i just want to know what the advantages are for freezing cakes..

I hobby bake, I don't make a whole lot of cakes, so when I do have an order for one I never freeze it ecause I have time to wait..

I bake, push down with cake board to help settle, then I cool.. completely, then I start decorating..

but I have had a few accidents where one side of one layer of cake crumbles..

I want to be able to do carved  cakes..

will I have to freeze them for that?

what is your method for a cake , from out of the oven to beginning of decorating.

I do mostly fondant, but I want to get into all buttercream cakes too.

biggest I have made is 2 tier. I know i'm going to have to start earlier and do different things when there is more than that, since it will be new to me

That's not what settling is.

I get all cakes in the freezer if even only overnight.  I thnk it makes them better.

What is the normal practice of keeping cakes frozen.  Would 1 month be too long?

..........keeping cakes frozen.  Would 1 month be too long?.......

No.  Properly wrapped a cake can be kept up to 1 year.  Ever hear of keeping the top tier of a wedding cake for the 1st anniversary? :)

If you are keeping it just until it can be used - like for an order the longest is probably 1 month to 6 wks.  Again, if it is properly wrapped there should be no problems with it.

i'm not asking how long to keep a cake frozen... i'm asking what is the difference ?

doesn't it just ad more time waiting for it to defrost.

and what are the steps people use from a cake being cooled, to when they decorate..

and ok what Is settling then? I thought It was when a cake like.... settles? :S and I've learned here on cake central that a lot of people but something heavy or push down on top of the cake to do help settling move faster when it come out of the oven? so that you don't decorate, then it settles.. but I guess all the threads I've read are wrong lol!

i'm just wondering what everyone's steps are..

like when the cake comes out of the oven, what next?

do you take it out of the pan right away and let it cool? or freeze it? leave It in the pan til it's cool?

chill after crumb coating? does no one do any of this ..

I wouldn't want a frozen cake .. so i'm just hoping someone's nice enough to give me some tips.

I've seen a lot of nasty people on here commenting rude things just because they are more experienced..

obviously if i'm posting asking for help, I NEED IT ..

all of the steps are individual to each decorator -- i say it this way "one baker's never ever do is the baker's 'i swear by this' " 

so the freezer is a tool like any other it's not good or bad in and of itself -- freezing realigns all the moisture in the cake in a good way -- y'know how chili, meatloaf, spaghetti, potato salad is better the next day -- the freezer is the cakes 'next day' 

so you need to decide for yourself which way works best for you --

settling is setting a weight like a book or a tile on top of the filled cake for a period of time maybe several hours to express the air out of it before final icing -- so that no pesky air bubbles pop up under the icing --

all of those ways of cooling the cake are possible and everyone does it one of those ways or a way that's not even listed --

i let my cakes cool in the pan -- i fill and freeze my tiers -- i final ice the cake frozen -- then it stays in the fridge till delivery -- i pin prick each layer of cake through the icing and leave the holes open to prevent air bubbles --

i never press down on my cake when it first comes out of the oven -- i want to preserve all the lightness -- one reason people do this is to level the cake so they don't have to level it with a knife --

best to you

I started freezing after seeing so many posts on here.

It has been a blessing.

I work full time, and was killing myself some weeks in the lead up to weekend cakes. There just wasn't enough hours in the day to bake all the cakes I needed and finish decorating for a Friday or Saturday AM pick up.

I now bake a week ahead, and find "caking" a much more enjoyable experience.

I come home from work and can just start decorating.

I no longer have cake all over the kitchen in various stages of "cooling" and get  a full nights sleep.

I agree with Leah....freezing cakes has gotten a bad rap due to many people's perception of the grocery store cake that arrives frozen on a truck, often for months, and gets iced from a big old tub of chemical icing.  But a well made cake properly wrapped and frozen will yield a great cake when decorated.

I freeze mine at least overnight, but sometimes two to three days depending on my schedule...I ice my cakes frozen straight from the freezer, then allow them to sit in the cooler a few hours/overnight to slowly thaw....I never have issues with bulging icing ir crumbling cakes like many seem to encounter.

Ah yes, the 1yr anniversary slice of cake.  Thank you kakeladi.

Ahttp://www.cakecentral.com/t/633571/my- -trick

This is what cake settling is...:grin:

I agree with those who advocate freezing a cake overnight (or longer as needed). The cake is easier to handle and ...just plain better than a cake that hasn't been frozen. 

I just cool the layers, level and slip them in a Ziploc bag and pop them in the freezer. Since I freeze individual layers, the defrost time is very short. Take them out of the freezer and start making your frosting; by the time the frosting and filling are prepared, the cake is defrosted.

This may not be what you are wanting, but sending anyway. She helped a lot of decorators on this site with this post. .

http://www.cakecentral.com/t/732338/freezing-fondant-covered-cake

IMHO frozen cakes are easier to level, do not require a crumb coat, taste better, and allow you to bake ahead and decorate later! I always freeze at least overnight if not 2 to 3 days.

ASo you decorate right from frozen?

AI'm gonna have to get a cake fridge. Seems my fridge / freezer isn't big enough for my food even. Lol :( cake life

yup! then into the fridge it goes until it is served. (I like cold cake )

I try to freeze all my cakes. On the odd occasion I'm running behind and have to use a fresh one, I find them a lot crumblier and harder to deal with. I don't work with frozen cake though. I always let mine defrost fully before doing anything with them. Mine are too solid to work with frozen, and I find the condensation on the icing annoying if I try to frost a cold cake.