How far in advance can I make and ice a wedding cake?

[evertonmint]

Making my brothers wedding cake.

Wedding is on a Saturday. I'm travelling on the Thursday and have no facility to ice cake there so it needs to be done by Weds night.

4 tiers of Madeira, filled with lemon curd (jar not fresh) and buttercream, crumb coated with buttercream, iced with fondant.

Half term means I have 5yo and 3yo around on the Mon/Tues which will make it impossible to do much.

Can I make them on the Saturday, ice on Sunday when DH is around to manage the kids. Will they keep for a week if they are iced and on boards so fully sealed then kept in cool place (pantry) in cake boxes?

Would then use the Weds to dowel, decorate and pack for the 5 hour journey. Would store in car boot, so nice and cool, once there until assembly on the Sat morning.

Yes, they will be fine. But make the sponge with butter or oil, (preferably butter) as cakes made with marge are more likely to go off.

Sounds fab, by the way. Lucky brother!

I always do butter in my cake and buttercream. Nothing but the best

Make sure car is parked where it will still be shady in the morning!

Yes, will need to find a big shady tree! Wedding is up north, so suspect dreary November weather should help, thankfully.

Glad you think it will be ok. I know this recipe lasts well, but it's only ever scraps that have lasted a week, never the whole thing!

I'm rather nervous - first time I've ever dowelled a cake or done more than 2 tiers. So need to give myself the extra child free time of that weekend to get them done without a rush or distractions.

A well-made cake, baked with good-quality ingredients, and stored properly, will keep for weeks. When I make a cake that will need to be carved into a shape, I generally make it at least 2 days before I plan to shape it, because the texture sets and the cake firms up. So by the the the cake arrives at the party it is generally 2-3 weeks old, yet still tastes fresh and moist.

Whoops! I meant 2w old. It keeps for at least another week, but once you cut it the buttercream goes off faster than the sponge.