About Freezing Cake

Decorating By leah_s Updated 3 Feb 2015 , 3:11am by Pastrybaglady

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leah_s Posted 31 Jan 2015 , 8:52pm
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I'm always a big advocate for freezing cake.  I think it improves the cake, and it helps the baker manage time.  That said, I've always had a proper cake freezer - meaning a NON self-defrosting freezer.

 

I recently threw some cake slices and cookies into my regular freezer that's attached to my fridge.  Cookies and cake slices from the same batch went into the cake freezer.  Well, there's a WORLD of difference.  

 

The cake freezer produces frozen (as in frozen solid) items that hold for months.  Like some of that stuff has been in there six months.  Defrosted it tastes as fresh as this morning.

 

The same items, stored in a freezer/fridge unit, not so much.  They taste "freezery", not freezer burn , but "off", not bad, not spoiled, but its a "this has been frozen" sort of taste.  

 

Self defrosting freezers, while convenient, achieve that feat by cycling their temperatures to just over freezing then back to freezing.  This lets the natural ice buildup defrost and run to the catchpan underneath the unit.  Unfortunately while the freezer is doing its freeze, defrost cycle, your food is doing the same thing.  It's not enough to compromise food safety (never gets above 40), but its enough to compromise food taste.

 

So, if you freeze baked goods, don't leave them in there long if you've got a self-defrosting freezer.  And if you bake in volume, have the room, and can work it into your budget, buy a NON self-defrosting freezer.  They're generally pretty cheap, because almost no one chooses them any more.

 

It was an interesting, and unintentional experiment.

8 replies
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-K8memphis Posted 31 Jan 2015 , 11:57pm
post #2 of 9

Aabout how long were they all in there?

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leah_s Posted 1 Feb 2015 , 4:28am
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ALemme think. . . Quite a while. . .from October.

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Pastrybaglady Posted 1 Feb 2015 , 8:22am
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My husband bought me a little freezer unit for Christmas and I love it!  It freezes so quickly compared to the one attached to my fridge. It also fits my sheet pans perfectly :)  I had not done a taste comparison but I'm happy to hear there is an actual difference and baked goods actually last longer - definite plus!  Thanks for sharing your observations Leah.

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MimiFix Posted 1 Feb 2015 , 7:07pm
post #5 of 9
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pastrybaglady 
 

My husband bought me a little freezer unit for Christmas and I love it!  It freezes so quickly compared to the one attached to my fridge. It also fits my sheet pans perfectly :)  I had not done a taste comparison but I'm happy to hear there is an actual difference and baked goods actually last longer - definite plus!  Thanks for sharing your observations Leah.

 

Pastrybaglady, where do you keep your freezer? Is it small enough to fit in your kitchen? I'm in total agreement with Leah. The manual defrost freezers are a pain to defrost but they are so worth it. I have always used the chest style freezer (as opposed to the upright freezers) because they lose less cold air when they are opened. In Home Baking for Profit I discuss large appliances (such as freezers and ovens) and smaller hand tools - and the benefits for home-based bakers.

 

Regardless of the size kitchen we have, it's very possible to produce quality baked goods. But utilizing a freezer is a huge boost to production.

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Pastrybaglady Posted 1 Feb 2015 , 10:27pm
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AMimi, the most expedient thing was to put it in the garage. My husband said when we would want to defrost it we could just unplug it, open the door and let the water flow down the driveway. Thought about a chest freezer but I like that it's upright - no danger of me falling in and the lid closing on me! I've got no orders right now so I'm working on reorganizing my work space. I would like it to be in the house but my husband's point about the defrosting is well taken.

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-K8memphis Posted 1 Feb 2015 , 10:33pm
post #7 of 9

you can just set a pan under there to catch the water too or a towel -- but you can let it defrost for a while and chip/slide off the rest of the frost and put it in pieces in the sink or on the driveway if it still needs to be watered ;) 

 

we just got a chest freezer -- love it

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MimiFix Posted 2 Feb 2015 , 1:27pm
post #8 of 9

My chest freezer only needs de-icing twice a year and takes less than five minutes. I unplug it, remove contents, and use a stiff plastic spatula to chip off the larger ice pieces. A small dust pan and broom easily removes anything that falls to the bottom.  

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Pastrybaglady Posted 3 Feb 2015 , 3:11am
post #9 of 9

Thanks K8 and Mimi for the tips!

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