Freezing and Defrosting Cakes

I am so lucky to have a tribe of loyal customers who won't go anywhere else for their cake, even if it means giving up 1/3 of their freezer to store their cake between collection and their event!  If this is planned in advance, usually I will chill and wrap your cake for you, and you just have to worry about the defrosting bit, but occasionally, the unexpected comes up (eg the party is cancelled due to the dreaded you-know-what), and you'll have to handle both ends.  So here are the essentials of how to freeze a cake without damaging it:

Freezing cakes

1. Chill it right down in the fridge 
2. Loosely cover the cake with cling film* (don't squish!) 
3. Freeze until solid 
4. Then you can cover the cake a bit more thoroughly: make sure there are no gaps or it will get condensation on it when defrosting.  Alternatively, if you're worried about damaging buttercream decorations by fiddling around with them, you can just add a second layer of wrapping around the box.
5. Put your boxed, wrapped cake in the freezer for up to 1 month.

* Protect any gold leaf with tissue paper or grease-proof paper first or you'll have some very expensive cling film when you're done

Freezing cupcakes

1. Put the whole box in the freezer - that's it!

The most important thing is to avoid the temptation to expose your cake or cupcakes until they are fridge temperature or above.  Toppers and fondant items may have to be added after defrosting and just before serving; I'll give you separate instructions for this if this applies. 

Defrosting cakes

1. Defrost in the fridge overnight still wrapped and in its box (the cling film will catch the condensation). Don't open the lid!
2. Once fridge temp you can remove the cling film.  
3. Bring to room temp (preferably in the box if it's humid, again to avoid condensation) to eat.

Defrosting cupcakes

1. Defrost at room temperature: don't open the lid!
2. If you do get any condensation on the inside of the lid, you can use a piece of kitchen roll to wipe this away once it is at room temperature to avoid it dripping onto your cupcakes.