Hey all

I've got 3 cakes coming up in quick succession over a week and with me working full time, it's going to be difficult for me to bake and decorate them all properly on my days off as normal, so I'm planning on doing something I've not done before and make the cakes early and freeze them.

Can anyone give any advice to an amateur home baker for this? I believe it's a case of make the cakes, let them cool thoroughly, wrap in cling film and store in a freezer. Would it be best to keep them in a plastic tub in the freezer to protect them as well?

How long do I need to give them to defrost properly? Also, do they taste ok when defrosted? I'm used to baking the cake a day or so before giving to my friends and they all tell me my cakes are really soft, so I'm concerned about them tasting......wrong in some way. Or am I just being overly protective? :D

Finally, are there any pitfalls I should look to avoid, or do certain types of cake not work when frozen? I'm presuming it's best to torte them after defrosting rather than before freezing?

Thanks in advance, all :)

You're on the right track.  Bake, tort, put wax paper between the layers. There are some who don't cool before they wrap and some who wait until completely cool, so that part is your choice.  Wrap with cling a wrap a couple of times and finish with aluminum foil.  Freeze.  When you take the cakes out leave them in the foil until you're ready.  I have no problems filling and crumb coating while they're still pretty frozen, but again it's your preference how firm you want the cakes when you start working with them.  Good luck!

you will get as many variations of doing this as there are cakers on this board -- the big deal to me as you've stated is how will it be after it thaws -- you need to determine that for yourself in advance so make at least a partial recipe -- then freeze part and keep part room temp -- defrost (at room temp without the microwave) and compare bites -- sometimes in fact usually it's a denser tighter crumb after thawing and it's all up to you how you like it -- i'd recommend that you test out your fillings too and see how they defrost --

i double wrap my cakes in cling film then slide that into the Reynold's cooking bags like for turkeys and roast beef -- do you have those in the UK? if it's an extra large cake i tape two bags together -- bags can be re-used --

i fill my cakes before freezing so all i have to do at the appointed time is whip them out and final ice them and away i go -- plus i don't have another mess to deal with with leveling and all -- more zen :) but i have tested all my fillings too --

and no odors or old frozen fish in the freezer or fridge -- if your freezer smells like spaghetti sauce 'cause you just made a gallon your cake will pick that up -- might not taste exactly like it but it will pull the taste off -- some peeps say to leave cakes wrapped while thawing -- i immediately remove the wrappings and brush off the condensation before it can melt back into the cake --

best freezing and deciding on your best way to go

Here's how I do it:

1. Let cakes cool until just warm in pan.

2.place on cardboard round and wrap with cling wrap until completely cool.

3. Level/torte (put parchment paper between the layers) and re-wrap.

4. Place in freezer.  If I'm going to freeze overnight or longer, I'll wrap with foil once frozen for added protection.

Torting ahead was sooooo much easier for me because I can just go ahead and start building the cake when I'm ready. The cardboard rounds make them much easier to handle w/o breaking and helps keep the shape of the cake.  If you wrap too tight w/o the cardboard round, you may ruin the shape of the cake.

Wow, you guys are fast, there were no responses when I started typing....

another fun fact for packing out the freezer -- put the small cakes on the bottom let 'em freeze then you can place  the larger cakes on top where they will gain a greater clearance from the roundness in the corners of the freezer kwim? try it -- you can pack more in this way