When is the earliest I cake bake a sponge cake for Sunday?

[McKayz]

I want to make a 'welcome home' cake for DH as he works away and has missed out on a few things while he has been away.

He should be home Saturday so I want to eat it on Sunday.

I am planning on covering it in sugarpaste.

Which day would be best for baking it?

Thanks

i wouldn't make it before Saturday, I think you can always tell that cake has been kept.

Why don't you make it and freeze it - sponges freeze well. Then you can defrost and cover in sugarpaste and this will be easier to do if the cake is frozen.

Ditto freezing. Sponge cakes freeze beautifully. What exactly is sugarpaste icing? Ready to roll fondant? Buttercream? Glace icing?

Sugarpaste is ready to roll fondant.

I'll have to make and freeze as I can't do it Saturday.

Why sugarpaste? Most people find it the least appetising cake covering. I find it too sickly sweet as well.

Because we all really like it.

I thought that is what most people use to cover cakes?

Not in my experience. It generally seems to be a sprinkling of icing sugar, a bit of glace icing or buttercream. Whenever I go to a fete or fair none of the cakes have fondant icing on. I find it is generally used by professional sugarcrafters to make fancy cakes for special events or on Christmas cake.

If you all like it then use it, but I have no experience of freezing findant icing because I never use it.

Fondant not findant!

I think it will be fine to make it on Friday. I made a chocolate sponge last thurs and it was still really nice and moist on Sunday. I used chocolate butter icing, and put chocolate buttons and smarties on the top. Keep in an airtight tin and it should be fine.

If you're covering in fondant you need a denser sponge like a madeira otherwise the weight of the fondant tends to crush lighter sponges.

McKayz, it depends how you want your sponge cake decorated? if you just want to use buttercream, then thats fine but i agree with BeeHive if you want to have a nicer finish and it will keep longer you need a firmer cake like madeira, besides if you want to use cut out letters for say, happy Birthday you will to use suarpaste/fondant. I have two sponges to make for this Sunday. i'm making the cake wed, to decorate poss thurs/fri ( depends on grandchild ha ha) One tip though if you do use fondant icing do not put the cake in the freezer/or tin, just a cardboard box.

I would make it the day before as it will stay nice and fresh

McKay, i made a cake on the thurs not be eaten untill the mon ( decorated in fondant and kept in a box) and everyone said it was lovely and moist, had to be made so far in advance as work and grandkids committments. Madeira cakes are the only ones to make in advance as they have a long shelf life.

Thanks everyone.

I'll make a Madeira cake on Thurs evening or Fri morning to decorate Friday night.

He's been away 2 months and missed his first child being born so I want to make him a nice fancy cake.

I would bake a sponge Friday or Saturday if baking a cake for someone else to give them the longest possible shelf life once they have it, and the freshest cake possible. I hate madeira cake, it's too dry and too dense to the bite, so use a different recipe, but have decorated 'normal' sponge and it copes just fine and looks fine.

If it is just for yourselves then it will be fine to bake Thurs evening/Friday morning.

MMM, i wouldnt say their dry and mine are certainly not dense, just made two 9inch cakes and they look lovely, i used 400grms butter, 400grams caster sugar, 300grms plain flour/95grams s/r flour, 8 eggs and two tbsp milk, cooked it for 1 hr 20 mins, not really a classic madeira as that normally contains some lemon zest, its the one i use all the time and adjust measurements to suit. The recipe is out of two different books and exactly the same.