I am always worried about when to do what with the cakes. I have small children and only have short windows to work on any cakes. Here are my questions...

How long will a cake keep, refridgerated before it dries out? Will crumbcoating it help to prevent it from drying?

If I have baked, stacked, crumb coated my cake, can I cover it with mmfondant and then freeze it? does mmf freeze well once on a cake?

Also, Can I freeze a cake with a cream cheese or other fancy filling?

Do you guys usually prepare your figures and fondant accents ahead of time, let them dry then assemble the cake at the last minute? Do they fade or crack?
Thanks for any help with this.

Hi Rookie...

I am going to try to answer some of your questions and I am sure there will be others that will help you out.

If you have small windows of opportunity...I would bake, cool, wrap and freeze.

The crumbcoat will help prevent from drying, but I have never filled and then froze a cake. I'm sure you can, but I don't know what would happen as you thaw. I don't believe you can cover a cake with fondnat and then freeze.

Regarding accents...Depending on what you are doing, I would do as far in advance as you can. I've never had anything fade.

Hope this will help, a little...wish I could be more help.

I would bake the cakes wrap with saran wrap a couple times and freeze them until you are ready to assemble.

If you want you can bake, cool, crumb coat and refrigerate over night and cover with fondant the next day....
If I am making a big cake for a Saturday I bake and crumb coat on Thursday and cover with fondant Friday and decorate. You will get your timing and way of doing things as you go. I can't imagine doing this with little ones myself. I am a Nanna, so its different for me.