How long will iced sponge cake stay nice for?

[Vatta]

hi, not a great baker but I can make sponge cake!

If I make it on a Monday afternoon and cover in icing, will it still be nice by the Wednesday evening or will it be dry or something? I've always eaten them as soon as they're ready but this is for an event.

Thanks in advance.

No it won't be nice....when you say icing do you mean ordinary icing sugar and water? I've eaten such a cake the day after it;s made but even then, it's past its' best.

Oh dear, that's not encouraging!

I did mean ordinary icing sugar and water - do you think it would last better with the fondant icing you can get in shops?

Or could I freeze then defrost it on the Wednesday? (clutching at straws here, it promised to make a cake but don't think I'll have time after the Monday)

i would freeze it. wrap it tightly and as its only a couple of days it will still taste virtually the same. Allow time to defrost then ice and fill on the day.

Ok that's great, thank you!

Sorry to disagree but it will be fine as long as its totally covered in fondant icing not just ordinary icing, i made a decorated cake on wed not to be eaten till sat night and it will be fine.

I made a cake on monday for Thursday and it was covered in butter cream and fondant and was completely fine. Depends what sort of icing it is.

Ah ok, great tips here, thanks!

I find sponge cakes made with generous proportions of butter and eggs keep moist if iced.

Replace some of the flour with ground almonds and I am sure your cake will be fine on Wednesday.

depends on the sponge and icing. Fatless or low fat don't keep well at all.

But generally normal sponges, i.e victoria or madeira last a long time if you mean to cover them in fondant which seals them, they dont need going in the fridge as this will make the fondant sweat, i've never covered a sponge in just water icing, again i have made a cake and covered it in buttercream roses which kept for days and was as fresh as the first day it was cut.

I'm with Nanny here, I home bake for a number of farm shops/cafes and my cakes even those cut are still soft and fresh on Thursday from a Monday delivery. If you store it right it will be absolutely fine.

I made a sponge cake on Sunday and covered with Nigella's all purpose chocolate icing and it was still fresh and delicious today.