I’m a big advocate of cake making as a means to reduce stress and have fun. That said, I know how incredibly stressful cake can be when you’re running short on time and/or things just aren’t going the way you wanted – especially if said cake is an order. I can remember many stressful nights (and even a few panic attacks) from my years of running a cake business from home and most of them stemmed from not giving myself enough time to enjoy the process. Can you relate? In hopes of sparing you some of that added stress, I’ve put together my best tips for making a timeline and working ahead. This way, maybe you won’t find yourself up at 2am agonizing over an unfinished cake!
First, let’s talk about some make ahead tips for baking cake layers, making frosting, and storing it all so it’s ready to go when you’re ready to decorate. There are a few different methods and preferences on the subject that vary from baker to baker, and the purpose of this post is to talk about my own preferred methods. I’ve gathered them all in the video below, so give it a watch before reading on to commit these make ahead tips to memory.
And side note: if you’re wanting to learn more Cake Basics, be sure to check out my YouTube channel and hit the Subscribe button so you never miss a new one. In addition to the basics, you’ll also find my favorite recipes and cake decorating tutorials to broaden your skill set!
Storing Unfrosted Cake Layers
When you’re building a cake, it’s ultra important that your cake layers are room temperature and not even a little bit warm (trust me, your frosting will melt). Because of this, you’ve got to give your cakes a few hours to cool after they come out of the oven. This means padding in those extra hours of cooling time into your overall timeline, which can end up taking a lot of your day if you’re doing all of it the day of. Instead, there are a few options for baking your cake layers and storing them properly so they’re ready to go on decorating day:
Storing at Room Temperature
If you’re baking your cakes a day or two ahead of decorating day, you can store them at room temperature as long as they’re wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
Just be sure to wait until they’re completely cooled before wrapping them in plastic wrap, as the steam from a hot cake layer can create excess condensation in the storage process. Nobody wants a soggy cake!
Freezing Cake Layers
If you’re baking your cakes more than two days ahead of time, I recommend freezing your cake layers. Again, it’s important that you let the cakes cool completely before wrapping them up. As long as you wrap them properly, they will keep for up to two months in the freezer and once thawed will taste just as fresh as the day you baked them! Talk about a cake hack.
To ensure they stay extra fresh, I like to wrap the cake layers in one layer of plastic wrap, then one layer of aluminum foil, then place them into a ziploc bag (or other airtight container that can go in the freezer). When you’re ready to use them, simply take the cake layers out of the freezer the day before decorating to thaw them.
Remove them from the ziploc bag, but keep them in their aluminum foil/plastic wrap covering. This way, any excess condensation will escape and gather on top of the foil, which acts as a barrier to keep the cake beneath it from getting soggy. Then, on decorating day, remove all the wrapping and you’ll have your cake layers thawed and ready to go!
Making Buttercream Ahead
To make your buttercream frosting ahead of time, simply place it in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks before decorating day.
When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature by placing it on the counter for an hour or two. Once it reaches room temperature, add it back into your stand mixer and mix it on low speed for about a minute.
This will bring it back to frosting consistency and you’ll be ready to roll!
Storing Crumb Coated Cakes
After you’ve filled and frosted your cake with a crumb coat, it’s safe to store it in the refrigerator overnight without the risk of drying out the cake. The thin layer of buttercream acts as a barrier to preserve the cake underneath and help it maintain its moisture.
I always like to add my final layer of frosting to a chilled crumb coated cake anyways, because having a nice firm structure underneath the final layer is one of the secrets to creating a smooth buttercream finish. Even if you don’t plan on storing your crumb coated cake in the fridge overnight, I highly recommend letting it firm up in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before you add your final layer of frosting. Here’s everything you need to know about how and why I crumb coat my cakes.
Storing Decorated Cakes (Uncut)
Once the final layer of frosting has been added and you’ve decorated your cake, the safest place to preserve it is in the refrigerator, uncovered (in my opinion). This way, the details of your decorating will be preserved while keeping the cake beneath all that frosting nice and moist. I like to decorate my cakes and store them in the refrigerator overnight before serving them.
Although I don’t have much experience with fondant covered cakes, I store my buttercream frosted cakes with ganache drips, buttercream piping, sprinkles, and even fondant/gumpaste accents in the refrigerator overnight, until about an hour or two before serving the cake. If I’m driving the cake somewhere, I keep it in the fridge until the minute I walk out the door. This is because cakes that are chilled are much easier to handle and transport while keeping the details intact.
Cakes With Fresh Flowers
If you’re topping a cake with fresh flowers, I recommend keeping those flowers in a vase of water until the morning of the cake due date. Then, prepare the flowers according to these instructions to ensure they stay fresh once you top the cake with them.
Since fresh flowers tend to wilt over time (some quicker than others), adding these final touches the day of is your best bet.
