I'm sure this topic has already been discussed, so please forgive me, but I couldn't find a thread on it anywhere...

I have a cake due for Saturday. I work during the week, so to make things easier, I thought it might be smart to bake my cakes 1 week prior to the due date, then ice them with buttercream and freeze them until Friday night. My cakes are due Sunday. I'm not sure how to make sure my cakes don't get soggy or bad... Are there specific steps to defrosting a cake successfully? I'm assuming it's better to wait to lay the fondant on the cake after I defrost the cake and not before?

Many questions, I know, but I need your professional advice if you could!

Sincerely,
Joline

Put the iced cake in a cake box. Wrap the cake box in plastic wrap - 2 layers and then 1 layer of aluminum foil.

When defrosting, remove wrapping and take cake out of box. Let thaw at room temp, should be completely thawed and ready to fondant in 1 hour.

Thank you so much! I really should've experimented with a non-customer cake first, but I haven't had time, so I really truly appreciate your answer. Do most people bake their cakes fresh, a couple days before they're due? What if you have 3 or 4 cakes to decorate? In a couple weeks, this will be my exact situation and it's really worrying me!!!

thanks for the great tip!

It depends. Some people bake ahead and freeze routinely, others bake and then decorate. I do both, depending on how much cake I need to bake and how much time I have that week. It definitely won't hurt the cakes to freeze them, in fact, many bakers feel that it makes the cakes more moist.

I freeze all my cakes. I am a busy working mom and i just dont have time to bake and decorate all at the same time. My cakes frequently get compliments on their taste so i dont believe freezing them is hindering the taste any and I still have time for eveything else in life! Its personal preference really.

If yur going to apply fondant later I' d just do your crumb coat, then I set mine in the freezer till the icing sets hard then I wrap it in plastic wrap then I bag mine in food safe bags.The day before I'm going to decorate I'll take it out and remove the plastic wrap, set in a cake box and let it defrost in the refridgerator. You will know if its defrosted all the way when you insert the dowel rods. I work a full time job so I do have to freeze mine.

I have frozen fully decorated buttercream cakes, just take special care, that the icing is very firm. I wouldn't reccommend doing this with a cake that has strong colors, the cake will sweat and you could have colors bleed.