A question for cake bakers …

[Odetoabeachandafern]

I’d appreciate your opinions please.

I like to make cakes for birthdays for family and friends and I have always thought that putting a sponge in the fridge makes them quite heavy, so I tend to make them all in one day. Or make the sponge element on one day and ice the next.

However, now I am older, I am thinking about how useful it would be to be able to take a little longer over each project.

On Instagram and indeed in rl, people seem to be freezing sponges or putting them in the fridge at each stage of prep. Indeed they are recommending this so that the cake is easier to work with, is more moist or easier to decorate and cut.

So what does everyone think? For me the cake is ruined if the central element of the sponge isn’t beautifully light. Does refrigerating and/or freezing a sponge make them heavy or not?

I only refrigerate them if I’m doing complicated icing as it really does make them easier to ice and I don’t think it has a detrimental affect on the sponge.

I make cakes for friends relatives birthdays, consider I'm pretty good. Normally a sponge,last year for dgs birthday, I decided one layer was enough. Mary Berry successfully freezes sponges. Wrap in cling film, then foil, then I put in a freezer ziplock bag. It came out absolutely fine. Normally I bake one day, wrap up in foil, I don't put them in the fridge, and ice the following day.

So far so good then, that’s what I was hoping to hear, thank you for the responses!

I wonder though, does it make a difference if it’s a génoise rather than a Victoria sponge?

I avoid putting them in the fridge as it tends to dry them out, but I happily freeze cakes once cooled completely to room temperature. I think I have frozen a genoise before. I didn't notice it suffering in texture, but the recipe is pretty forgiving anyway, as after defrosting it was cut into thin layers with lots of creme pat and cream.

You cam 100% freeze well wrapped sponges without any effect. I worked at a bakery where we did just thay for 100s of cakes every day woth no problem. Baked goods can even be frozen a 2nd time.

Have you considered making something other than a sponge for change? A mudcake for example? I always make a day ahead and store in the fridge with no issues of it drying out and no pressure to ice the same day.

Thanks for all of these tips everyone. I am going to try wrapping and freezing!

I don’t know what a mud cake consists of so will look it up thank you.

@Odetoabeachandafern I've always done the same as you - baked the cake fresh the morning before needed, and decorate later on in the day once cool, not putting the cake in the fridge (unless it's iced with cream cheese icing).

One thing I've noticed a lot of professional bakers do is douse sponges with a sugar syrup to keep them moist. I wonder if this also makes a difference to the texture after refrigerating? It's not something I've tried, as I'm always hesitant to add more sugar!

I also often intentionally make cakes that actually taste nicer once left for a day or two, like a carrot cake. Or I find oil-based cakes (rather than butter-based) hold up well to being refrigerated without drying out.

Cake freezes very well. I'm the only cake eater in the house and so I freeze in portions. I'm not keen on light sponges though, my preference is always for a heavier cake, I always add some ground almond if baking for myself.

As for icing, if you mean icing with buttercream I found a useful tip when making a Capybara cake last year. It's called a crumb layer and really useful on sculpted cakes. Start with a very thin layer of buttercream, then chill and it makes icing tso much easier.

Thank you so much ThePeewit
and ohwhattodo1

That’s really helpful information.

I don’t know what a mud cake consists of so will look it up thank you

Its a heavy, moist, fudgy cake, often served with a ganache on the top. You only need a thin slice. I generally make it with milk/dark chocolate, but have also had a caramel one and white chocolate one.
https://www.recipetineats.com/easy-chocolate-fudge-cake/
https://sweetnessandbite.com/rich-caramel-mud-cake/ (this recipe is gluten free but just to given you an idea. I don't normally make as many layers)

Thank you! That looks amazing! Will definitely give that a go!