I am baking and crumb coating a cake today and covering with fondant tomorrow. The middle will have chocolate ganache. This will sit out for over 24 hours because the party is not until Sat. at 4. Would is the rule of thumb for fillings that need refridgeration and cakes covered in fondant that should not be refridgerated? Confused.

Fondant can indeed be refrigerated. But ganache doesn't need to be.

I have read in several books not to refridgerate fondant that is colored because of sweating and bleeding when it comes to room temp. I am afraid to try it...this I guess I am confused why ganache doesn't need to be but has cream and mousse does and also has cream? Is there a list somewhere on this site that tells you what can sit out and what can't?

Ganache is the same thing you find in "truffles" and they don't refrigerate those! Mind you the chocolate to cream ratio is higher in truffles than icing. But the same principal applies as with buttercream icings: the fat-to-sugar ratio is such that bacterial growth is inhibited for a while. Compared to mousse, well, usually there is a LOT more cream in mousse (so, not enough sugar to stabilize), and also often enough, uncooked eggs (although I'd use pasteurized personally). So refrigeration is a must. That's the layman's answer, anyway .

Icing ganache (1:1 ratio) is supposed to be good at room temp for about 2 days, but can be refrigerated or even frozen.

It is hard to find a good guide for what can sit out and what cannot because nobody can take that legal liability risk, since there is no guarantee that you prepare an item within the exact specifications needed to render it safe to sit out. That's why it's such a popular question, and you will see it asked time and again. Heck I think I have even asked it from time to time!

Anyway with regard to fondant sweating/bleeding that also can be turned into a nonissue if you use Sa tin Ice or the Michele Foster's recipe. MMF definitely sweats and can certainly bleed if the colors are dark enough (ask me how I know this). Still, if you use MMF and your colors are light enough, you can refrigerate if you wait a good long time for the moisture to evaporate at room temp.

If it were me, I would refrigerate today just for the heck of it (that's one less day it's been sitting out) but I would not refrigerate after applying fondant.

thanks for your response. I guess your last sentence is where I am stumped the most. I always will apply fondant a day before not the day of a cake being due so what is the answer once the fondant is on with a parishable filling? Should I just not offer parishable fillings so I can do my cakes in advance without refridgeration? I jsut wonder what others do because lots of people offer mousse or cream cheese fillings that are covered in fondant and don't put their fondant cakes in the fridge.

I use satin ice and MMF although I am getting a little fed up with MMF because it's hard to color and get really smooth and pliable

I use ganache under my fondant (made with 2 parts chocolate to 1 part cream) and if the cream is brought up to boiling point when making the ganache it will keep out of the fridge for at least a week.

Is it the same rule for whipped ganache? I found a recipe that uses a 12 oz.bag of chocolate chips to 1 pint of cream (brought to a boil). I'm filling/icing the cake tonight, and adding fondant/gumpaste pieces either tonight or in the morning. The party is tomorrow afternoon/evening.

I think if people offer perishable fillings, they use Satin Ice (or another commercial brand) or Michele Foster's Fondant (that would be MFF not MMF). Also there are some mock mousse recipes, and also sleeved fillings that don't require refrigeration so that may come into play for the fillings that you think SHOULD be refrigerated but aren't..?

Toodles it doesn't matter if you whip it, it's still good, it's still ganache...however I don't know if the deal changes because you are using less chocolate. I always use 1:1 so that would be 16oz/16oz...I don't know how much you can reduce the chocolate (i.e. sugar) before it will affect the perishability of ganache.

As far as I know it is the boiling of the cream that makes it last (as the high temp kills off the bacteria) rather than the sugar content, but each time you work with the ganache (eg to whip it) you are increasing the risk of adding more bacteria. My suggestion would be to keep a little back next time you make a cake and see how long it lasts out of the fridge - you will know when it has gone off as the smell is very pungent! (in fact this is means that no one would dream of eating a cake if the ganache has turned so you are unlikely to actually make anyone ill)

Thanks! If I have some left, maybe I'll leave some out to see how it keeps. I'll probably fill/ice tonight. Keep in fridge, and then assemble in the morning, just to be safe.