Most cakes are not ruined in the oven. They are ruined in the twelve hours between finishing and serving, usually by being stored in the wrong place or carried on somebody’s lap.
Sponges you have not decorated yet
Let them cool completely first. A warm sponge wrapped in cling film steams itself and goes sticky. Once cold, wrap each layer tightly and keep it at cool room temperature for a day or two, or freeze it, still wrapped, if you have baked ahead. Frozen sponge is easier to level and to fill than fresh, so baking a day early is a real advantage rather than a compromise.
A finished buttercream cake
An airtight box at cool room temperature is usually better than the fridge. A fridge dries a cake out and it will pick up the smell of whatever else is in there. If the room is warm, which in a Cape Town summer it usually is, chill the cake instead, then take it out an hour or so before serving so the buttercream and the sponge come back to a soft, edible temperature. A cake served straight from the fridge tastes dense and dry, and that is the temperature, not your recipe.
Fondant does not belong in the fridge
Fondant and condensation do not get along. A fondant-covered cake taken out of a cold fridge into a warm room sweats, goes sticky, and the colours can bleed into each other. Keep it covered in a cool, dry place instead, out of direct sun.
When the fridge is the right answer
Anything with fresh cream, cream cheese frosting, custard or fresh fruit on it belongs in the fridge, and goes back into the fridge as soon as it has been served. Follow the guidance for whatever you filled it with rather than for the cake as a whole. If you are not sure, refrigerate it.
Boxing it
Put the cake on a board stiff enough not to bend when you lift it, and use a box the same size as the board rather than a bigger one. A cake with room to slide will slide. If the box is a little large, a non-slip mat or a folded cloth in the bottom stops the board moving.
Close the box before the cake goes into the car, not once it is already in there.
Getting it there
- Flat floor, never a seat and never a lap. A seat is sloped and a lap moves.
- Air conditioning on and pointed away from the box, especially in summer.
- Brake and turn earlier than you normally would. Most damage happens at one sharp stop.
- Take a small tub of the same buttercream, an offset spatula and a few spare decorations. A five minute repair on arrival is normal, even for us.
Boards, boxes, non-slip mats and the rest of it are in the shop: shop baking supplies.