How to store cakes (2024)

FAQs

How to properly store a cake? ›

Using an air-tight container is the best and easiest way to keep your cake from getting exposed to air. However, if you don't have one of those, you can wrap your cake in cling film, or if it's iced, place a large inverted bowl over it to trap the air.

Proper storage can help to maintain the freshness and quality of baked goods, and can also help to prevent waste. Finished products should be stored at the appropriate temperature and humidity to prevent spoilage and maintain freshness.

When storing a cake overnight, you need to cover your cake fully to prevent any air and store it at the right temperature. To do this, you can easily wrap your cake in foil or plastic wrap, and place it in an airtight container. Make sure to keep your cake in the refrigerator overnight.

When left out at room temperature without any covering, a baked cake—even a frosted cake—dries out quickly. A better way to store cake is to cover it in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. This seals in moisture and prevents air from drying out the cake. Store cupcakes in an airtight container.

How do you keep cakes fresh? To keep cakes fresh, it's best to store them in airtight containers in a cool, dry place. If you don't have an airtight container or cake tin, use can also use an overturned bowl (although it won't keep the cake as fresh). To keep cakes fresh for more than 1 week, try freezing them.

For a bakery, a commercial refrigeration unit is non-negotiable. That's because if you're displaying a cake, it's likely already frosted. Without refrigeration, your frosting will melt and spoil, especially in a bakery with high customer traffic.

Overbeating can add too much additional air and/or large air bubbles which the cake can't support, causing it to collapse in the oven. Beat your butter and sugar gradually at medium to medium-high speed. Don't beat too aggressively; creaming can't be rushed, as the air needs to be incorporated gradually.

Warning! Do NOT store cake in the refrigerator long-term unless it includes a topping or filling that needs to be refrigerated, e.g., whipped cream, custard, and their ilk. Your perfectly moist cake, no matter how well wrapped, will start to dry out after a day in the fridge.

If you do refrigerate, wrap unfrosted cakes in plastic to protect them from absorbing any weird fridge smells and to protect them from drying out, and then unwrap it to warm up on the counter before serving. For frosted cakes, chill the cake uncovered for 15 minutes to harden the icing, then wrap it in plastic wrap.

What is proper storage? ›

Proper storage is the movement of supplies that includes correct labeling and packaging of supplies so that employees can easily identify the contents of containers or boxes. Supplies should be stacked at appropriate heights to prevent employees from having to bend or twist to reach them.

Room Temperature Storage: Most birthday cakes can last a few days at room temperature, roughly around 3 days before the moisture evaporates. Keep your cake in a cake tin or an airtight container for best results.

Rely on room temperature.

You can leave out your covered cake overnight without even wrapping it, and it should be fine in the morning. For any amount of time longer than that, make sure to wrap it in something.

In brief, refrigerating a cake causes this process to occur significantly faster than at room temperature. So, don't refrigerate your cakes. This is also true of breads and any other baked goods—they all go stale faster in the fridge.

Most cakes—the butter-based cakes, oil-based cakes, chiffon cakes, and sponge cakes of the world—keep well at room temperature for at least one to two days.

But, First: Do I Need to Refrigerate My Cake? Most of the time, the answer is no. Most cakes, frosted and unfrosted, cut and uncut, are perfectly fine at room temperature for several days.

Should You Refrigerate Cake? You should avoid refrigeration in most cases. Unless your cake features perishable materials that could spoil—like cream frosting, fresh fruit, ice cream, mascarpone, or whipped cream—it's actually better off at room temperature.