I noticed some folks coat their cakes before icing with a liquor/jam type coating. When do you do this? Do you do it on all cakes? Is it just to seal in moisture or for additional flavor?

Thanks!

Are you talking about crumb coating under the filling?
If my filling is particularly thin I will do it to keep the filling from soaking into the cake. But I don't do it all the time. It just depends on what mood I'm in that day.
Hope that helps!

I read in one of my cake books (I haven't had a chance to try it yet, my house is under construction . . . no cakes till it's done ) But, the book recommends a "sugar syrup" to be brushed onto the cake. It sounds like they use it instead of a crumb coat . . . ? You could probably add a flavor . . . . I'll be watching this topic, I'm curious too!! Sorry I'm not more help!

I guess it is the glaze...many folks do an apricot glaze or other fruit glaze sometimes with liqueor in it. That makes sense about the filling not seeping in. I just wondered if there were other benefits to doing this. I am doing a wedding cake with raspberry filling and I was not sure if I needed this step.

Thanks for your input!

It helps to keep crumbs out of the frosting too!