Can you refreeze a cake? - The Ultimate Guide

Everyone loves cake, or at least they should! The cake serves to celebrate and is also a great treat. The cake also spreads a lot.

You usually only need a small piece to be satisfied, and it always seems like there’s way more cake than you can eat before it starts to dry out.

It is a long known fact that cake can be frozen to preserve it. In fact, it is traditional to freeze the top of the wedding cake for the happy couple to enjoy on their anniversary. This factor alone already tells us that the freezer can be a great option to preserve food.

But what happens when you freeze it and then don’t use it all?

Can you refreeze the cake?

The good news is that you can re-freeze the cake as long as you follow all the proper processes. The trick is proper handling of the cake at all steps, from initial baking to refrosting. 

In this guide, we’ll walk you through all the steps involved in refrosting a cake. There are many foods that you can refreeze if you follow the proper steps. Pay close attention to detail to ensure your cake is properly refrosted.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about how to re-frost a cake and much more.

The Ultimate Guide to Refreezing Cakes

The cake is the dessert par excellence. You can do so many different things with cakes. The options are almost limitless.

You can use the cakes for various events. You can enjoy a multitude of cake flavors. You can give the cakes any shape you want. You can fill the cakes with fruits, nuts and sauces.

Cakes are literally one of the most versatile foods out there. They are usually used as a dessert or snack, but you can do whatever you want with your cake.

Here are some of the traditional uses for cakes:

• Birthday cake
• wedding cake
• anniversary cake
• celebrations
• Because if
• Parties

These are just a few reasons to get a delicious cake, but there are many options for a cake. To tell you the truth, you don’t even need a reason. You just have to have your cake and eat it too!

the cake explained

Most of us know something about cakes. Whether you are a professional pastry chef or make your cakes with box mix, we can all agree that cake is delicious.

The various flavors, designs, and other factors of the cake make it a valuable item to have in your arsenal. The best thing about cake is that it almost lasts forever . Ok, maybe not forever, but you can freeze it and refreeze it if you need to.

So how is the cake made and turned into this delicious treat? The cake is mostly made with sugar and flour, with a few other ingredients mixed in. Things like salt, butter, vanilla, baking powder, eggs, and oil usually complete the mix.

Many different cake flavors can also be made. Here are some of them. 

• Chocolat
• Vanilla
• Strawberry
• Red velvet
• angel cake
• Carrot cake
• butter tart
• Black Forest cake
• Coconut
• Biscuit
• Butter Cake
• coffee cake
• devil’s food

This list barely scratches the surface of all the types of cakes out there.

how the cake is made

Let’s see a quick recipe of how the cake is made.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare the pan. You can line the bottom with parchment paper. You should definitely grease the pan, especially the sides.
2. Mix butter, oil and sugar until smooth.
3. Add the eggs, eating the mixture well.
4. Add the vanilla.
5. Separately mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
6. Slowly mix the flour into the previous mixture by hand. Don’t over mix, but stir until well combined.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes.

Freeze and refreeze the cake

Most likely if you are here it is because you have already made a cake and even frozen it. Now you have to know what to do from here.

You froze your cake, thawed it, and served it. Now you still have cake left over and you have to re-freeze it.

It is totally simple. But first, let’s cover the initial freezing process to be sure. The tool to effectively preserve your cake is to cover it well and cover it again. 

Initial Cake Frosting

1. First, allow the cake to cool completely.
2. Start by wrapping the cake in plastic wrap.
3. Then wrap it again in aluminum foil. This step is optional, but the added layer seems to be more effective in preserving the cake.
4. label and date
5. Place the double-wrapped cake in a heavy-duty freezer bag or airtight container. We recommend an airtight container so the cake doesn’t get squashed in the freezer.
6. Freeze up to 12 months.

People have been freezing cake for a long time. A common tradition at weddings is to freeze the top of the cake for the bride and groom to eat a year later. Many bakers and pastry chefs make the cake layers in advance and freeze them for later as well. 

You can freeze your cake completely frosted and decorated. You can also freeze an undecorated layer cake. What you should know, however, is that if you plan to re-freeze the cake, the initial frosting is best done with an undecorated cake. 

For example, the pastry chef could freeze the layers before fully assembling the cake. They should not freeze once assembled. But then you, as the customer, could freeze the assembled cake, which means re-freezing the cake.

So now let’s get down to business.

Handling of the cake after the initial freezing process

The key to being able to refreeze your cakes is to make sure you freeze and handle them properly to begin with.

1. Take the cake out of the freezer.
2. Place the cake in the fridge for at least 8 hours to thaw completely. We do not recommend thawing it at room temperature, simply because the slow thawing method will better preserve the texture, flavors, and more of the cake.
3. When the cake is fully defrosted, serve it and enjoy it however you like. Or decorate the cake if you are in that process.

It all sounds very simple, but remember that the ability to successfully refreeze the cake lies in handling it properly. If you think the cake needs to be re-frozen, DO NOT thaw it at room temperature or by any method that uses heat.

Let the cake slowly thaw overnight or even 1-2 days before you need it. 

We recommend that you store the cake in the refrigerator now. This is another important factor that will help make your refreeze attempts successful.

How to refreeze a cake

Here we come to the heart of the matter. Opinions are mixed on whether or not you should re-freeze the cake. It’s perfectly safe to re-freeze the cake and if you do things right from the initial baking process, everything will work just fine! 

1. Cover the cake with plastic wrap to seal it and keep it together.
2. Wrap the cake in a layer of aluminum foil to protect it from moisture and freezer burn.
3. Place the cake in a heavy-duty freezer bag or airtight container.
4. Label and date the cake.
5. Refreeze the cake up to 3 months.

Related questions

We hope you found this guide on cake refreezing helpful and informative and that you feel confident in your refreezing skills.

Below you will find some questions and answers. We invite you to take a look and see if any of the information may be useful to you.

How will freezing affect the frosting?

You can freeze a cake that has been frosted or decorated. It is safe to do so and most types of frosting are not adversely affected by freezing. The biggest challenge in freezing a cake that has been frosted or decorated is not to mess up the frosting job.

The best way to do this is to pre-frost and freeze the decorated cake for 2-4 hours completely uncovered to help set the frosting. Then proceed to wrap it very carefully.

Can I freeze a hot cake?

You can freeze a hot cake, but it’s best to let it cool at room temperature.  Although the inside of the cake won’t be affected by the temperature of the cake when you freeze it, the icing on the cake will.

If you freeze a warm or hot cake, the outer layers of the cake are somewhat sticky and can be peeled off or rubbed off as you work with the cake, even after freezing the effects are residual. Everything else, including the overall flavor and texture, is unaffected.