Cakes With Fresh Berries
Berries (and fruits in general) are full of liquid, so if you are adding these to your cake, it’s best to add them last minute if possible. This will often require that you save some of the final buttercream piping until the due date of the cake as well, since those berries will need something to adhere to (and firm buttercream doesn’t make the best glue).
To work ahead, you can always frost the final layer of the buttercream, add any ganache drips, and store the cake overnight in the refrigerator. Then finish the rest of the decorating the day the cake is due to keep those berries looking fresh.
Cakes Topped With Cotton Candy
Cotton candy makes a pretty whimsical cake topper, but it’s a fleeting one. Since cotton candy only lasts about an hour before beginning to disintegrate, I wait until the cake is going on display to add the cotton candy – aka the very last minute. This way you get an hour for people to ooh and ahh before you cut the cake and no one has to know the cotton candy was about to fall apart.
Creating a Cake Timeline
To best prepare yourself, especially if you’re just getting started on your cake journey, it’s a really good idea to establish a cake timeline for yourself. This just helps you plan ahead so you’re not scrambling to get your materials together last minute. Here’s a sample timeline that I have gone by when making cakes with due dates:
Notice that frosting and decorating the cake is split between day 3 and 4. This is just to give you extra padding in case you don’t want to do all the final decorating the day before. Your timeline will depend on what your final design will be, so be sure to take some time to think about things and plan out your schedule before you get in over your head.
Once you get the hang of how long things take, you can certainly squeeze this timeline even tighter and do more work closer to the due date. You can also freeze cake layers and store buttercream weeks in advance so you can eliminate more work for yourself the week of. It’s all up to you! But hopefully these make ahead tips and sample timeline give you the tools you need to set yourself up for success. Happy cake making!
Hi there! Love this!! At what point in the process would you add in a soak with a simple syrup?
Hi Ashley! I would add the soak whenever you’re ready to assemble the cake, right after leveling the cake layers. Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney.
Some amazing tips thank you.
What’s your opinion on baking layers Tuesday chilling overnight, fully decorating Wednesday and then storing in the fridge for a Saturday morning party… would it still taste fresh? Would you store in or out of box?
Filling and frosting is a butter/shortening mix (pretty stable and can be ratio’ed to be more butter if needed for stability).
Humidity will be the killer, I’m telling my friend to collect on the way to the party and store in fridge until 45mins before serving if a humid day, is that too long?
Hi Keri! It definitely depends on the cake recipe, some cakes are more moist and flavorful a day or two after baking, and some will only get drier as the days go by. If you’re working with a super moist cake (like a carrot cake, spice cake, my one bowl chocolate cake, etc) the timeline should be fine. Without knowing what recipe you’re using, I’d say ideally you would want to bake the cake on Weds or Thursday (or freeze the layers ahead and thaw them on Thursday) and decorate Thursday or Friday. But if your schedule won’t allow that just do the best you can and don’t worry about it. As far as humidity goes, tell your friend to take the cake out of the refrigerator about an hour or two before serving and you should be good to go with that heat stable buttercream recipe you have. The cake will taste better at room temperature vs. cold. Hope all of that helps!
Such practical and stress-relieving tips! Your advice on baking layers early, freezing them for months, and prepping buttercream up to two weeks ahead is truly game-changing. With this timeline approach, cake decorating becomes peaceful rather than frantic. Thanks for sharing strategies that let creativity shine without the midnight panic
So happy you found this helpful, Ananya!
I finally found the best creator.Thank you so much for your way of elaborating the tiny details that I needed.
More wishes,
Nithu Gajen
Thanks for the kind words, Nithu! I’m happy these details are helpful!
Thank you for the brilliant advice, I’ve used this page multiple times over the past few years. I’m wondering about making buttercream icing and storing it in the fridge for a week ahead of time. Can I do this with your buttercream made with the fresh strawberries?
Many thanks,
Lisa
Hi Lisa! I’m so happy you’ve found this page helpful over the years! Yes, you can make the fresh strawberry buttercream ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator one week ahead. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and remix it with your stand mixer on low speed until it’s smooth and uniform.
Hi there ! thank you for this. I am making a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream filling and i want to cover it with pink icing, how do i prevent the chocolate butter cream from mixing with the pink icing ? i heard that i have to fill the cake then chill it for 6 hrs, then crumb coat ? is this true ? if so, will my cake not go dry after chilling it for so long ?
Hi Archjana! You don’t need to chill the cake for that long. Just fill the cake with chocolate buttercream, then crumb coat the cake with either more chocolate buttercream or with the pink buttercream you’ll be using to frost the cake. Then, refrigerate the cake for about 20 minutes to let the crumb coat firm up before you frost the cake with the pink buttercream. The crumb coat will be firm, so it won’t mix with the pink frosting. Hope that helps!
Hi!
