10 Tips For Preserving Leftover Wedding Cake

Your wedding day is a very special, in-the-moment celebration. There are a few things left to enjoy after it's all over: photos, videos, and possibly a preserved flower bouquet. Oh, and one big one that I almost forgot to mention: the wedding cake. 

The wedding cake is a centerpiece of the entire celebration, and it's one thing that couples often leave the venue with in a doggie bag (or a rather bulky container, depending on the style and size of the cake itself). There is an age-old tradition where couples eat a piece of the wedding cake on their first anniversary, which is believed to tie back to the 19th-century tradition of bringing out the cake during the couple's firstborn child's christening ceremony. Many couples save just the top tier of their cake, while others will save larger portions of the cake for later. 

If you are planning your wedding or happened to stumble on this write-up the day after your ceremony (and if so, congratulations), then you may want to think about what you're planning on doing with that awkwardly sized and quickly deteriorating cake before it goes bad. As a baker who has preserved many cakes over the years, here are some of my top tips to keep your leftover wedding cake fresh for days, weeks, and months after your "I dos." 

I highly doubt that any couple would discuss whether or not their wedding cake of choice would freeze well with the bakery they were ordering from. But, if you're after longevity when it comes to your very special wedding cake, it might be a question that you'd want to inquire about before you fall in love during the cake tasting. 

Not all cakes will freeze well, and that's an unfortunate reality that's unavoidable. If you want to be able to bite into your cake a long time after it was baked, you're going to want to stay away from light, fluffy, and non-oil-based sponges. Examples of this category include angel food cake, which owes its structure to whipped egg whites. While this cake has a light mouthfeel when it's fresh, the lack of fat and oil means that it goes stale very, very quickly. Luckily, your usual wedding cakes are often made with classic sponges (which are made with oil) — including red velvet, classic white, and a basic chocolate sponge — so there's a high likelihood that you will be able to freeze your cake without any issue. 

Part of the appeal of a wedding cake is that it's adorned with accents — whether that's beautiful sugar work, fondant decorations, real flowers, or the iconic cake topper. But if you're looking to preserve your wedding cake for months, you're going to want to strip it down as much as you can. 

The reason for this is simple. When you leave accents on the cake, it may mean that the plastic wrap that you'll use won't sit completely flush against the cake. That opens up more opportunity for air — and the odors of whatever else is in your freezer — to seep in. Who wants to eat a wedding cake that tastes like frozen fish? 

Luckily, there are some ways that you can repurpose cake decorations or cherish them for years to come. Some folks choose to dry their fresh florals from the wedding, while other folks will save the cake decorations in a shadow box or special location to look back on in a few years. 

Okay, so you have your cake stripped and ready to freeze — now what? Well, you can't just plop the cake into the freezer and walk away. The first thing you'll need to do (besides clear enough space) is ensure the cake is properly chilled. Anyone who has ever worked with buttercream frosting knows it's sticky and difficult to deal with, so it won't be easy to encase a wedding cake with such frosting in plastic wrap. But if you chill the buttercream just enough so that it's hard, you won't have to worry about it.

You don't need to let your cake pre-chill for weeks, as this may cause it to dry out even more. Instead, leave your leftover cake in the fridge or freezer for a couple of hours before moving on to the plastic wrapping step. Not only will this important step save you some headaches, but it will also ensure that the delicate piping job doesn't get absolutely smushed by the plastic wrap. 

Plastic wrap is something that every chef, baker, and, honestly, human being should have in their kitchen at all times. The thin plastic can cover a tray of cookies, create a seal over a salad bowl, and more. And it will come in really handy when you're ready to lock your leftover wedding cake in tight. 

Once your icing has fully hardened on the cake's exterior, you can wrap the entire dessert in plastic wrap. You'll want to make sure all the edges are completely (yet gently, otherwise you'll risk breaking into the sponge) sealed and patted down. But don't stop at just a single layer. For optimal protection, you should wrap the entire cake in plastic twice. Some folks even argue that you should wrap your cake upwards of six times, but it would be troublesome when it comes time to undo all that wrapping. Regardless, wrapping it more than once will take care of any spots you missed the first time.

From there, you can go at it with the aluminum foil or place the entire cake in an air-tight container or freezer bag. Although the tradition is to eat your cake on your first anniversary, you may only want to leave your cake in the freezer for a maximum of about six months, as is recommended by the USDA's Food Safety department. 

The only thing that opens and closes more than the front door of a house is the freezer and/or fridge drawer. As you take items out, especially if you tend to take a bit longer than you should when you do so, you can let air and smells into your freezer. 

