Cake is everyone’s favourite treat, whether thatās on birthdays, special occasions or just because you fancy a tasty treat! It’s a common misconception that cake has to be baked fresh just before you need it if you really want to enjoy it at its best.
Can You Freeze Cake?
Yes, you can freeze cake for up to 2 months. Most types of cake can be frozen including plain sponge cake, carrot cake, fruit cake and chiffon cake.
Do Does Cake freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Cake? No
How To Freeze Cake
For a special occasion, the best way to freeze cake is to freeze the sponge after it has cooled, undecorated and in separate layers. Then it is ready for whenever you need it.
Then you can just grab it out of the freezer, defrost and then ice it ready for the special day.
Freezing a cake is fairly easy but you do need to make sure you keep it airtight or it will end up freezer burnt and a little stale or worse, soggy! Just follow these easy steps and you will soon have frozen cake ready to use.
These steps will work for any plan or flavoured sponge:
- Bake and Cool: Bake and let the cake cool completely.
- Wrap It: Next, you need to wrap it completely, making sure it’s airtight. The best way to do this is to double layer it with cling film. If you have more than one cake layer you need to wrap each layer separately. You’ll want to construct your cake after defrosting it.
- Wrap Again: Add another layer, but this time aluminium foil so that your cake is now wrapped in a triple layer. This will further protect it from both oxidation and other odours that may be lingering in your freezer.
- Label and Date: Add a label and the date. Donāt forget to label the type of cake so you know which one to pull out of the freezer when you need it.
- Freeze: Pop into the freezer and freeze it.
How to Freeze Cake with Icing
If you are really feeling the pressure with a looming special occasion you can freeze a cake already iced, although you will want to just do the base layers of icing and do the decoration fresh. This is to make sure you donāt ruin any fragile decor in the freezer.
Some even find that icing a cake before freezing helps to protect it from drying out.
- Freeze on a Tray: Once you have baked and iced your cake, pop it onto a baking sheet and put it flat into the top of a freezer or on a shelf where it will remain upright. Let it freeze until the icing is completely frozen and then take it back out of the freezer.
- Wrap: Wrap the cake in a double layer of cling film and then add another layer of tin foil.
- Freeze Again: Label the cake and pop it back into the freezer.
How to Freeze Different Types of Cake
As you well know, there are endless varieties of cake. We’ve covered a few of the common types of cake you’ll likely come across and how to then go about freezing them:
How to Freeze Fruit Cake
Fruit cake is one of the better types of cakes to freeze as this type of cake is less likely to dry out than sponges. You’ll often soak your dried fruit in water, juice or tea and this can really help the freezing process.
When you freeze a fruit cake is down to your personal preference. Some prefer to freeze it as soon as it is cooled whereas others like to allow the fruits in the cake to mature for a couple of weeks before freezing. Either option will work.
Freezing a fruit cake is as easy as any other type of cake so let’s dive in! Here’s a quick summary of how to freeze fruit cake:
- Double Wrap: Once you have baked and cooled your fruit cake, double wrap your cake in cling film.
- Wrap Again: Wrap the fruit cake again in tin foil to keep it extra protected.
- Freeze: Label and pop it into the freezer.
If you want to know more about freezing fruit cake then we’ve actually written a complete guide which covers freezing, thawing and best practices when it comes to fruit cake. Check out our freezing fruit cake guide.
How to Freeze Chiffon Cake
As with other types of cake, you can absolutely freeze chiffon cake. Although, you do need to take care as a chiffon cake is a lovely light cake but this can lead it to be a little more delicate than other sponges.
The freezing process will often ruin this unique light texture so it’s not the best cake to freeze.
However, as long as you are careful then you can freeze a cake using the methods outlined above.
How to Freeze Carrot Cake
Freezing carrot cake is easy. The good news is that the method outlined above for freezing cake works for pretty much any and every cake, regardless of the contents.
Try to follow the tips and tricks we have used above, including when it comes to thawing, to successfully freeze both carrot cake and other types of cake. You can actually freeze all vegetable cakes including courgette cake.
3 Tips for Freezing Cake
Now you know how to freeze it in many forms, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing cake to have the best results:
Wrap in Multiple Layers
You need to do all you can to keep the air out. By wrapping it in multiple layers of cling film followed by foil, you reduce the risk of air impacting your cake dramatically.
Consider Portions
The above methods assume you’re going to want to defrost an entire cake. If you don’t think you’ll consume a whole cake, consider freeze slices or wedges of cake instead. The method is the same. Wrap each wedge in cling film then foil. We would advise storing these in a bag.
Be Gentle
Cake will be very fragile so be gentle when handling it. The last thing you want to happen is for the cake to disintegrate before you get to eat it.
How Long Can You Freeze Cake?
Most types of cake can be kept safely in the freezer for about two months. For sponge cakes, you donāt want to keep them frozen too long or you do risk deterioration and potentially the cake drying out and tasting stale.
You can get away with freezing a fruit cake for a little longer than this and you can freeze it for up to twelve months. Perfect to freeze leftover Christmas or wedding cake for a tasty treat whenever you need it!
Generally, a freshly baked cake will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. If it has been filled with cream then you’ll need to reduce this to just 2 to 3 days.
How Do You Defrost Cake?
The best way to defrost a cake is slowly and to then let it come to room temperature slowly. Cake can have a delicate structure and you need to be careful that you donāt end up with a soggy mess or a dry cake that is inedible.
Take your cake out of the freezer a day before you need it and let it defrost in the fridge overnight.
Then the next day, take it out of the freezer and pop it onto the kitchen side so it can come up to room temperature slowly before decorating.
Can You Refreeze Cake?
No, you canāt refreeze cake once you have thawed it out. Every time you freeze and thaw foods the structure changes and it deteriorates.
Do this more than once and your cake could easily become a soggy mess – not to mention that it isnāt recommended to refreeze any food type.
Does Cake Freeze Well?
This is one of those questions where the answer is both yes and no at the same time!
On the whole, freezing cake is absolutely fine and your guests wonāt notice that it is a cake that has been frozen but there is no doubt about it the best type of cake is freshly baked and iced cake and freezing will take a little texture and taste away.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing cake or cake in general, then these may help:
Yes, in general, store-bought cakes can be frozen. The packaging might state it is not suitable for home freezing but this is likely to be a quality issue and not a safety issue.
