Help! How Far In Advance Can One Decorate A Cake? (Long)
Decorating By carmijok Updated 14 Jun 2010 , 2:57pm by SweetStuff30
Here's my dilemma. I'm making a rather tall Uncle Sam hat cake for my friend's party on Saturday, July 3. As always I was planning on the final decorating the day of the party. Ok, now enters the situation. My brother and SIL have decided to come up Friday from Texas to visit on that weekend and go to the party with us on Saturday. I absolutely HAVE to have that cake pretty well done before they get here (I'm thinking Thursday) otherwise I will not have time to clean my kitchen, entertain them and get my cake done on time. I was going to try covering with fondant for the first time in my life, so that will be an issue for sure. My question is, can a buttercream iced, MMF covered cake be OK in the refrigerator for 2 days before the party? I figure I can still have time to add the stars and stripes to the hat on Saturday the day of the event so all the decor won't be sitting in the refrigerator as long. I know how buttercream reacts, but not fondant. And I really want to use fondant on this cake. Would it be better to use a commercial fondant or the MMF? I also hate not serving a cake sooner but I just don't see any other way out of it. Any thoughts or suggestions?
It should be fine, I would wrap it up so it stays pretty much airtight. Good Luck and have fun!
I think it's funny how we all do things differently.....I don't like to serve cake that is less than two days old....actually I like it best when it's 3-4 days old, all those flavors meld together.....mmmmm.....
I just did a cake covered in MMF. It was due on a Monday, I finished it Sunday evening, and it didn't wind up cut into until the Tuesday evening...so it sat unrefrigerated in a box for 2 days. I'm told it tasted fresh and delicious.
As long as your fillings are nonperishable and you're able to keep it in a box or box-like device of some sort, you should be just fine. 
I wish I could remember which book I just read this out of so I could reference it for you. But it said to never put a fondant covered cake in the refrigerator. If I find the book, I'll post it here. It might be Calkwalk by Margaret Braun. That is the book I have been reading over the past few days. I'll double check.
But then again I have no experience myself. But if you do a search here on CC, I have seen other discussions about fondant and refrigeration.
it's mixed reviews on whether or not to refridgerate fondant.
But if you don't have a filling that needs refridgerated, then I would just let it sit on the counter, you can put it in a box to keep it covered. I would NOT tightly wrap it though, otherwise that might cause issues with the wrapping on the fondant.
Once you have the buttercream and fondant on the cake, the cake is sealed, it's not going to go bad.
So you're saying the fondant won't be all sticky after being in the refrigerator for a day or two--as long as it's wrapped in a box? And does it make a difference if it is a homemade MMF or commercial fondant like Satin Ice or Fondarific? This will be my first time covering a cake and I'm freaking out a little.
I guess I don't have to use fondant, it's just that for the hat I want that smooth super white look.
Thanks for all your help by the way!
it's mixed reviews on whether or not to refridgerate fondant.
But if you don't have a filling that needs refridgerated, then I would just let it sit on the counter, you can put it in a box to keep it covered. I would NOT tightly wrap it though, otherwise that might cause issues with the wrapping on the fondant.
Once you have the buttercream and fondant on the cake, the cake is sealed, it's not going to go bad.
My filling will be strawberry buttercream. And my buttercream is all butter and cream cheese. Even though it's a good crusting recipe it does soften at room temp. I'm kind of concerned that at room temp for a day or two would cause an oozy kind of mess. But as I said, i don't usually cover cakes completely in fondant so I'm not familiar with its reactions. And isn't my butter cream the perishable kind? I mean I'd LOVE to have it sit out of the fridge (in a box of course) if I could. Just antsy.
Maybe you should read my post "melting bc" in the cake disasters forum....I just used a cream cheese bc and it was trying to slide down the cake, and bulged out the sides! It really was a nightmare for me 
(altho it was tasty!). I'd use a stable bc recipe (crusting) instead of the cream cheese bc personally, and leave it on the counter, protected~Good Luck!
And isn't my butter cream the perishable kind?
That depends, what kind of buttercream do you use?
It's pretty simple. Real butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar. It's a great crusting BC--I've never had problems with it. But I've never covered it with fondant before either.
I wish I could remember which book I just read this out of so I could reference it for you. But it said to never put a fondant covered cake in the refrigerator. If I find the book, I'll post it here. It might be Calkwalk by Margaret Braun. That is the book I have been reading over the past few days. I'll double check.
But then again I have no experience myself. But if you do a search here on CC, I have seen other discussions about fondant and refrigeration.
I heard this too so I did a trial in the freezer to see what parts of the cake thawed well. Cake, butter cream and fondant all came out great. I had it double wrapped in plastic and then a layer of foil in the freezer for about 4 days before thawing. Of course, this doesn't mean it will always work so I am still cautious about the moisture. hope that helps. (and it was MMF)
I wish I could remember which book I just read this out of so I could reference it for you. But it said to never put a fondant covered cake in the refrigerator. If I find the book, I'll post it here. It might be Calkwalk by Margaret Braun. That is the book I have been reading over the past few days. I'll double check.
But then again I have no experience myself. But if you do a search here on CC, I have seen other discussions about fondant and refrigeration.
I heard this too so I did a trial in the freezer to see what parts of the cake thawed well. Cake, butter cream and fondant all came out great. I had it double wrapped in plastic and then a layer of foil in the freezer for about 4 days before thawing. Of course, this doesn't mean it will always work so I am still cautious about the moisture. hope that helps. (and it was MMF)
Thanks all! I think I know what to do now in advance. Now I just have to worry about smoothing the fondant! But that's another worry down the road! 
I have been using MMF for 3 years and i bake up to 5-10 cakes a week. Each cake is ALWAYs put in the fridge after its iced and covered in MMF and i dont cover or wrap it on plastic or put it in a box. as long as the ppl take out the cake about 1 hr before they cut it, its totally fine and nice and soft and tastes wonderful. Ive never ever had an issue with it being in the fridge i would rather keep my cakes in the fridge then on the counter.
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