Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

I have just put my madeira cake in the oven ans my friend has said she doesnt need the cake till Saturday. I am going away on Saturday so I need to give it to her on Friday. I was planning to use buttercream before icing because she can’t eat chocolate. Will I need to scrap this cake and make another one on Thursday or can I put it in the fridge and then put the buttercream and icing on it on Wednesday or will this make the cake dry and non edible by Saturday? Ive gone into meltdown and cant think straight. Im probably stressed because im trying to get things ready for holiday. I need more cake making practice when I get back.

Any advice very much appreciated
Xx

When I bake Madeira cake I also tie 3 or 4 layers of folded newspaper around the outside of the tin which I find stops the outside of the cake from overcooking.x

Hi bobbieloo, don’t panic! If it were me, I’d stick it in the freezer (well wrapped) and then pull it out again the night before you want to start covering. I do all my baking in advance and then freeze my cakes, and I find that freezing in most cases actually improves the consistency, but it certainly doesn’t make it worse. I’ve also frozen cakes with both with the buttercream or ganache filling and crumb coat already on too – with no detriment to the cake. I would say that the most important things to do are to make sure your cake is well wrapped to avoid freezer burn, (mine all have the baking parchment still on them, and at least a couple of wraps of cling film), and also make sure they are at room temperature before applying your fondant covering, else the difference in temperature can cause air bubbles to form between the fondant and crumb coat. There really is no need to bake again. Madeira has a decent shelf life so if you pull it out the freezer on Wednesday evening, ready to cover and decorate on Thursday and handover on Friday, the cake should still be good for 3 or 4 days beyond that, and probably even longer. Hope that helps.x

Thank you so much. Your fab! Panic over. Ive just started to make the mr tumbles topper to go on top so at least I have a head start with that. This is only my 3rd cake ive made and decorated so ive a lot to learn which is why this site is cool. Ive practiced little toppers a few times but doing everything is rather scary.
Thanks again
Kelly.x

A Madeira is always better after a few days anyway and has a shelf life of up to two weeks! I would probably freeze it too but even at room temp well wrapped in cling film it will be perfectly fine. Just don’t keep it in the fridge. Cakes do not like fridges 🙂

Hi Kelly

Just to add a little more information for the different type cakes and their shelf life.
Sponge cakes like Victoria sponge have a decorated shelf life of approx 5 days before becoming stale.
Paul’s moist chocolate cake also has a recommended shelf life of 5 days although it does last slightly longer.
Madeira cake will last 2 weeks from the bake day, so you could take your time decorating for a week and still have a week in which to eat. Fruit cakes last months sometimes years!
Most cakes can be frozen undecorated for a couple of months without compromising their taste or texture.
Don’t get frightened, give yourself plenty of time to bake and decorate, post in Q & A for additional help or use the search facility for a similar question. The free/beginners tutorials http://www.cakeflix.com/free-online-cake-decorating-courses are excellent and will set you up for virtually all your decorating needs. You could also explore baking and decorating in youtube and in google.

Thanks miwl and everyone else. I was really pleased how the bake turned out. It had a nice flat golden top because I put a metal baking sheet over the tin as it baked. The sides were a little more cooked but nxt time I can reduce the cooking time slightly. X

Great it all turned out well for you. To prevent the sides over baking, don’t over grease your tins as this makes the sides crisp. Double lining the tin will help reduce over browning as will reducing the temperature slightly and baking for a little longer. x

I also line my tins on the outside when baking Madeira, by using newspaper folded to 3 or 4 sheets of thickness and tied around with string. I have found it to be a great help to prevent over browning/cooking. (I also do this on square cakes to protect the corners – works a treat!) x