While baking a cake, you may want to bake it as soon as possible so you can start to the fun part—decorating! If you hurry into icing your cake, you may be unhappy with the outcome.
When it comes to getting the exterior icing just right, the temperature of your cake is crucial.
So, how long should a cake be allowed to cool before frosting? It’s time to find out!
Contents
- Frosting a Hot Cake
- Frosting a Warm Cake
- Steps to Take Right Out of the Oven
- Cool Your Cake in the Fridge
- Cool Your Cake in the Freezer
- Best Temperatures for Frosting a Cake
- Apply a Crumb Coat
- FAQs
- How do you cool a cake before frosting?
- Should you refrigerate cake before frosting?
- How do you know if a cake is cool enough?
- Should I cool cake in pan or on rack?
- Should I frost cake when warm or cool?
- Should you cover a cake while letting it cool?
- Should I leave cake out overnight or in fridge?
- Is it better to put a cake in the fridge or leave it out?
- How do you keep a cake moist overnight before frosting?
- How should cakes should be cooled after baking?
Frosting a Hot Cake
A fresh-out-of-the-oven cake may be extremely tasty. The smooth, warm, fluffy cake looks delicious. But wouldn’t that cake taste better with some frosting? Yes!
But, warm cake and icing do not usually go together. Most cake frostings are prepared mostly with butter (though there are substitutes), and butter melts when applied on anything heated.
If you put icing over a warm cake, you’ll get a puddle of melted sugar and butter instead of a gorgeous, appetizing dessert.
Frosting a Warm Cake
Even if your cake is not excessively hot, but rather lukewarm, it might cause problems. As you apply frosting over a warm cake, you may see that the cake crumbles and cake crumbs are torn into the buttercream.
Warm cake is fairly soft (keep it that way using these recommendations) and will not retain its form if you press a hard icing over its surface. Not only will icing the cake be difficult, but it will also appear unappealing. The frosting will be strewn with cake crumbs and unlikely to be smooth.
To summarize, you should never frost a warm, hot, or even room temperature cake!
If you need to chill anything quickly, follow these easy procedures.
Steps to Take Right Out of the Oven
There are a few procedures to properly cooling a cake that will aid you later when it comes time to frost the cake.
Let your cake to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes after taking it out of the oven. If you attempt to remove a hot cake from its pan, it may crack, which is never a good thing!
Here are some pointers to help you remove your cake out of the pan without breaking it.
After the cakes have had enough time to settle, take them from the pan and cool on a cooling rack until no longer warm. Next cover the cake in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.
Cool Your Cake in the Fridge
Let the cake to chill in the refrigerator for two to three hours, or more, depending on the size of your cake. If you have time, place the cake in the refrigerator overnight.
After your cake has completely cooled, it will be simpler to cut and deal with. The cake will be considerably sturdier after it has cooled, making icing the cake a snap!
Cool Your Cake in the Freezer
If you don’t have a few hours to wait while your cake chills and want to frost it right away, a freezer is ideal.
You should still allow the cake to cool in the pan after it has been taken from the oven so that it may be easily removed from the pan. Next, carefully cover it in plastic wrap and lay it in the freezer for approximately 30 minutes to chill. Covering the cake is vital since the freezer will rapidly dry out your cake if it is left exposed.
If you want to speed up the chilling process even more so you can start icing your cake, split it in half or into the desired layers before freezing it. The cake will cool quicker and be ready to frost in no time if it is cut into smaller pieces.
Best Temperatures for Frosting a Cake
The optimal temperatures for your cake components are a good cool cake and room temperature icing. As the cake is cool, it will be more firm, crumble less, and stay together when you spread icing on it.
Room temperature frosting will be easy to spread and will slide easily onto the cold cake. Frosting a cake will be simple with a cake fresh from the fridge and soft icing straight from the bowl!