I have a cake due in July filled with fresh strawberries. They wont be cutting the cake until Saturday evening. Will it stay fresh enough if I assemble it Friday night? It is a two tier cake. Any other tips for two tiers with fresh fruit filling? It will be traveling about 45 min away.
Thank you!
Hi Kellie! I think that timeline will work just fine. A couple tips for you: 1) add a buttercream dam to hold that fruit filling inside the cake layers. I also recommend adding a super thin layer of frosting before adding the fresh berries so they won’t leak too much juice into the cake layers. 2) be sure to transport the cake when it’s cold. I recommend this for all of my cakes, but especially with a softer filling you’ll want the cake to be firm and stable for the car ride. Keep it in the refrigerator until right before you leave. Here are some more tips on transporting a cake: https://sugarandsparrow.com/how-to-transport-cakes/ hope that helps!
This timeline is priceless, thank you! I would have never thought of it this way. I always try to do it all at the same time and wonder why it goes wrong. Thanks!
Thank you for this helpful guide Whitney! Do you ever get condensation on your cake after moving the cake from the fridge to the kitchen counter before serving? Any tips with that? Thank you!
Hi Holly! I don’t have a lot of trouble with condensation here in the pacific northwest. The climate is really mild here and usually condensation happens when the cake goes from an environment that is really cold to an environment that is a lot warmer too quickly. The only thing you can do is minimize the difference in temp between the refrigerator and the kitchen, or soak up the condensation by gently blotting the cake with a paper towel.
I love your guide and tutorial!! Before, I have taken my frozen cake layers out and defrosted only slightly before crumb coating. Is there any hazard in crumb coating a slightly or even completely frozen layer? I love your time line! I’ve done similar but I love the idea of finishing the cake the day before and refrigerating it! I’ve always pressed myself to decorate the day of the event. (I only bake for grandkids birthdays, but with 5 of them, they keep me busy!) I have another one on Sunday afternoon. I baked the cakes Monday night and froze them. I also need to make mini cupcakes and I think I’ll do that on Saturday. If I need to defrost before crumb coating, how long should that take? Thank you in advance!!
Hi Emily! I have baker friends who swear by filling, stacking, and crumb coating completely frozen layers. It’s not the process I’m used to doing, but it definitely can be done!
Whitney, I had a customer bail at the last minute on her order. I had already baked and crumble coated the cake before she finally replied to phone call and message. I put the cake in the freezer wrapped in 2 layers of plastic. I honestly don’t think she will follow through and finish paying for it. So! Another customer has placed a order for the same size cake for the end of next month. Would this cake last till then so i am not completely at a loss?? Or do I just throw it out??
Hi Carla! The filled and crumb coated cake will technically last in the freezer for up to two months, so as long as it’s wrapped properly you should be good!
Hi, I plan to make a chocolate cake for my niece and decorate it with some of her favorite chocolate candies. Would it be okay to fully decorate and store in the fridge or should I leave off the chocolate candies until the day of? Party is on Saturday but I will be leaving Friday so will have to decorate Thursday evening/Friday morning.
Hi Tasha! You should be totally fine to decorate with the chocolate candies and store the decorated cake in the refrigerator. This cake sounds delicious!
Hi Whitney, thanks so much for the tips. I’m planning to make a chocolate cake with a layer of ganache between and also outside, before added a layer of swiss buttercream on the outside, with additional piping and frosting for the day after. Do you think this will hold? I cant see anything online about ganache and swiss on top of it, but im not sure if it will stick or even taste nice with the chocolate cake base …. Given your comments, I should bake all the layers, let them cool, and crumb coat it the day before and the frost it on the day? Or is swiss okay to be refridgerated overnight, if i manage to do everything (bake, crumbcoat, frost) in one day, the day before?
Hi Thuy! You can certainly store a decorated cake with swiss meringue buttercream in the refrigerator overnight. You can move your timeline back a little bit so you’re not decorating the day of (unless you want to!). For example, bake the cake layers 2 days ahead, store wrapped in plastic at room temp overnight or fill/stack and crumb coat once the layers are cool. Frost and decorate the day before and store in the refrigerator overnight. Hope that helps!
Odd question maybe, but is there any concern about a completed cake picking up a ‘fridge flavor’ if you keep it overnight? I’d love to finish my cake the day before I need it, but I’d hate to put so much work into just for it to have that weird fridge taste.
Hi Ashley! In my experience, my cakes never have a refrigerator flavor after 1-2 days of storing in the refrigerator. Make sure you keep strong foods in an airtight container and you can also put the cake in a box to shield it from odors/flavors as well. Hope that helps!
To thaw a frozen cake is at room temperature over the counter top or in the refrigerator after removing the frozen cake from the ziploc bag…Thank you love all your tips,
Hi there! I remove the cakes from the freezer and place them at room temperature on the counter to thaw completely. I like to keep them wrapped in aluminum foil to collect the condensation on the outside of the wrapping. The video embedded in this blog post shows exactly how I do it!