As you can expect, the less amount of time that you open your freezer with your wedding cake in it, the better. But you're still going to have to move, jostle things around, and dive down for that frozen container of tomato sauce a few times. The safest spot for your wedding cake is in the back of your freezer, away from the door. This will minimize any opportunity for your cake to thaw, thus preserving it for as long as possible. 

Moreover, some folks also prefer to keep their wedding cake stored in a safe location where it won't be disturbed. For example, if you know you're planning on moving in the near future, you may want to keep your wedding cake in someone else's freezer to prevent it from freezing and thawing during your travels. 

Is it time to eat yet? After you've successfully stored your leftover wedding cake this long, it's probably about time to dig in and enjoy. But not so fast. 

There's nothing worse than ordering a cake at a restaurant and digging your fork into it, only to see that it's still hard as a rock. In order to prevent that same experience from occurring when you enjoy your hard-earned leftover wedding cake, you'll want to make sure that you leave it in your fridge long enough for it to thaw out. I'd recommend thawing the cake in the fridge rather than on the countertop for several reasons. The main reason is if your cake contains perishable ingredients, you'll still want to keep them chilled as the cake is thawing out. Tucking it into your fridge also slows down the thawing process, which will help the cake maintain a soft consistency all the way through. 

One question that may be on your mind is if you can just pop that cake back in the freezer once you've thawed out your desired portion and eaten it. Overall, this is something that should be avoided. The freeze, thaw, and refreeze process will alter the consistency of the sponge permanently and will make it less than appetizing if you go back for another bite later on. 

If you're not totally caked-out by the end of your wedding, you might still want to enjoy your cake over the next few days. In that case, leaving your cake in the fridge is totally passable. The USDA Food Safety department notes that wedding cake lasts about three to five days in the fridge, but there are some things that you can to do ensure that your cake stays as fresh as possible during that time. 

The first thing that you can do is to wrap your cake in a layer of plastic wrap. This will help keep all those pesky fridge odors out — though you may also want to consider putting a tea bag in the fridge to neutralize odors, too. Like the freezer, you'll want to avoid leaving your cake near the door to prevent exposing it to a rapid change in temperature. 

Plastic wrap is a great tool that you can use to prevent your cake from going stale, but it's far from the only thing that you can do. The second that the sponge is exposed to air, the second it starts to dry out. The icing on the outside of your cake will act as an insulator that will prevent your cake from losing moisture as quickly. So, it's easy to see how advantageous it would be to coat the exposed part of your cake with frosting. 

This is where those leftover decorations may come in handy. If you have piped buttercream roses, for example, redistribute them over to where the exposed side of the cake is. Then, use a fork or offset spatula to spread the icing before you wrap it in plastic wrap and return it to your refrigerator. While this method certainly won't prolong the life of your cake indefinitely, it will ensure that when you finally take a bite, it will have the same texture as it did when you sliced into it on your wedding night. 

Some people may not want to slide their cake straight into the fridge — and that's totally okay. In fact, you may find that your cake stays more supple if you leave it out. That's because your kitchen counter doesn't have the same conditions as the fridge, especially in terms of moisture. Cakes excluded from this tip are ones that contain perishable ingredients like curd, whipped cream, and the like. Moreover, you can only leave your cake on the countertop for a few days before it needs to be thrown away. 

Besides using the frosting trick to cover the exposed section of your cake, you can also use a cake dome to stave off the staling. Cake domes are often clear glass or heavy-duty plastic covers that you can put on top of a cake stand. For the most part, the dome will keep those pesky odors at bay and minimize the exposure of your cake to air, as well as things like dust, pet hair, cleaning products, and more. When you take a piece (or just a bite — I won't blame you there) of cake, just be sure that you're doing a visual inspection to ensure there is no mold before diving in. 

Storing an entire wedding cake in the fridge may not be your thing — for several reasons. One of those is the fact that a whole wedding cake tier is just so bulky and awkwardly shaped. Moreover, the cake might also lose its novelty after you've eaten it for a few days straight. 

Luckily, there are ways to use leftover cake that will breathe new life into your sweet confection. For one, you could consider whipping up cake pops by combining together the cake sponge and a little bit of the icing in a bowl. After you decorate these little treats with melted chocolate and garnishes, you can serve them to friends and loved ones to show gratitude for helping you on your special day. Or, you may want to dip just the sponge in custard and turn it into a fun French toast treat to enjoy before you and your special someone embark on your honeymoon.