Apply a Crumb Coat
When your cake is ready to frost, you may be eager to begin decorating right away since you have already waited so long for the cake to cool to the proper temperature! But, putting on a crumb coat and chilling the crumb coat are equally critical.
A crumb coat is just a very thin coating of frosting applied around the whole cake to seal in the crumbs. This layer will be completely covered by your final frosting application and embellishments, but it will guarantee that there are no apparent crumbs mixed with your frosting.
Return the cake to the refrigerator after applying a thin coating of frosting over the whole surface. If you use buttercream frosting (one of the finest frostings for crumb coating a cake), the crumb coat will be cold and solid after approximately 20-30 minutes in the fridge.
You may use the freezer to speed up the process, and since the cake now has a little icing to preserve it, there is no need to cover it before freezing it. Your cake is ready to frost after the crumb coat has cooled and firmed up.
Although it may seem like a long time, allowing your cake to cool fully will make icing it much simpler. Let the cake to cool in the pan after baking, then cool to room temperature before wrapping and chilling in the fridge.
After crumb coating the cake, place it in the refrigerator to chill again, and you will have the right temperature cake!
In a similar vein, check out these alternate methods to design a cake without icing!
FAQs
How do you cool a cake before frosting?
“Completely prepare, bake, and chill the cake.” “Next, tightly wrap each cake layer in cling film and set in the fridge for at least two hours,” he explains. Indeed, you will not be icing your cake at room temperature; a refrigerated cake is required before adding any frosting. This is the most critical phase.
Should you refrigerate cake before frosting?
Before You Begin
Spreading icing over heated cake layers is a recipe for a messy catastrophe. Refrigerate your cake layers for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. If you prepared the frosting ahead of time, make sure it’s at room temperature before you begin.
How do you know if a cake is cool enough?
Let it to sit for approximately five seconds before pulling it out and feeling it with your fingers. It’s not ready if the toothpick is still warm. Likewise, if you notice cake pieces attached to the toothpick, this is a clue that the sponge isn’t hard enough. A sponge should be allowed to cool for roughly two hours under optimum circumstances.
Should I cool cake in pan or on rack?
Cakes and other baked items should be allowed to cool in their pans on a wire rack for approximately 10 minutes. Since the cake is so sensitive, removing it from the pan soon after baking might cause it to stick or fall apart.
Should I frost cake when warm or cool?
Warm Cake Should Not Be Frosted
But, care is required to prevent a covering of runny, unattractive icing. Baking experts in our test kitchen underline the importance of allowing the cake to cool fully before icing. Better still, place the cake in the refrigerator for a few minutes to make the procedure much simpler.
Should you cover a cake while letting it cool?
You must do this as soon as the cakes come out of the oven, or else they will get mushy. Soon after, wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and set aside to cool. If you have a faulty recipe or over-baked your cakes, this will not save them from becoming dry.
Should I leave cake out overnight or in fridge?
Should Cake Be Refrigerated? In most circumstances, refrigeration should be avoided. Unless your cake contains perishable ingredients that might spoil, such as cream icing, fresh fruit, ice cream, mascarpone, or whipped cream, it’s best served at room temperature.
Is it better to put a cake in the fridge or leave it out?
Cover and refrigerate any cake that will not be served for several days. Finally, if your cake has a fresh fruit filling or topping, or frosting made with whipped cream or mascarpone, cover and refrigerate it until ready to serve, and keep any leftovers refrigerated.
How do you keep a cake moist overnight before frosting?
Keep the cake in a safe place.
A cooked cake, even if iced, dries up rapidly when kept at room temperature without being covered. Covering the cake in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, is a superior method to keep it. This keeps moisture in the cake and prevents air from drying it out.
How should cakes should be cooled after baking?
Take the cake from the oven and cool for 15 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack. Using a butter knife or tiny flat spatula, loosen the edges of the cake from the pan. Remove the cake from the oven and lay it straight on a cooling rack to cool entirely.