I now swear by working with cold cakes when levelling and torting. Prior to this I used to work with room temperature cakes and cakes would break because of how light and soft they were. I had my red velvet cakes thawing today and worked with them while still cold and it was so easy to pick up each layer and rest it on the cake layer below with a BC filling with no breakage! Talk about a confidence boost. Do you all work with cold cakes and find it easier as well? really happy right now.

Some cakes do well cold, others don't. I've heard torting a cold chocolate mudcake is an exercise in futility.

I don't even know what a mud cake is but I met a guy from NY who said mud cakes are amazing!

I totally agree - at least for the cakes I've made! (haven't tried the mud cake although it sounds wonderful) It makes life sooooo much easier when the cakes are still a bit frozen.

What is a mud cake? Do you cover it with fondant and do yal use it for wedding cakes?

I find it easier to work with cold cakd too.

Cold cakes, yes. love to work with them. I still use the same size board as the cake when i torte them. For me, i can handle the thinner layers better.

80% of my Wedding business is Mud Cakes...
Whether Dark Chocolate - White Chocolate or somewhere inbetween - flavour them with what ever you wish - cherry ripes - peppermint - coffeee - rum - morello cherries........etc etc etc

And yes - i always work with cold cakes.
As some have already stated - so much easier when handling - torting - filling and stacking. No crumbs - no mess.

Mud Cakes = a dense moist cake.
Very suitable for all weathers
Will stay dense and moist for at least 5 days.

99% of the time they are torted and filled with a ganache...again - flavoured to the customers wishes.

Most popular cake here in Australia.

Bluehue

My cake isn't just cold...it's frozen! And they're wonderful! I bake on a Tuesday for weekend cakes and take them out of the freezer to fill and frost. No waiting. No mess. Much easier to carve and torte as well.

carmijok, what do you use to torte your frozen layers. i too freeze, but let thaw(not all the way) You are saying you torte while they are frozen. I do use an agbay leveler. tia You can see i am still following you(first your cream cheese icing and now how you torte your frozen layers. lol!!! Been decorating 17 yrs, but still like to try other decorators methods. WE learn from each other.

this is how I roll, ha ha:
first after the cakes have been baked and completely cool I level them if necessary and then torte them, but here comes the real easy part (for later) I slip a piece of parchment paper between the torted layers and then freeze the cake for up to two weeks (I plan way ahead ha ha).
Second, when the cakes need to be filled they are so easy to pull apart because of the parchment paper.
Third, crumb coating a frozen cake is so easy to do, and then pop it back into the freezer for about an hour.
Forth, give cake it's final finish coat of buttercream and cover with fondant if that's what your plan is.
So, basically through the whole process you are working with a nice cold cake that doesn't fall apart and doesn't lose a lot of crumbs when frosting. I would never ever try to torte or frost a warm cake ever again!!!
Happy Baking

I see all these posts about filling and covering cold cakes. I tried it once with SMBC and ended up with so many bubbles under the BC as the cake came to room temperature on the counter. What could I have done differently to prevent the bubbles?

I have a problem if I try to ice a cold or frozen cake with condensation forming. How do you all get around the waterfall down the tiers?

I have iced cold cakes and have gotten big air bubbles under my buttercream. How do yall prevent that?

Hi, I have also started assembling my cakes while they are frozen. It is so much easier. I am also having the problem of my frosting getting air bubbles underneath the frosting and then the frosting falling off of my cakes.

Should I crumb coat the frozen cakes and then let them thaw before I finish them? Any ideas? Thanks, Maishelle

bumping for answers to the last 2 questions...

Remembering that i am in Australia and not 100% up on the different cakes and fillings others use..... so in saying that....

I never fill a frozen cake - cold yes, but never frozen.
As the cake thaws the added moisture from the *frozen* cake can contribute to how your filling and crumb coat either stays or decides to fall/slide off.

The added moisture needs to escape (so to speak) and by being locked in due to the filling and crumb coat i am thinking that this is why some are finding air bubbles in thier filling.

I would suggest (and its only my thoughts) that the cake be allowed to thaw before filling.

This is differrent to a cold cake.

Something that i do do is....

After my cake is baked - i tort it into its layers...
Then stacking it back up again with freezer bags in between each layer.
Freezer bags work a treat as they make seperating the layers so easy when need be.

When i take my frozen cake from the freezer DURING THE DAY, i unwrap the glad wrap - seperate the layers - and after about 15 minutes my layers are ready to fillled and then stacked again.

IF i take my frozen cake out of the freezer at night time before i go to bed, i just leave it as a whole cake on the bench..... then in the morning - upwrap and seperate the layers.

After filling my cake and stacking the layers back up again - i lay sheets of baking paper on top - then place my extrememly heavy bread board on top - so as to help with the settling process.

I leave my cake like this for at least 3 hours.

Then i do my outter layer/crumb coat - which is ganache.
After this process has been done, i again place baking paper on top and put the extremely heavy bread board back on top - I then leave my cake for at least 6 hours - mostly oivernight.

As ganache does not have to be refridgerated - i am safe in doing this.
I understand that many use perishable fillings - and that thier *weighted cake* would need to go into a fridg.

Please...this is how I do it - i am not saying this is how it must be done....just adding a suggestion to this thread....it may help some.
Bluehue

Thank you for helping me with this. I am going to try some of your ideas and from now on I will not frost frozen cakes. I am sure that is why all of a sudden I am having a problem with my frosting falling off of my cakes. Your explanation really helped.

Thanks Bluehue!

Oh you are both most welcome - i just find that these things work for me - so hopefully they wiil help and work for you too.

Bluehue