How Long Will A Madiera Cake Keep?

I would like to make a surprise Gluten Free Madiera cake and shape it into an elephant. I will be cutting the sides and then covering it in Butter cream icing and then covering the whole cake in Fondant icing. Please can you tell me how long this will keep?

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Answer:

Bakers that make novelty cakes that require a lot of shaping often find it is easier to do it after freezing the cake layers. Wrap a completely cooled cake in plastic wrap and foil and put in the freezer. This also allows the cake to be made up to a month in advance. Although cutting the cake will be easier while it is still partly frozen do not ice until it has reached room temperature.

The cake will keep for around 5 days but the fresher the better. Also add a thin layer of buttercream icing no more than 5 days before serving as a crumb coat to your completely thawed cake.



If you are making a chocolate Madiera cake you may want to add a second coat after the first one has completely dried to make sure the colour won’t show through. Add the fondant the same day once the buttercream has dried.

Store in a cake box in a cool dark place.
Good luck with the cake.