I often freeze whole cakes, the main cakes I make are mudcakes and buttercakes and they freeze really well, and turn out more moist once defrosted than if they'd never been frozen.
I have a cupcake wedding cake for the 4th of February, where I need to bake 140 cupcakes. Each batter yields 20 cupcakes which means i have to do 7 batches (also my cupcake moulds are a limitation, since i can only do 20 at a time)
Anyway i was thinking of doing a few ahead and freezing them to save me going crazy on the week of the wedding. I was just wondering if anyone has frozen cupcakes and how long they were frozen for??
I plan to wrap each individual cupcake in plastic wrap and then put them together in batches of 12 and wrap them all together with plastic wrap.
Im really after suggestions from anyone who has frozen cupcakes and the time they were frozen for, and the outcome of having done so.
Thanks in advance
Nati
PS: This will be my first cupcake cake order.
Congratulations on your first cupcake order!
I have frozen cupcakes when I have had to make a small cake and have left over batter and just make cupcakes to keep handy for something sweet but small. I have had them well wrapped in the freezer for a month or two and still had them taste very good.
I wrap mine in plastic wrap and then wrap them up in freezer wrap.
My mom is one who especially enjoys these becuase when she is craving cake she will call me up and see if I have anything. This way she does not go out and buy a whole cake and have it go to waste- she lives on her own and has no husband or significant other living with her.
I have frozen them with no problem.
Just wrap really well with foil. While they are thrawing, leave wrapped until all condensation disappears.
Thank you all for your replies. I just assumed that them being smaller they may tend to dry out quicker than larger cakes.
I have gone ahead and baked 90 so far, still a few to go before i go back to work next week. I should finish the rest today, but i've run out of patty cases ; )
I will post pictures once the cake is done. They are going to be half white mudcake cupcakes, and the other half are going to be caramel mudcakes. They will be iced in buttercream and each cupcake will have a fondant heart with a gold initial on it. Half will have the bride's initial and the other half the groom's.
There will be a 6 inch triple chocolate mudcake filled with white chocolate ganache as the top tier, and that will have an off white and gold ribbon tied on the bottom and two larger hearts at the top with their initials.
I made about 150 fondant hearts yesterday, now comes the hard part, the initials!!!
Thanks again for your replies
Nati
Nati, this sounds very elegant, I am anxious to see the results. I use ziplock bags (freezer type) and they work very well.
I know I'm too late for this post, but I would never suggest freezing cupcakes...especially for a wedding. Though they might keep, you're really cheating your customer on a quality product 
If I were the bride and I found out my cakes were frozen, I may not like that. I would only do it if it was okay with the client. Also, when I first started out, my first cupcake wedding order was for 220 cupcakes. I had a small apartment oven and 3 cupcake tins of 12. I started the day before. The icing was made and decorations were made a few days in advance. On top of this I was baking for a farmers market where I sell 300 cupcakes each weekend! Just be honest with your customer especially if you are advertising a quality product. Since you have chosen to freeze cupcakes, I wouldn't have started so early...I would at least done it a week ahead and not a month. On a side note, I have read that oil based cakes freeze better than butter based.
I know I'm too late for this post, but I would never suggest freezing cupcakes...especially for a wedding. Though they might keep, you're really cheating your customer on a quality product
If I were the bride and I found out my cakes were frozen, I may not like that. I would only do it if it was okay with the client. Also, when I first started out, my first cupcake wedding order was for 220 cupcakes. I had a small apartment oven and 3 cupcake tins of 12. I started the day before. The icing was made and decorations were made a few days in advance. On top of this I was baking for a farmers market where I sell 300 cupcakes each weekend! Just be honest with your customer especially if you are advertising a quality product. Since you have chosen to freeze cupcakes, I wouldn't have started so early...I would at least done it a week ahead and not a month. On a side note, I have read that oil based cakes freeze better than butter based.
Cupcakequeen
I work fulltime in a job not related to cakes at all. The bride who works with me asked me to do her cake months ago and I said that being cupcakes it would mean I'd have to freeze them,she said she didnt mind. Have you ever made mudcakes and frozen them? They dont turn out like other cakes, they actually come out more moist than if they hadnt been frozen. I would make the cake the day before if i was at home doing nothing, but seeing I work I really dont have the time. I am charging the bride half the price than what she was quoted elsewhere, so im really not cheating anyone.
