Hi, I’m getting ready to schlepp the tiers of my brother’s wedding cake 200 miles for his wedding.  Each tier is frozen separate, filled and frosted with mousseline buttercream.  How long ought I plan to defrost the cake at room temperature?  We’ve constructed boxes lined with 2” thick styrofoam insulation.

What’s your best guess and how can I gauge the progress?

I know it took this 9 layer cake more than 6 hours…

My nope, of course(!) is that the tiers will defrost slowly and unstressedly in their insulated cocoons and be perfect for serving c. 24 hous after leaving the freezer.  What are my chances?

Hi, Katey!

I think your plan seems reasonable.  I’m always freezing cakes, putting in the fridge overnight, then bringing to room temp, and I find that a two-layer cake made with 9x2” pan takes around 6 hours to be truly perfect room temp. Thus, I think going from the freezer to your coolers and spending 24 hours in there should work, since they are not continuously having cold thrown at them within the coolers.  I might check on them 6-8 hours ahead to see if they’re refrigerator-cold or if they’ve passed that mark, but otherwise, I’d say you’ve got a good plan, but I would assume you’ll be unpacking them about that long ahead of time to assemble anyway.  You can also take the lids off them 10 or so hours ahead—or whenever you get there and settled in—to see what stage they’re at.

Good luck!  Looking forward to seeing photos of your wonderful wedding cake! Congrats to your brother and his bride!!!!!

—ak

Sounds reaonable, but not sure how you’d know for sure.  The only thought that comes to mind is to test the softness of the largest tier by poking a toothpick in the center to see how firm (cold) it is.  Any little hole from the toothpick would be covered by the tier above it.  You’d probably want to start checking at least 6-8 hrs before serving time, in case you need to remove the cakes from their containers to come to room temp more quickly.  Since the mousseline can last several days at room temp, I’d err on the side of the cake being fully defrosted ahead of time rather than being too cold.  You might consider having plain (uninsulated) boxes on hand in case they’re too cold.

Good luck!

For my cousins wedding I found that even a slightly cool cake will warm up quickly once its cut.  The mouselline on my cake was still firm, but softened quickly once cut (in a warm kitchen).  However, you don’t want condensation on display.  Also, your larger tier will stay cold longer, so account for this too.  It is a tough thing to figure out as there are so many variables to consider.

ETA:  LOL I just realized this was posted in June.  My reply is unnecessesary but may help another person in the same dillema! 

You could always bring a probe thermometer with you… Everyone is right, there are too many variables to come up with a good answer.  I think your approach is good, though I would check it with a probe a few hours before you’re going to put the cake together.  That way, you can unpack the cake and have a couple of hours to work with if the cake needs to thaw more.

What temperature would you look for on a thermometer?

I’d look between 70-75 degrees.  Room temp is usually between 72-75, but the cake would probably be okay to cut at 65.