I need to make a cake for Sunday. It's my first doll cake and it's for my daughter's birthday party so I will need plenty of time to get it right. It's going to be the wonder mold with a petal cake underneath.

I'd like to bake the cakes on Thursday and frost and decorate them on Saturday. I'm pretty sure the cakes will be fine just sitting on the table (uncovered?)(or tented with aluminum foil?) from Thursday to Saturday but what about after I frost them on Saturday? The frosting is buttercream made of 1/2 margarine, 1/2 crisco and water instead of milk.

Can I leave the frosted cake sitting on the table from Saturday until Sunday night? Does it have to be covered? If so, with what? It will be quite tall so I can't just stick it in a cake carrier and I don't have any cake boxes or anything like that.

Thanks!

In my short experience of making cakes, if you leave the cake uniced and uncovered even just over night, they get hard. If you put a thin layer of buttercream icing over the cake it will still be moist for Sunday.

However, I would still recomment covering your cake even if you cover each part seperately (unassembled). Place the petal cake on the cake carrier and use a plate for the wonder mold. I would use Saran Wrap directly next to the cake rather than aluminum foil.

I always bake my cakes the day before I decorate and make sure they are covered. I worry about flies and yucky stuff like that (never know what comes out at night). I'd use foil with a lot of room at the top but tightly sealed at the bottom. As for after it being decorated, depends on the filling you use if it needs to be in the refrigerator or not. If it has milk in it I would put it in the refrigerator. Just my 2 cents.

I always bake the day before, so I can't help (from experince) on how long it is okay to leave it out. I don't freeze cakes, but that might be something you want to consider. Maybe someone else can help you with that.

I do know that you want to wrap your cakes very well after they have cooled. If you just leave them sitting out they will dry out from the are.

After your cake is iced, it can sit out just fine.

I freeze cakes all the time and no one ever knows. I would freeze them if you have the freezer space, then take them out Saturday morning to thaw on the counter, or Friday night to thaw in the refrigerator (better choice if you hace fridge room).

Good luck!

if you have one of the big rubbermaid containers (maybe 20 gallon) like you store stuff in you can invert it & put your finished cake on the lid turned upside down & then put the bottom on to cover it up. i'm not sure if that's a good explanation. just use the large bottom as the lid. just make sure it's clean

I wrap mine and put them in the fridge till I"m ready to decorate. Even with the no dairy in the frosting, I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving them out uncovered for more than 12 hours. But that's just me.

This type of buttercream can be left at room temp almost indefinitely without problems. I'm sure the cake will be fine for 2 days if left out. If you're concerned about dust, pet hair, small hands testing the creation, etc., it would be a good idea to cover it--an oversized cardboard box inverted over the decorated cake will do nicely.

Just my .02
Rae

I let mine cool for at least four hours and then wrap them in Saran and leave them out. I have found that the fridge seems to dry them out a little.

I always make my cakes the day before. I have frozen "extra" cake, and super duper wrap them! (Saran, then foil, then saran again)

According to Wilton, this icing is fine on a cake at room temperature of less than 75F for 2-3 days, I find more like 4-5. I put these cakes in moving boxes, cut the front of the box down, line with rubberized non-skid shelf mat and tape up the sides, cover the top with foil and tape the foil to the box. I prefer to always box up a cake and seal it from the air. The icing will get a bit crunchy or harder on the outside if left out exposed for more than a few hours but it will still taste good. Personally though, I think for the length of time you are talking about, the cake should be covered.
Hugs Squirrelly