Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A
Partially frozen cake
Hi everyone
help please
I have a cake to do for Thursday (Sunday today) and am going to do Pauls chocolate cake covered with ganache.
Monday I was going to make the cake and freeze it and also make ganache and leave in fridge overnight to set up.
Tuesday was going to take cake from freezer and cover with ganache and sugarpaste.
Wednesday add decoration in readiness for collection Thursday
I did this recently with another cake and though it tasted and looked delicious I could not cut the cake hours after it came out of the freezer. I then left it defrost totally before ganaching.
I would like advise on a few things please.
What is the shelf life of this cake as I believe it is to be used for a party on Friday. Will it last that long?
How long would you recommend I defrost it for or whether I should freeze at all?
Freezing cakes is all new and alien to me, I wondered when a cake is ganached and iced what happens to the moisture does it affect the cake in anyway, in my old simple mind I thought the moisture would get trapped and as it defrosts the water would make the cake soggy. I am sure someone can explain the science behind this to me.
So need some expert advise please of you lovely people
Thanks
.
Hi mrsboots
There’s no need to freeze your cake in the time line you intend from baking to decorating. Paul’s recipe has a shelf life of 5 days but it does last a lot longer especially if you either brush the layers with a little flavoured simple syrup or some alcohol of your choice. Both act as perservative. You can also add a teaspoon full of glycerine to the cake batter to extend the shelf life. Scroll down and see David Brice’s answer here:
I recently used the recipe as a 12″ bottom tier which I had frozen for 2 weeks. I let it defrost overnight and took two days to decorate at room temperature. The only time I placed it in the fridge was to harden the ganache to get the sharp edges. Shelf life of any defrosted cake is determind by how soon you froze the cake after baking. The clock starts to tick the minute you start defrosting. The moisture doesn’t make the cake soggy, it just helps to keep the cake moist. As mentioned above, adding alcohol and/or simple syrup will give you a few more days. It goes without saying, good preparation hygiene, handling and storing also contribute to good results.
If you intend to fill and ganache your cake the day after baking, wrap your cool cake in parchment,cling film and foil, place in a box and pop it in the fridge. The chilled cake will handle better while ganaching, follow Paul’s tutorials thereafter. Once the cake is iced place it in a cake box and store in a cool room away from any heat sources like radiators or sunny windows. Hope this helps.
Thank you MIWL
That is good to know, I have only used this recipe once before which turned out great but as I didn’t know the shelf life I wondered if I did not froze it, it would have lost its moisture by Friday.
I always add glycerine and a simple syrup to all my cakes anyway so it seems that I have no need to worry and so wont bother to freeze it.
thank you
I’ve baked this recipe lots of times, even without syrup or alcohol it get more moist a couple days later. As you already know, it makes a really good cake. Glad you’re sorted. G’d luck with cake.
