Cake – How to properly freeze cake

cakefreezing

I have a cake project coming up and have to bake a few different cakes. I'm not much of a baker and was anticipating having to bake all of these at roughly the same time. I was thinking that I could save some time on the day I need to actually prepare the cake by baking the cakes ahead of time and freezing them so I don't have to prepare the batter, bake, cool, and then decorate all in the same day.

First off, what are the adverse affects of freezing a cake?

How should one go about preparing a cake in order to freeze it and minimize any damage?

When I say cake I am talking about unfrosted cake layers.

Best Answer

Most cakes will freeze and keep fine if prepared properly - obviously they will not have the same "fresh baked" attributes that a freshly baked cake would bring to the party, but it should still taste nicely.

  1. Wait for the cake(s) to be completely cooled before preparing them to be frozen.
  2. Use one of the following methods/materials to wrap the room temperature cake before placing in the freezer:

    • greaseproof paper (wax paper, for example), wrapped thoroughly around the cake and taped shut
    • aluminum foil with plastic wrap/greaseproof paper underneath it, thoroughly secured
    • vacuum seal bag (caution: too much pressure may cause the cake to loose it's shape)
  3. To thaw: Unwrap the cake, place it on a wire rack in your kitchen and let it sit for about two hours (more/less time depending on size of the cake) at normal room temperature. It is important that you do not microwave or reheat a frozen cake in any way, or you will ruin it.

More details are available here: http://www.wikihow.com/Freeze-Cakes