covering the cake in fondant. Am I right that fondant doesn't do well in the refrigerator? I have a new kitten and don't want to risk leaving the cake out on the table for too long.
Thanks in advance for your help!
The cake itself doesn't need refrigeration and you're right, fondant doesn't do well in the fridge. You could finish the cake on Friday and box it up to keep it away from your kitten. Some people refrigerate fondant with no problem, but at least in the climate where I live, the condensation that forms when you take it out of the fridge is enough to ruin it.
I always refrigerate my fondant cakes - although I know some people are not fans. I live in a really humid area. The trick for me it to set the cake out (it will develop condensation) - allow it to come to room temperature and don't touch it until it dries by itself. If you touch it while it's clammy it will leave prints, etc...
ShandraB, my problem is that it's SO humid here that the condensation never dries, even when you put a fan on it, and the fondant starts cracking on the surface. It was a really neat look for an antique-looking cake that I made the first time I refrigerated my fondant (thank goodness it was on that cake and not another design!), but it wouldn't look good at all on the other ones I've done!
No, although on the worst days it starts to get kind of shiny- (make that slimy-) looking after a while. I also have to keep whatever I put under it - buttercream or ganache - to a minimum or else the humidity from my crumbcoat is enough to melt the fondant. Ain't life in the tropics grand? (Well, what can I say? It usually is!)
One of the ways to defeat the condensation issue even in humid climates is to put your finished cake in a box and wrap that box with plastic wrap or even a garbage bag and put in the refrigerator.
Take it out and let it come to room temp while still wrapped. There should be minimal, if any condensation issues.
You might also put some cornstarch in the box to help absorb any moisture that may be there. I've been putting bowls of it in my refrigerator and it seems to have helped.
I knew about the box, carmijok, but not about the garbage bag or the cornstarch. Thanks for those tips, in case I ever actually do have to refrigerate a fondant cake. There's NEVER enough room in my fridge for a boxed cake, but one in a big ol' plastic bag would fit!
Yes, and I've been looking for those, not only for refrigerator condensation, but also for my isomalt bling and other things. Where in the world do you get them? I'm not in the States, but I'd be happy to look for them on a visit back there. I haven't been able to find them locally.
I knew about the box, carmijok, but not about the garbage bag or the cornstarch. Thanks for those tips, in case I ever actually do have to refrigerate a fondant cake. There's NEVER enough room in my fridge for a boxed cake, but one in a big ol' plastic bag would fit!
No, no, no! Don't put in a plastic bag if it's not in a box! The box is to keep it dry...and the bag is extra assurance to keep the humidity out. I wouldn't wrap a fondant cake in plastic! 
Well, drat, just when I thought I'd found a new and wonderful solution to this problem! Thanks, carmijok. You've kept me from making yet another blunder!
I can order books from Amazon, but they won't ship anything else to Mexico - or at least that's been my experience with them in the past. But no problem - I think I'm going to see family in the US pretty soon, so I'll stock up on them while I'm there. Thanks for the info, tiptop57!
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