Wedding tradition calls for a bride and groom to freeze the top layer of their wedding cake until their first anniversary. Then, upon that anniversary, the couples are supposed to thaw and enjoy the last remaining vestige from their special day. Unfortunately, many couples are disappointed on their anniversary when they realize that their wedding cake did not fare well in the freezing process.
That disappointment can be avoided by going through the proper steps in freezing wedding cake. The steps aren’t hard; however, no step can be skipped. Each is important in the process of preparing the cake for freezing.
Any decorations on the wedding cake must be removed before the cake can be frozen. Carefully pull flower adornments and ribbons off of the cake disturbing as little of the icing as possible. Icing decoration, however, can be left in place as long as they won’t prohibit the cake from being well-wrapped later.
Next, the entire cake layer should be placed in the refrigerator for a few hours. The cold temperature in the refrigerator allows the outer surface of the wedding cake’s icing to harden slightly. This hardening will protect the shape of the cake as it is prepared for freezing.
After the icing on the wedding cake has started to stiffen, it is time to wrap it up. Using plastic wrap or aluminum foil, wrap the entire layer of cake. Take special care that the ends overlap enough to keep air from seeping into the wrapping.
A second layer of protection should also be provided by placing the wedding cake into a freezer bag. Large gallon-sized freezer bags are well-suited for this type of project. Any large pockets of air should be forced out of the bag before it is sealed. Air can be removed by simply pressing the air out of the bag; however, a vacuum can also be used to ensure that as much air is eliminated as possible. If air is left in the bag, the air could cause the cake to become dried out.
Finally, the entire package should be placed into a box. Some bakeries will provide a box especially for this purpose. If a box isn’t provided, however, a tin box will work, as well. Just take care to select a box that is large enough to house the whole cake. This box will protect the wedding cake from any bumps that may occur over the next year. After all of this has been done, the cake is ready for freezing.
Waiting an entire year to enjoy the remains of a wedding cake can seem like an eternity. The last thing any anniversary celebrant wants to do once his special day finally arrives is to undertake a long, drawn out process before he gets to dig into his cake. Fortunately, when the time comes to eat the wedding cake, the thawing process is much simpler than the freezing process was.
Simply remove it from the freezer and place it into the refrigerator. After a few hours, the cake can be pulled from the refrigerator and allowed to continue to thaw at room temperature. Now all that’s left to do is to unwrap the cake and enjoy!