Rowena asks: I’m a cake decorator more than a baker – but because I’m also a cook – I can get particular about the taste and the texture of my baked goods. I have collected some pretty good recipes for cakes and cupcakes – taste wise but am challenged with the texture. When I have to make large batches of cupcakes (or deal with big quantities of orders), I would bake the cupcakes about 2 days ahead and frost them the day before I deliver them. The problem with this is by the time I deliver them, the cake texture becomes dry. Without freezing the cakes (because by this time,my freezer would already be full of cakes), how do I keep the cakes moist for 2 days or until I deliver them?
Baking S.O.S. says:The short answer to your question is: buy a bigger freezer!I have always said that a pastry chef’s most valuable tool is a freezer because freezing baked goods will preserve the freshness much better than allowing baked goods to sit out at room temperature for a few days.As you have experienced, cakes tend to dry out after they sit at room temperature for a couple of days. There is no way to prevent that from happening EXCEPT by freezing the cakes until you are ready to decorate and serve them. Freezing will preserve the cakes at the state of freshness they are when you put them in the freezer, so if you freeze them as soon as they are baked and completely cooled, then they will be much fresher than if they sit out for 2 days.Furthermore, I understand completely that it is not possible or realistic to make every cake right before an order is due. Every professional baker/bakery must make things in stages or in advance before finishing for final service/delivery.
So the only viable solution is to get more freezer storage space. Best of luck!
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