How to successfully freeze your leftover wedding cake
Freezing your wedding cake is a lovely way to save any remaining slices from your big day.
It means you can enjoy a fresh tasting piece on your first anniversary, bringing back all those sweet special memories! (See what I did there?)
Too good to waste
With the right approach, you can preserve both the flavour and texture, ensuring no delicious slice goes to waste.
So, follow these steps, and you’ll have a perfectly fresh piece of cake waiting to take you back to your wedding day whenever you fancy it.
The big question – Can wedding cake be frozen and still taste just as amazing as it did before?
Yes, yes, yes!
I am often met with surprise when I tell my couples that they can freeze their wedding cake. Cake freezes so well! Everyone needs to know this! Freezing and defrosting your wedding cake successfully really is possible!
The key to successful freezing, of your wedding cake, is timing. The sooner it is frozen, the better. Making sure its wrapped and stored correctly is also an important factor, not to be forgotten.
How soon should I freeze my wedding cake?
As soon as possible!
Quite often the venue, unless instructed otherwise, will cut half of each tier to put out for your wedding guests. These servings will then be replenished as and when they run out.
Any leftover cake will be boxed up for the bride and groom to take home.
Think ahead
So, with this in mind ask your venue, beforehand, if they can to loosely cover the exposed cut cake with some tin foil or cling film, to stop the air from getting to the naked sponge whilst it is sitting out.
Then, if possible get it in the freezer the next day!
If, of course, you find it still sitting on the side, in it’s box, a few days later, and it still tastes great, then all is not lost, just get it in the freezer as soon as you can.
How do I freeze my wedding cake?
Firstly, if any of the exposed sponge has become dry, slice this off. Then once you are left with pure delicious moist cake, you will be ready for the next steps.
Wanting to indulge in a slice here and there, through out the year? The best way to freeze your wedding cake is to slice it into appropriately sized single portions and wrap them in clingfilm.
Once wrapped, these can be placed in an air tight container and put straight into the freezer. This makes them easy to dip into whenever you fancy an indulgent treat.
How long will my individual frozen cake slices take to defrost?
Within a hour to 2 hours your cake slice will be at perfect temperature to fully enjoy. Just keep your slices wrapped in clingfilm until you are ready to eat them.
Once wrapped, these can be placed in an air tight container and put straight into the freezer. This makes them easy to dip into whenever you fancy an indulgent treat.
How long will my individual frozen cake slices take to defrost?
Within a hour to 2 hours your cake slice will be at perfect temperature to fully enjoy. Just keep your slices wrapped in clingfilm until you are ready to eat them.
Can I freeze a whole tier of wedding cake in one piece?
Most definitely!
Many couples like to request that the top tier be saved just for them. Saving this tier to enjoy with friends on your first year’s wedding anniversary definitely adds to the special occasion.
If you have purposely asked for your top tier (or any tier for that matter) to be saved for the purpose of eating at a later date, this can successfully be frozen as a whole tier.
Just ask your wedding cake maker to leave you an appropriately sized cake box at the venue. This way you can wrap the whole box (with your cake inside) in a double layer of clingfilm and place in your freezer. Job done!
How long will it take for my frozen wedding cake to defrost, if I have frozen it as a whole tier?
Depending on the size of your tier, it can take between 1 to 2 days to defrost fully. During this time, leave the wedding cake in the box, still covered in clingfilm, as this will protect the cake from any condensation which will occur during the defrost process.
Can all cake designs be successfully frozen?
Most can, but do be aware that handpainted decoration may run when the cake defrosts.
What if my cake maker has already previously frozen the cake during their cake making process?
Cake makers freezing their cakes, during their cake making process, is a very common practice. It allows for extra freshness and helps with time management. Even more importantly it adds moisture to the cake and gives it extra shelf life!
The freezing debate
Admittedly this is a proedure that divides the cake industry somewhat. Some bakers believe their cakes cannot be described as “fresh” if they have been frozen. However, this is not true.
The humble garden pea
If we take, for example, the humble garden pea, which would you say is the freshest? The garden pea that has been picked, packed, transported to the shop and put on the shelf within a day or two? Or the garden pea that was picked, frozen and then transported to the shop within a day or two?
Too soft to handle
With cake, it is very hard to decorate it when it is in it’s ‘just baked’ state, as it is very fragile and crumbles and/or breaks very easily. To combat this, many cake makers (who don’t freeze) will wrap their cooled cake and leave it until the following day before starting the filling and decorating process.
For those who freeze, their cake will be wrapped as soon as it is cooled and then placed in the freezer, in readiness to come out an hour before the filing and decorating procedure is started.
Either way, be assured, that if the cake has been frozen previously, this doesn’t mean that the cake can’t be refrozen.
Pretty much all foods can safely be refrozen. The reason it will be recommended not to, is because each time the product is refrozen, the taste and texture quality will deteriorate slightly.
Getting the freezing process right
However, if a cake has been frozen under the right conditions once, it will have no effect on it’s taste or texture when being frozen for a second time, as long as it is done correctly and while the cake is still fresh. Just follow the same instrutions as you are given for freezing a wedding cake for the first time.
As long as the right steps are taken, how fresh it is when it goes in the freezer will be how fresh it is when it comes out.
Does wedding cake taste good after 1 year?
If it has been frozen correctly, yes! Many of my couples purposely freeze a few slices to enjoy on their first wedding anniversary. I am always receiving flowing reports of how great it tasted…just like on the day of their wedding.
Wedding cake freezing and defrosting disclaimer
All advice above is given knowing my own personal cake recipes. Through years of freezing my recipe, I know my recipes can be frozen up to a year, very sucessfully.
Do always check with your personal wedding cake maker to see how long their recipe will successfully freeze for.
I am currently running tests to see just how far, beyond a year, freezing and defrosting my recepe will be successful. I will definitely come back and up date this blog post once I have my results.
Found this blog post useful? If so, you may like to read my “How to guarantee a great tasting wedding cake“
Cover image – AXL Photography
Third image – Shaun Peters Photography
Who is Sue Hurst – Wedding Cake Designer in Essex
Hey, I am Sue! I am a wedding cake maker in Essex, specialising in modern and bespoke wedding cakes in Essex, London, Suffolk, Kent, Surrey and beyond. After 12 years of cake making, my business has changed over the years, until I found my biggest passion – weddings.
I absolutely adore everything about designing and making wedding cakes. From getting to know my couples, right through to setting up their dream cake (quite often a design they would never have dreamt of before their journey with me).
Having the honour of being a part of such a special day in my couples’ lives, is something I never undervalue.
My blog posts about weddings cakes in the South and South East England are based on experience and aim to help you plan your dream wedding.