Thanks for your advice though. If i was making cupcakes with a soft buttercake or such, i would certainly not freeze them.
By the way, you have very pretty cakes.
Nati
Well, the larger the cake, the better the results are when freezing them, so you were correct in worrying if the smaller surface of a cupcake would be an issue. It is, but only after longer periods of time. Most cakes freeze well for up to two months, after that length of time there is a measurable change in the molecular structure and taste. A fruit cake can be frozen for 6 months.
There are very slight changes in molecular structure after 1 month in some cakes.
A sheet cake is the least affected by freezing, again because of the large surface.
I prefer not to freeze cakes for more than 2 weeks, generally less than a week when I have a large order. Just my preference.
Interesting fact, this is one time when a from-scratch cake holds up better than a cake mix cake. Normally a cake mix cake has a longer shelf life, but not so when the cake has been frozen. The molecular structure of a cake mix cake is more affected in the thawing out process which results in a shorter shelf life for a frozen and thawed cake mix cake.
For larger orders and for wedding cakes, I think as long as the customer is aware that you will be freezing the cake, it isn't an issue. I do this when I am short on time but always inform the customer. The only issue would be, that the cupcakes wouldn't have the same shelf life once defrosted so you would be best off defrosting them closer to the wedding or delivery date. Most cakes, even when they have been frozen, can be defrosted on the Thursday before a Saturday wedding and iced. For me that would be the longest period of time I would go with, with cupcakes to insure a very fresh and moist product.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
Most cakes, even when they have been frozen, can be defrosted on the Thursday before a Saturday wedding and iced. For me that would be the longest period of time I would go with, with cupcakes to insure a very fresh and moist product.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
Squirrelly Cakes
Thanks for all that, Im actually going to take them out of the freezer on the Friday morning so i can decorate them when i get home on Friday night. By then i will have the 6 inch top cake already done, i will do that one fresh, and the hearts that will go on top will also be ready. So all i have to do is ice them and put the heart on.
All my cakes are made from scratch so i guess that will give them a longer freezer life, from what you're saying.
Thanks again
Nati
Hi Nati,
Good for you, you sound organized kiddo! You do gorgeous work, by the way!
Actually the freezer life is about the same with butter based cakes usually having the shorter freezer life. It is actually the shelf life once the product is defrosted where a from-scratch cake has the longer shelf life. I found this quite fascinating that the freezing and defrosting process actually shortens the shelf life of a cake mix cake. There was a very high tech scientific explanation which boiled down to the fact that the chemical preservatives were molecularly affected by the freezing and thawing out process.
I did a fair amount of research on this a couple of years ago through government and scientific research sites. I had also researched frost free stand up freezers and chest freezers and the differences and side effects of the freezing process etc. It was mainly out of an interest in purchasing a freezer and also determining what the effects on the frozen products were. I have also done a fair amount of experimentation to see if the results were accurate. It actually has been a time saving and work saving effort. I find that when I have large jobs or very detailed work to do, since I broke my shoulder, I am better off breaking the jobs down over a couple of days. A wedding cake is a good example of this as are cakes with very detailed buttercream transfers etc. I can certainly see why you would want to do what you can do ahead of time, that is a big job.
Interestingly enough, cookies don't follow through on the small item theory about the freezer life not being as long. That is mainly due to a higher concentration of sugar ratio to other ingredients. I have been experimenting and found that there are several cookies that keep extremely well for periods of up to 4 months with some lasting as long as six months. This has been an experiment mainly for my own purposes due to the high volume of cookies I make at Christmas time. One of my daughters doesn't have a true freezer, so I contribute her cookies in smaller portions from time to time and discovered they keep very well.
Haha, sorry, this is an area of interest for me.
Good luck with that wedding!
Hugs Squirrelly
I agree Nati! Freezing does make them moister and does not alter the flavor or freshness. I have people ask me all the time what I do to make them taste so good and fresh. Scratch and altered mix cakes! Glad your project is almost done! I am anxious to see the finished project. I just finished my cakes for tomorrow and work full time too. Freezing is a great way to make our lives easier as long as we do it correctly.
THEY'RE FINALLY DONE!!!
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