I have a small bakery in Sinaloa, Mexico. Whatever cake flavors I have in my fridge, they always want something else. My kitchen is in my home 45 minutes away from my store front. Sometimes they come in to order a cake for the next day. It is difficult to fulfill all of their wants, lol. My idea is ... to make 2 layers of each flavor and freeze them. I have a commercial freezer in the shop since I also sell sundaes and ice cream. It is quite large. When someone wants a cake I don't have, I can have it ready in under an hour since I decorate there in the shop. #1. How long can you freeze cake and still have it "fresh" when thawed,  #2. What is the best way to thaw them, and #3. How would you wrap them to protect them from drying out in the freezer? You guys and gals are so sweet and have helped me with my questions before. I thank you in advance. God bless.

desert

We always kept 6 van and 6 choc of  9" and 1/4 sheets in our freezer for last min orders make sure to date/rotate

I think they will keep 6mo + if kept wrapped nicely.Set out uniced cakes morning or day before.If iced freeze before wrapping and unwrap set in fridge over night.

I agree about the 6 month time frame.  I wrap mine in two layers of plastic wrap, then again in another layer of foil.  I thaw on the counter but leave the wrapping on.  That way, condensation develops on the wrapping, not the cake.

Thank you so much! I thought that it was about 6 months. I figure, if I rotate, and it doesn't sell, I will thaw for slices in the shop. I sell a lot of slices. I figured that I would wrap it once in plastic wrap, then label it with flavor and date and rewrap. I could see the label through the second layer of wrap. Do you think that would be OK? Thanks for the advice on thawing, I was worried how condensation would affect the cake. OK, now my next "dumb" question. You can frost them BEFORE freezing? I use buttercream (1/2 butter and 1/2 Crisco), will that freeze and thaw OK? Are you just giving them a crumbcoat to keep moisture in, or are you actually talking about decorating before freezing?

I would also tell people calling less than 3 days before they need a cake that since their order is last minute they can choose from the flavors you have available.

You can freeze fully decorated cakes with fondant if you want to. 

You can definitely freeze cakes. At the bakery I work at, we freeze our cakes for up to 3 months. Be careful because with certain flavors/recipes, freezing for too long could alter the taste. I usually let my cupcakes/cakes freeze a few days before frosting and serving them. Just wrap in plastic wrap.

I agree w/the others.  You definately can freeze baked cakes.  And YES! they will be fresh tasting, really even better than just out of the oven as the moisture will spread through the whole cake.

When you remove them from the oven, let them cool maybe 10 minutes, then turn out of pan onto plastic wrap but cover it w/the cake pan to cool more.  That traps the moisture in the cake.  Then when almost completely cool, wrap completely.  Y our idea of wrap, mark, wrap is good :)

And as Annie mentions, even b'cream decorated cakes can be frozen.  For best results, put the decorated cake on a cookie sheet *UN*covered, freeze several hours until icing is hard, then wrap completely in plastic wrap; dbl layer; then foil if wanting to keep more than a month or two.  Best to keep such cakes in a cake box to protect it from being damaged in any way.