I'm very new to cake decorating as im sure this question make obvious.. but can somebody sum up for me when you are suppose to refrigerate cake and when not to? For instance, after i do my crumb coating of BC, do i let it crust in the fridge or on its own? I read somewhere that if you put it in the fridge the moisture when you bring it out will cause the icing to run off. I live in Georgia (VERY HUMID! ICK!) so i could see why this would be true. Also, your NOT suppose to refrigerate fondant covered cakes...right?

What is the best way to keep your cake yummy a) before decorating and b) after decorating?

thanks so much!

Sorry I am in California so no humidity to deal with here. I like to crumb coat, put in fridge and then finish frosting.

I like to store my cakes in the fridge, but like them at room temp when I serve. Of course this all depends on if there is anything in it that needs to be refridgerated. If I have used a custard type of filling or anything that may spoil if not kept chilled it goes in the fridge. Cake does not last long around my house so I never really have to worry about keeping it fresh for long.

I work with buttercream more than fondant so I am sure there will be someone to help you out with that.

Hi, I am from Holland so yeah lots of humidity here too I normally put my cakes after crumbcoating just for a little while in the fridge but it isn't necessary when you are going to use fondant as the next layer.
The trouble with fondant is that it hates the frigde and will soon come wet and it will melt.. and that's really awful.. it happened to me

But it depends on the filling you are using, if it is anything with milk or cream it need the fridge, or at least a cold temperature!
So for fondant cakes with milk/cream-filling I put my extra frigde really low (still cold enough for the filling but that's all) and put the cake in a carton (paper) cakebox, this takes all the humid from the frigde. Another tip I got is to put sugar lumbs (don't know the word but those square things of sugar to put in your tea ) around the box, sugar takes all the humid as well.

Good luck! I think (well in my case it was ) that you just have to try the different things in your area to see what will go best... and then eat the cake yourself... no punishment I guess

Putting a crumbed cake into the frig defeats the purpose Think aobut it. A frig is moist; you want the crumb coat to dry...why would you put it in the frig?? If you crumb coat is properly made & applied it should dry at room temp in just a few minutes.
For those of you in very humid areas try this: remove about 1/3 cup (depending on the siZe of the cake being coated); melt it in the Microwave oven about 6-10 seconds - *just* until it starts to melt - watch it closely thru the door. You don't want to over heat it. Stir to completely melt and *quickly* pour over cake; spread w/spatula. This will leave a glaze similar to what's on a glazed donut. It dries almost instantly so you have to work super fast
Any leftover must be disposed of. It cannot be reheated or returned to regular b'cream

I live in NC so we do have a bit of humidity to deal with here as well. I put my crumb coat and final coat in the fridge for about 5-15 min (depending on when I am ready to get back to it) and then use the Viva method to smooth when I use crusting buttercream (with 1/3 to 1/2 butter). I haven't had a problem with humidity in my fridge effecting the icing. I've alos had to store fondant covered cake in the fridge overnight (in late March) due to the filling, but just put it in a cardboard cake box and it was fine. It does make me nervous, so Itry not to use perishable fillings with fondant.