Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi,

So up until now i have done my cakes in stages, i normally crumb coat it with buttercream and then leave it to rest for about 24 hours, then cover with sugarpaste and leave it for another 24 hours before decorating. I read this online quite a while ago and it’s just what i have always done. Does everyone else do this? If not what do you do?

Thanks
Paula

I use ganache for crumb coat which sets very quickly so no long resting period required. Butter cream needs to crust over very well before decorating and takes slightly longer. If you find 24 hours is the best resting time for your cake and you’re happy with the results go with it. I always let roll out icing dry for 24 hours for sponge cakes and 48 hours for fruit cakes before adding decorations.

I tend to use buttercream more, it is best to let it set tho I usually do mine the night before covering in the morning- roughly 12 hours. I find that this is fine and don’t have any problems with it.

I crumb coat with buttercream or ganache and then cover with sugarpaste right away. If I’m doing more than one cake then I will crumb coat them all and then ice them all so the first one might sit for a wee while but that’s it. And none of them go near the fridge! I then leave them overnight and decorate the next day. Works for me 🙂