How Do You Store Cakes?
It’s no surprise that home bakers and professional cake makers need to be knowledgeable when it comes to storing cake from chocolate cake to carrot cake or even cupcakes.
If you follow our handy tips then your favourite sweet treats, cakes and dessert are guaranteed to last that bit longer.
Cakes are mostly popular when it’s time for a family celebration, wedding or christening, cake is a yummy sugary floury dessert there are so many varieties and a massive range of ways to cook them. We automatically associate the word cake with baking although there’s ice cream cakes, frozen cakes and no bake cakes. While cakes vary in taste, ingredients and diversity, storing them correctly is fairly straightforward.
Should You Refrigerate Cake?
In most cases it’s recommended that you avoid refrigeration unless your cake includes ingredients that could go off or spoil ie: cream, fresh fruit, frosting, whipped cream or mascarpone. Most cakes are better stored at room temperature, refrigerated cake tends to become stripped of moisture resulting in loss of softness and taste. Should your cake contain fondant icing, peanut butter, and pecans it’s best to keep at room temperature.
You’re going to want to keep in mind the temperature of the room your cake will be stored in; kitchens often become quite humid. If your cake has become warm it’s a good idea to place it in the refrigerator for around 15/20 minutes before you wrap it and store it at room temperature, this helps set the frosting ensuring it stays in place throughout the wrapping process.
Top Tips For Storing Cake
CHECK THE RECIPE
So before we move onto the storing and wrapping stage it’s important that you check the ingredients of your cake to ensure you are using the best storage method. For example a fresh cream cake with a fruit filling would need to be kept in the refrigerator whereas a ganache covered chocolate cake would be perfectly fine stored at room temperature. The main thing to look at is if any ingredients are perishable this will help determine where your cake should be stored.
FROSTING
As long as your frosting doesn’t contain any perishable ingredients such as dairy or fruit your cake will be perfectly fine stored at room temperature.
FREEZE
If you want to keep your cake but don’t plan on eating it all or it’s not going to be eaten in a decent time frame it’s always the best idea to freeze it this way your cake could last for as long as three months.
IMPROVISE
Not everyone has a cake stand on hand and that’s not perfect. you don’t need one, you can always place your cake on a baking sheet or plate and wrap it in tin foil / allium foil doing so will help keep your cake fresh for up to 7 days.
PROTECT THE FROSTING
Before wrapping your cake, place it in the refrigerator for at least 15/20 minutes to help the frosting set/harden. You may want to insert some cocktail sticks or toothpicks on the top and side of the cake so the wrapping doesn’t make contact with the cake.
ROOM TEMPERATURE
Your cake can be left out overnight and you won’t need to wrap it, it should be completely fine until the next morning. Do not leave it any longer than recommended, it’s always a good idea to rely on room temperature for maximum shelf life.
WRAP YOUR CAKE
It’s best to wrap your cake in aluminium foil or plastic wrap.
