Hi all,

First post and not sure how to search the forum on my phone, so forgive me if this has been asked before.

I'm pretty new to cake decorating, this is only cake number 3 or 4, but I'm a perfectionist! In previous cakes, I've had a slight buldge at the layers, nothing major, but enough to annoy me. 

I'm trying ganache under my fondant for the first time for this cake, but I want to fill the layers with  jam and buttercream. I've read about the dam method, so will try that too. But I was looking for opinons on the timings of it all. Here's what I've got:

Cake is needed Thursday (evening, but working all day)

Sugar paste decorations already made (minus a flag which was going to be slightly draped over the side of the cake but cracked massively when I tried to move it today, so I'm figuring I'll need to remake it once I'm ready to put it straight onto the cake?)

Was planning on baking cake, wrapping in cling film and refrigerating overnight.

Should I buttercream before refrigerating the cake (once cooled obviously) or should I wait til the next day? Should I refrigerate another day after filling, before ganaching (upside down method), or is it ok to ganache an hour or two later?

After ganaching, can I cover with fondant as soon as it's dry, or should I leave it at room temperature overnight (I live in Scotland, so there shouldn't be any humidity/heat issues)? Again, I work full time, so each 'overnight' step would need to have 24 hours or so between them. 

Thanks in advance!

Hi Cara27.  I use buttercream filling &/or fruit, etc and ganache coating on all my cakes now.  The ganache is just sturdier.  But I live in a humid climate and buttercream just seems too unstable for me.  I bake my cakes then wrap them up in cling film and refrigerate -usually overnight.  When I take them out to trim them level I fill with buttercream and stack the tiers.  They go back in the refrigerator but usually just long enough to get the other tiers leveled, filled and stacked.  As soon as that is complete I give them a smooth ganache coating.  Then it's back in the fridge -again, long enough to coat the other tiers usually.  But once they have a complete ganache coating, i do sometimes leave them in the fridge overnight. 

Over the years I've read different opinions over refrigerating ganache.  I can only tell you my own experience and I have no problems whatsoever doing it this way.  Once my cakes are ganache coated, I consider them sealed and don't cover them with cling wrap.  I do have a refrigerator that is dedicated to cake use only though.  If it's a fridge with mixed contents and several people in and out of it, I would definitely cover them with cling if leaving overnight.  After all the tiers are ganached I cover with fondant and put them back in the refrigerator.  I only work on chilled cake and keep them chilled right up to delivery/pick up.  Hope this helps!  Hopefully some others will share their methods too so you have a selection of advice.   

Hi, I also usually bake my cakes in advance and either refrigerate overnight in cling film or straight to the freezer until I need them. Working with chilled cakes is much easier as it allows them to set up and become firmer, making cutting them level, easier.