I have been asked to make a "naked" cake for a friends wedding cake. Similar to this

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/224000/old-time-favorites-strawberry-shortcake?czone=cakes%2Fwedding-cakes%2Fcakes-by-flavor¢er=272453&gallery=230928&slide=140668

Super simple I'm sure, my only worry is that the cake will be dry due to the sides being exposed to the air. Is that possible? My cakes are always super moist and delish, but then again they are usually protected from the dry air with buttercream.

The wedding is only about an hour away on a Saturday, but my husband is one of the grooms men so we will likely go on Friday and stay in a hotel for rehearsal. Which means I would need to have the cake completed by Thursday evening. So Thursday evening -sat evening with no icing on the sides....think it will still be moist?

Could you wrap the sides really well with plastic wrap? That should definitely keep the air out. Maybe even slip a clean trash bag over each tier after the plastic wrap. (I'm assuming you'll travel with it unstacked, surely?)

Wow, that cake looks good! I really don't thing you would have an issue with the outer edges, and if it does get a little dry, the inner would be fine. No different than a crust.
I think I'm going to try that cake, thanks for sharing!

I once had to do a little girl's BD cake like that as mom insisted NO icing for her
What I did was put on a very thin coat of piping gel to seal the cake.

Could your give it a brush with some simple syrup? I love the idea of that cake. Very original.

I would covered the edges with a very thin layer of piping gel. This should avoid any drying.

I like the idea of sealing the edges with a gel. I would do it before assembly. It would make clean up easier if there was a drip.

I would also wrap in acetate up until the event. It is more rigid than plastic wrap and would do the job well. It is the same plastic you often see in display pastries and layered cakes on display.

Or, you could spray the outside with pan release. Seriously. Works great. Not too much, just a little bit. Don't bake the cake too far in advance and I wouldn't fill it more then a day in advance. It'll be fine.

thanks for all your input! Your great ideas make me feel a little more confident that it will all be well. Can't wait to make the cake for our dear friends. Oh also, the first cake on this link below is the design we decided to go with. With simply strawberries. Super excited.

http://www.bowtiesandbliss.com/2011/02/naked-wedding-cakes/

AMy dad has never especially cared for frosting, even before he became mildly type-2 diabetic. So every family sheet cake gets one or two naked ends, and his birthday cake is a pound cake (the BC mix) in a Bundt mold. There have never been any complaints about the naked ends on the sheet cakes, and I can vouch for the pound cakes being just fine.

For that matter, I'm not all that partial to huge amounts of frosting myself, which is why I've had so little interest in de-panning anything other than the aforementioned Bundt pound cake, or buying anything that could safely store and transport a de-panned 9x13. I suspect that my first layer cake will be one of those cakes you always see in cartoons, but never in real life, with a frosted top, and filling between the layers, but naked sides. Or more likely, if it's my planned "MacArthur Park" cake, it will have a green drizzle-glaze as a crumb-coat (". . . all the sweet green icing's flowing down! . . .")