Hi! So I am going to be baking a two layer fondant cake and usually I do it all in one day. This time I would like to spread it to three days. I don't want to be stressed. Lol! If I were to make the cakes the first day and let them sit overnight, how do I store them? On the counter uncovered or in fridge? Then the second day I was going to crumb them, put on the second layer or buttercream and then later fondant.  Again, how do I store them? Then the third day decorate. Is this a good way? Does anyone have a different suggestion? I'm lost! Thank you so much!

i hold my assembled uniced tiers in the freezer but i know that all my cakes & fillings do well from freezer to fridge to room temp -- then i take the frozen tier out, ice it, apply fondant and back into the fridge this time -- then i decorate it and again hold it in the fridge boxed until delivery --

if you are using a cake made with butter chances are very good that the butter will not pop back to just baked room temp texture after it comes from fridge or freezer ergo some people will take it as the cake 'being dry' because it scrapes slightly down the back of the throat -- it's not dry -- it's the butter staying too firm so there's that -- it's easy to test --

storing the cakes is a big decision -- that's how i do mine but it's up to you how you do yours -- your plan sounds good to me

I do it that same way...

Day 1 bake and freeze (once fully cooled)

Day 2 fill, crumb, cover, refrigerator

Day 3 fondant cover and decorate and keep at room temp till pick up.

My cakes use butter, my icing is all butter and it comes to room temp fine before eating and I've never been told it seemed dry.  If I do have to fridge after fondant covering and decorating due to high heat or humidity, I just make sure I tell the client to have the cake out 2-3 hours before cutting since this has been ample time to come to room temp in my experience. 

Thank you so much for the advice. :)  Quick question .... what do you wrap it in when you put in freezer the first night and in refrigerator the second? I'm so scared I am going to screw it up! Lol

Once completely cooled I wrap in Saran/plastic wrap and then out in a zip lock, and then into the freezer. 

Once iced, I don't wrap it again.  The butter cream provides enough of a "seal" so that it doesn't dry out.  And then after the fondant is added, it's even more sealed and protected from drying out, so it can be left as is.

Also, during particularly busy weeks I've baked and frozen the cake up to 5 days prior to icing/decorating without any issues.  But I've never had a cake out (to ice/cover/decorate) more than 3 days prior to serving it.  Again, no dryness or stale taste.

Goodness,  thank you so very much! Sense you are experienced and definitely know what you are doing I am going to ask a few more questions (I hope you don't mind :) ).

1. How long after you take the cake out of the freezer do you do the crumb layer?

2. Is it OK to do another buttercream layer after the crumb? If so how long should I wait?

3. What do you recommend doing to the cake before putting on fondant? Water?

4. When putting on the fondant can you do it right out of fridge or should it be room temp?

5. Any tips on making the top of cake flat after putting on fondant with sharp edges around the top? For some reason mine always looks so rounded!!!!

I'm so sorry for all the questions and I appreciate all your help. I always second guess myself and get so worried! :)

Happy to help.

What ur email? Would be easier to communicate directly than use the forum. 

If you don't want to post your email, message me through the contact page if my site and I'll reply from my personal email.

www.ittybittybakerynyc.com

Sure! It's [email protected].  thank you so very much!!!

i double wrap mine in plastic wrap then slide them into the reynolds roasting bags like you can use for turkeys & roast beef -- if the cake is too big for the biggest reynolds bag then i tape two of them together -- my cakes won't fit in a zip lock bag --

but i bake the cake and assemble the tier then freeze it uniced -- because the moisture level in the cake readjusts itself and makes magic in the freezing/thawing process --- so i dispose of the messy messies of tier assembly so all i have to do is take it out of the freezer and ice it and blablablabla --

and while i'm at it i'll also say that i immediately remove the wrappings and brush off any ice crystals that formed before they melt into my cake -- i slap on the icing right then -- if i'm too slow and the icing sets up frozen because the cake is still frozen i just set it aside and work on the next one and after that the first one can be worked again --

then i store in the fridge for the rest of the process

i rarely crumb coat if i was going to fondant the cake i'd never crumb coat it

i fondant the cake right out of the fridge usually the little bit of condensation makes the fondant adhere just fine --

you can use two smoothers to make a sharper edge on your fondant cakes -- but the rounded edge is also very pretty -- used to be buttercream was sharp edges fondant was rounded -- now it's either or or none or maybe maybe not -- hahaha