Hi Everyone,

I baked a birthday cake for my grandson on Saturday.  On Thursday, I baked the cakes, took them out of the oven, let them sit for about 20 minutes, turned them out of the pan, and the caked cracked.  ( I think I know the answer to this one) I didn't leave them in the pan long enough.  But here is my real question.  After turning them out of the pan, should I leave them cool completely before wrapping them in saran wrap?  I'm never sure of this step.  After freezing, I take it out of the freezer, unwrap and immediately begin my crumb coat.  Should I wait?  Or is this OK?

http://www.cakecentral.com/forum/t/671254/freezing-unfrosted-cake-layers

here is some good info on freezing. You'll find different opinions, on who follows food safety guidelines to the letter and who does not.

As for turning out the cake and having it crack, was there a dome? That will make it more prone to crack if you turned it out on a flat surface and left it there. 

Thanks, maybe a small dome.  It was a 12 x 18 sheet.  I fixed it and no one knew.... Love it.. 

I read about the dome making the cake crack (I always rested mine on the dome and they always cracked, duh), so now when I turn it out, I immediately flip it over to it's flat side to cool. No more cracks! :)

I take the cake out, cool only 5-10 minutes on the counter. Make the big + out of saran wrap, and drop the very warm cake on the center of the +. Wrap the sides inward from side to side, and then top to bottom. (I do this top down to help squish the dome, is any. )

They sit on the counter until room temperature. I can see the steam building up inside the moisture reabsorbing into the cake. :)

When room temperature, I level (cut off any dome) and torte it into two layers. I slip a piece of waxed paper between the two layers and rewrap into the saran wrap. I take the room temperature cakes, place on a cake board and freeze solid. When frozen, I wrap in foil and a ziplock bag until needed (or two days minimum). 

When I decorate, layers are ready, easy to handle and ready to go!

I always cool cakes in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out to a cooling rack. Then I flip them so the domed part is always on top. Otherwise your dome will try to flatten out on the flat surface you have placed it on. Otherwise, level your dome while the cake is in the pan and turn out.

I let cakes cool completely before wrapping them. In my opinion, wrapping a warm cake changes the texture of the cake making it a bit rubbery and making the tops a bit scummy. I don't like that affect. But I am not a fan of steamed type cakes and puddings. We all have different tastes and opinions and you should experiment to find your preferences. I wrap in plastic wrap, then foil and then seal in a plastic bag to freeze.

I am making the assumption that you have a room temperature of below about 75 degrees because if you have a very hot, humid kitchen it will affect defrosting etc.

Regarding what to do after freezing, I usually remove from freezer and torte while frozen if the layers are to be torted. Then I make my icing dam and fill with buttercream if filling with buttercream . If using another filling, I only torte. I re-wrap in the original wrappings and let cake sit a couple of hours before icing. If not torting, just let the cakes defrost at room temperature.

You can simple-syrup the cakes or crumb coat before freezing. Or you can do them when they reach room temperature. I have iced and filled frozen cakes also but find that the icing sets up and kind of freezes a bit making it more difficult to get a smooth finish.