So it is now one week to the wedding - the final countdown. 

My cakes are made, filled with buttercream, crumb coated, wrapped in gladwrap and then into plastic freezer bags.

I still have to do the final frosting - lemon buttercream on the lemon ones and chocolate ganache on the chocolate ones.

I read on a couple of threads that the cakes should thaw slowly - in the fridge.

My questions are;

1. Given the one week countdown - when should I take the 3 layer cakes out of the freezer into the fridge for thawing.?

2. When should I take them out of the fridge?  -  keeping in mind I have to do the final frosting and I am the Mother of the Bride (I don’t want to be doing anything cake related next Saturday. 

3. If I do the final frosting on Friday - will there be any problem with the cakes sitting until dinner on Saturday? (I don’t want to trust the cooler on site and I don’t want the cakes to be cold). 

BTW - these are separate cakes from the actual wedding cake which is strofoam- except for the cutting layer. 

Hopefully that is all my questions, but more may come up or you may think about something I haven’t. 

Thank you all in advance for all your great advice - both past and future!

What size are the cakes? A 9 inch layer cake will need a full 24-27 hours to completely thaw in the fridge, if it’s fully iced and decorated. A crumb coated cake won’t need that long, and you don’t need to be so picky with it. A couple of hours at room temp for crumb coated cake is probably enough. It doesn’t need to be completely thawed to start icing and decorating it, and a crumb coated cake actually needs to be somewhat chilled before putting the final layer of buttercream on it.

If you can and you have the space, it’s best to leave the cakes refrigerated until the morning of the wedding. How many hours ahead of the wedding will you be leaving for the venue?  They need about 3-4 hours to come completely to room temp before serving. They can certainly stay out longer than that, as long as it’s not too warm in the area the cakes will be left at. So just plan accordingly. If you will be leaving for the venue 4 hours before the wedding, just pull them out right before leaving, but if you have to leave earlier, that should be fine too.

If you cannot store the decorated cakes in your fridge due to space, ice and decorate them late in the evening the day before, to ensure the best taste and freshness for the buttercream.

Hope this helps!

Roxanne

Thanks Roxanne - The cakes are actually 6” wide by 12” long - three layers high plus buttercream.  This will allow for ease of slicing into 3” x 1” slices (each guest gets one slice of each for dessert ) ( I have 10 chocolate and 10 lemon lavender in the freezer - it seemed like a really good idea way back when I suggested it - lol)

I guess my biggest concern was that they thaw and warm completely before cutting and serving.  I had a little test cake last week that seemed really dry and I was somewhat concerned, but the next day the leftovers were moist and soft. I think the test cake had just not warmed completely before I served it? 

So by your answer, I am assuming that I could do the final frosting & ganache on Friday ( I really don’t want to do it Sat as I have hair appt etc) 

I am assuming that if they are covered they will survive for 24 hours at room temp??

Yes, you can leave them out for 24 hours, just as long as you decorate them late in the evening on Friday. Make sure to keep them in a cool part of the house (and not the garage, please, the buttercream will pick up funky flavors and odors). Don’t wrap them in the plastic or foil as it will mar the buttercream. I take plastic tubs, at least 2 inches taller and wider than the cake, and use them to cover the cake with (lay the cake on the lid of the container and use the bottom of the container as the top—sort of like a cake carrying devise). Or you can go to a restaurant supply store, a cake decorating supply store, or The Container Store (if there’s one near you), and find the correct size cake boxes and immediately box them up for transport after decorating.

Hope this helps!

Roxanne

Thanks Roxanne - I was wondering about the plastic totes - I was not sure if they would give off some odor - nice to know that is an option. I am heading to the city (where the wedding is) today and planned on visiting a restaurant supply place to see if I could get actual cake containers.  I sure appreciate your advice!  Thanks