I am having a surprise 40th for my husband on Memorial Day.  I would like to make the cake vs. hiring it out.  He will be out of town through Thursday, which gives me time to work on a cake.

Can I decorate the cake with buttercream on Thursday and put it in our church fridge and have the cake look and taste ok on Monday??

Thanks!

I personally wouldn't sell a cake to a customer that had been sitting in refrigeration for 4 days. My cakes and buttercream are from scratch with no preservatives so I'd be concerned that the quality would deteriorate after so long. Maybe if you're using cake mix you'd be ok? Can't speak for that. 

Maybe make the cake and buttercream icing the day your husband is gone then wrap cake in saran wrap twice and also wrap in freezer bag or aluminum foil. Can also freeze buttercream icing and take out a couple of hours before using. I don't do fondant so I am not sure about that if cake is frozen with fondant on it.

Experts would know better than me exactly what to do. You are better off freezing cake. I always freeze my leftover buttercream and it takes no time for it to thaw. Take it out on day before you need it, let it thaw then decorate and frost. 

Hopefully the experts will chime in here and tell you better than I can. Please take a picture of cake so we can see. 

4 days is right on the edge.  Really, if you bake & decorate most of the day on Thurs., it gets stored 3 days before coming to room temp again.

For a family cake, I'd box the decorated cake in a cardboard box, wrap the box in several layers of saran wrap, and a layer of foil.  Put it in the bottom of the fridge, if possible, where it's coldest.  A few hours before serving, set the wrapped box on the counter to come to room temp--this way, any condensation goes to the box & not the cake, so it comes out of the box very dry and colors don't run.  It'll look & taste like fresh made.