How many times have you heard that?  A friend asks you for a cake with a day’s notice and when you explain to them that you can’t make an Empire state building out of cake for 100 people  in 24 hours, they proclaim “But, it’s just cake!”.  I’m also very familiar with “Can’t you just slip in one more?”

As much as I would like to take every order from every person that calls, I eventually have to draw the line.  And here’s the main reason why.  Are you ready?  It’s confession time.

I bake ahead of time.

That’s right, folks.  That cake that you pick up from me on a Friday afternoon or Saturday morning was not baked that morning.  That’s impossible you say?  It’s tastes so fresh, you proclaim?!  That’s because of the measures I take to assure the cake’s freshness.  I have to bake Tuesdays each week.  There.  I said it.  My name is Tiffany and I bake cakes in advance.  What you need to know also is that by doing this, I can do more with the cakes.  I bake them and cover them in foil like I taught in a previous post.  Then, I put them in my “cake fridge” at least over night.  That not only makes the cakes moist, but when they are cold they are easier to handle.  They also crumble less when carved.  I ice them the day after they are baked, which sort of seals in their moisture and freshness.  Even if I am not going to get to decorate it that day, I ice it.  This will keep the cake fresh for a long time.  I have had customers say they ate their cake for over a week and it never went bad.  Trust me, you can bake in advance!  You don’t have to get it all done in one day and eat it immediately!  Some grocery store cakes are baked weeks in advance and frozen.  That’s how they can take a last minute order.  They have cakes on hand.  Mine are never frozen.  They are all baked to order.

So, you don’t have to think they have to be from oven to table in one day.  If you take the correct measures, your cake will be fresh and delicious for a lot longer than you expect.  This will help lower your stress levels of thinking you have to dedicate an entire day to making a cake.

Happy baking, everyone!