Mocha Ganache and Chocolate Mousse

by Ilona
(PA)

Hi Lorelie, I want to make a cake with layers of mocha ganache and mousse chocolate frostings. Since I have to slice cake in 3 layers, can I freeze the cake (so it's easier to slice it) and frost it while it's frozen.

Will it change it's consistency or flavor?

Can it stay out in room temp from am to pm. ( I have been making ganache, keeping without refrigeration for 2 days. Since I boiled the cream-is it ok? how long can it stay out?)

I never made chocolate mousse frosting, can that sit out from am to pm? If not I will have to use meringue buttercream.
Thank you!

Hi Llona, Yes you can freeze your cake, slice and fill it while it is cold. I do. It will not change the consistency or flavor. Once the cakes and filling come to room temperature they will be perfect.

Your mocha ganache will be fine out of the fridge for a couple of days but the chocolate mousse is another story. If you use whipped cream and eggs in your recipe as I do then you cannot leave it out.

I recommend my Italian meringue buttercream versus a mousse for a frosting.

Comments

Thanks!
by: Anonymous
Thank you so much!

Your welcome
by: Lorelie
You are very welcome. :-)

Freezing a cake with pastry cream filling

by Stefanie
(Pittsburgh, PA)

I use this site almost exclusively for all my cake decorating conundrums. You're site is the blanket to my Linus!

My question is this, do you think (as I am thinking) that a cake filled with pastry cream will not freeze well. Actually, I believe the cake will be fine, but the filling will separate. Do you agree? Thanks for your insight!

Hi Stephanie, Thank you! I love the reference to Charlie Brown's Linus character. I believe freezing a cake with pastry cream will be ok. I have done it in the past when working at the banquet halls and had no separation issues.

You may want to lighten the pastry cream up a little by adding whipped cream icing mixed with a little sugar and vanilla or almond extract and folding it into the heavy thick pudding/cream.

The problem I have had with using a custard style filling for cakes is that it has a tendency to leak through the sides of the cake, even with a dam of frosting. The whipped cream helps for that particular problem. And make sure you do an extra heavy duty dam of buttercream frosting around each layer before filling the cakes.

Here is a Whipped cream icing question and answer post that may be helpful as well.
Other posts onfreezing cakes.

Should dividing cakes for torte layers be done before freezing or after thawing?

photo by ulterior epicure, on Flickr

I am preparing a carrot cake which I make as a torte. I am doing the cake layers now, to freeze, and will only do the icing and layering the day of the party. There are 3 9"cakes which I slice horizontally with a thread to yield 6 layers for the torte. When should I slice the layers, before or after freezing?
SHaryn,
Montreal, Canada

Hi Sharyn, I would slice before freezing and if possible fill the layers, crumb coat and freeze. This will help to retain the moisture.

A carrot cake is usually very moist though so slicing, freezing the layers and then filling and frosting later would probably work fine too.

My carrot cake recipes.

Can cream cheese filling be used in a non-refrigerated fondant covered cake?

by Sonja
(Bend, OR USA)

You say that you love to use your carrot cake recipe (it sounds delicious) and you fill it with cream cheese frosting. I only make fondant cakes right now and I know not to put them in the fridge...so, can I safely use a cream cheese filling in a fondant cake that can sit unrefrigerated for 3-4 days?

Thank you so much!!!

Sonja

Hi Sonja, I would not let the carrot cake sit out for more than one to two days at the very most if it has cream cheese filling, unless it is in a very cool room. (I use an air conditioned room.) You could use vanilla or lemon buttercream which also tastes great with a carrot cake although I would still hesitate to leave the cakes out for four days without air conditioning.

I recently worked at a bakery where they made fondant cakes quite often. They boxed them and sealed them in the refrigerators with no problems. I also read some posts recently about how others box and seal them so that no air gets in. They suggested taking the box out of the refrigerator for a few hours to get to room temperature before delivering and removing the cakes from the box. Once the cakes come to room temperature it is safe to take them out of the box with no condensation.
You may want to experiment a little with a small cake and see what happens. I will doing a trial run as well. The problem though is most of us do not have a commercial refrigerator and cannot fit a box large enough to contain the wedding cake.

Good luck with your carrot cake wedding cake.

My cream cheese icing recipe.

Refrigerating Frosted Cakes

by Susie
(Brigham City, UT, USA)

I am making my brother's wedding cake, which is a first for me. I am baking and frosting it on Thursday for a Friday wedding and will be using a buttercream or cream cheese frosting. I am wondering if I need to refrigerate the cakes until I take them over Friday afternoon, or if it is fine at room temperature.

Hi Susie, You could leave it out depending on the filling ingredients, but I don't recommend it unless you are dealing with fondant. Your cake will soften up a lot if you do leave it out of the refrigerator which is a little risky for delivery.

Staying in the cold will keep the cake firmer until you set it up and then the cake can soften just enough for serving. Having said that be aware that buttercream can crack a little when you do go to move the cake. Make sure your cake is on a firm strong supportive base so when you move it the cake will be stable and reduce the chance of cracking. If that does happen, wait until the cake softens a bit and fill the crack with buttercream or cover up with a flower or other decoration if possible.

Good luck with your first wedding cake. Can you send a picture of it and a short story about how it went. Would love to hear all about it. You can submit it on the wedding cake photos page.