How to store a cake overnight (2024)

FAQs

How to store a cake overnight? ›

To store a buttercream cake overnight, use plastic wrap to cover all areas of your cake and store it at room temperature in a container. If your cake is frosted with cream cheese or ganache, make sure to cover it and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. Covering your cake prevents the air from making it dry.

Should You Refrigerate Cake? You should avoid refrigeration in most cases. Unless your cake features perishable materials that could spoil—like cream frosting, fresh fruit, ice cream, mascarpone, or whipped cream—it's actually better off at room temperature.

A better way to store cake is to cover it in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. This seals in moisture and prevents air from drying out the cake. Store cupcakes in an airtight container. Avoid storing cakes in the refrigerator, even if you have sealed them tightly, for longer than a few days.

Warning! Do NOT store cake in the refrigerator long-term unless it includes a topping or filling that needs to be refrigerated, e.g., whipped cream, custard, and their ilk. Your perfectly moist cake, no matter how well wrapped, will start to dry out after a day in the fridge.

Storing cake layers separately prepares you for assembling a future cake. To keep your cake layers fresh, wrap them in a layer of plastic wrap. Then add a layer of foil around each layer, which keeps the air from making them dry. Finally keep them in the fridge if using soon, if not store them in the freezer.

Yes always, because it will help to prevent excessive moisture loss which will dry the cake out, as well as the cake being fragile in its warm state which means you are at more of a risk of breaking it by removing it from the tin.

A cake that has been stored in the refrigerator for several hours should be able to sit out at room temperature for up to two hours before it needs to be served or put back in the refrigerator if the temperature of the room is approximately 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius).

Store cakes loosely covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. To loosely cover, place aluminum foil, plastic wrap or waxed paper over the cake without sealing the edges so air can circulate. Cool unfrosted cakes completely before covering and storing to keep the top from getting sticky.

Most cakes, including those made with buttercream frosting or ganache, don't need to be refrigerated — in fact, they'll actually become stale more quickly in the fridge, since the colder temperature causes the starch molecules to crystallize.

Instead, keep your cakes at room temperature. (Though if you're stacking layers, chill them briefly before assembling the final cake — it'll make things easier.) Stay away for one to three days: Flavors will deepen after one day, and only strengthen the longer you wait.

Why wrap cake in plastic wrap? ›

If you wrap the cake as soon as it is cool enough to touch, it will stay moist. As long as you keep your unfrosted cake parts from touching the air, they will stay moist. (Unless you over baked your cake, then that's a completely different problem.) Do I defrost the cake layers before decorating them?

In brief, refrigerating a cake causes this process to occur significantly faster than at room temperature. So, don't refrigerate your cakes. This is also true of breads and any other baked goods—they all go stale faster in the fridge.

If you do refrigerate, wrap unfrosted cakes in plastic to protect them from absorbing any weird fridge smells and to protect them from drying out, and then unwrap it to warm up on the counter before serving. For frosted cakes, chill the cake uncovered for 15 minutes to harden the icing, then wrap it in plastic wrap.

Unfrosted: Before refrigerating, wrap the cake or cake layers in plastic wrap to protect them from drying out or absorbing refrigerator smells. Frosted: Chill the cake uncovered for 15 minutes to harden the icing, then loosely wrap it in plastic wrap.

If you do refrigerate, wrap unfrosted cakes in plastic to protect them from absorbing any weird fridge smells and to protect them from drying out, and then unwrap it to warm up on the counter before serving. For frosted cakes, chill the cake uncovered for 15 minutes to harden the icing, then wrap it in plastic wrap.

Most cakes, including those made with buttercream frosting or ganache, don't need to be refrigerated — in fact, they'll actually become stale more quickly in the fridge, since the colder temperature causes the starch molecules to crystallize.

Kept in the fridge, cake with buttercream or ganache topping will last for 3-4 days. If the cake has custard, cream, cream cheese or fresh fruit it will last 1-2 days at most. If your cake has cream cheese frosting, then refrigerate for 1-2 days at most and then allow to come up to room temperature before serving.

If you prepare cake one day ahead of time, you can bake and cool it, then cover it tightly and keep at room temperature. Fresh frosting tastes best, so assemble and frost the day of serving. If storing a frosted cake, keep it covered in the refrigerator.