It requires a little patience and preparation but can save you a lot of time in the long run allowing you to bake ahead of schedule, perfect for a large orders, weddings and parties.

Also, flash freezing fruit cakes is a quick way of ‘maturing’ it! Well, the defrosting process is. If I bake a fruit cake and don’t have months to let it come to it’s best, a quick overnight trip to the freezer does the job!

You will be able to freeze most cakes. I find that madeira cakes (and their chocolate and lemon counterparts) freeze wonderfully without too much hassle, as do most cakes with a high fat content. It is very important that once your cakes are baked, you leave them to cool completely. If they are still warm this will create condensation which can cause cakes to get the dreaded ‘soggy bottom’.

Once they are cooled, it’s also important to wrap them well, otherwise they may get very dry when frozen (freezer burn isn’t tasty), which isn’t what we want. I find the best way to do this for sponge cakes is two layers of cling film and then a tight layer of foil. However for fruit cakes, I tend to use a layer of greaseproof paper and then a tight layer of foil.

It’s also ideal to freeze cakes that you plan to carve, mainly because the crumb structure is more solid so it will keep it’s shape better and there’s less chance of it crumbling when shaping and crumb coating.

If you are freezing cupcakes, firstly make sure to bake them in greaseproof or foil cases as this will prevent the dreaded peeling cases when you defrost them, (for more cupcake troubleshooting, check out my other blog post here) then pop them in a sandwich bag and make sure they have enough space on the freezer shelf and they aren’t squashed.

Here’s a few key hints and tips that will help you chill your bakes;

• Freeze naked! I find to get best results, freeze cakes and cupcakes un-iced and before you split them to fill them. This will stop them going dry and also stop any frosting and icing ‘sweating’ over your cake when it’s defrosting.
• Take your cake or cupcakes out of the freezer a few hours (preferably overnight) before you plan to decorate them. This will ensure they have fully defrosted.
• To defrost, leave on the kitchen side and not in the fridge. Also, I take off the layer of tin foil but leave it wrapped in cling film.
• Make sure they are fully defrosted before decorating as again, this can also cause condensation and promote mould growth.
• Don’t freeze for longer than three months. Everything has a shelf life and I find if you leave it longer than this, the cake is simply past its peak. Anytime before this will taste fine, however.
• Label and date your cakes. This is good practice for all food health and hygiene. Pop on a little sticker saying what it is and when you put it in.
• Putting your cake back in the tin once wrapped then putting the whole thing in the freezer can help it keep its shape if you’ve got quite a ‘busy’ freezer.

Does a frozen cake taste different? I honestly would say no. I’ve tried all manner of cake over the years and I have never been able to taste a difference if a cake has been frozen or not, some argue that it actually makes it taste better! If you’re unsure, give it a practice run. Any excuse to enjoy a slice of cake!

Give it a go and let me know how you get on, either on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram.

If you want to turn your baking hobby into a career, check out my ebook How To Start A Cake Business From Home for everything you need to know about running a successful baking business, including pricing, marketing, insurance and much more!

Happy baking!

Britt xo

The post How To Freeze Cakes appeared first on She Who Bakes.

It’s Throwback Thursday time!

The first picture is a cake I made in 2011. The second, last month (2014!)

I can remember making the first cake. I was so proud of it and I loved my penguins! Now, three years later, I still look upon it fondly. I would never have got where I am today without trying, practising and more importantly not giving up. 

Proud to say my latest igloo cake will be featured in a magazine this winter. More details to follow.

Britt xo

The post Throwback Thursday appeared first on She Who Bakes.

Here are some of the cakes I have used the tappit set on.

The cutter is an FMM Block Upper Case & Lower Case. You can get these cutters here at Party Animal Online.

1. Roll out your flower or Mexican paste on a cornflour dusted surface very thinly and cut into strips. Then leave it to dry a little, go make a cup of tea or something.
2. Press down your chosen letter firmly and putting pressure on the back, wiggle it from side to side for a clean cut.
3. Pull the cutter away to make sure it has come out cleanly.
4. Gently tap your cutter onto your counter.
5. The cut out letter should just pop out! If it doesn’t, use a scribe to gently ease it out. If it’s really not budging, let the paste dry out a little more and try again. If this doesn’t work, then you may not have rolled your paste thin enough. Continue with the rest of your message and leave to dry on some foam

If you want to turn your baking hobby into a career, check out my book Cakes, Bakes & Business for everything you need to know about running a successful baking business, including pricing, marketing, insurance and much more!

Give it a try and let me know how you get on either on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram.

Happy baking!

Britt xo

The post How To Use Tappit Letter Cutters On Cakes appeared first on She Who Bakes.

Afternoon all!

The other day I was told about a Jane Asher range of bakeware at Poundland. So, I of course had to go check it out! I’m not going to lie, I was very impressed. Even in my local store which isn’t that big, there was a large range of baking equipment from tins to whisks to liners.

Now, if anything costs £1 you are obviously going to be skeptical. I was. So I picked up 5 items I actually needed as it’s easy to go a bit mad when things are so cheap!

I got a tin, a cake set complete with slice and cake forks, a zester, a cake pop set (20 sticks, bags and ties) and 40 cake tin circles.

Having opened and used all the products, I must say they are good quality and I’m especially impressed by the cake tin circles! Pre-cut for the lazy cow in me and they work perfectly!

The tin is small but great for storage. The cake slice & forks and zester are sturdy and work great. And the cake pop kit is fab, everything you need for 20 cake pops.

I don’t know how they have done it, it must be witchcraft in my opinion but I’m really impressed and will be stocking up before they sell out!

To see the full range you can check out the Jane Asher section of their website here.

Happy baking (for £1!)

Britt xo

The post REVIEW – Jane Asher’s Kitchen Range at Poundland appeared first on She Who Bakes.

Monday – Woman’s Own issue with the article about She Who Bakes goes on sale;

Tuesday – I was lucky enough to attend the first #AOcooks event at the Neff HQ in Milton Keynes. Check out the AOathome article on the day here. My FULL report of my amazing day will be up soon (promise!) but here is something to tease you with for now;

Cheeky scone selfie with the always awesome John Whaite. (I always want to say John Whaite Bakes, damn you!)

Wednesday – Bake, bake, bake. Gotta pay them bills, girl. Here is the cake I made for a lovely lady who makes cards;

Thursday – I went onto the fabulous Look Good Feel Good Show on Channel Radio with the beautiful Trayc Randall and Leah Buckingham-Warner. The show this week was all about body confidence, something I am very passionate about! If you missed it or just want to listen again, you can find the link here.

Here are some pics from the morning!

Friday – When the gorgeous Kaddy Lee-Preston (BBC TV/Radio Presenter & Broadcast Meteorologist) picked up a birthday cake from She Who Bakes HQ!

So what of Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday I hear you cry? Well, tomorrow I will be finishing a cake for my lovely friend Lydia whom I have known for 547 years, Sunday I’m going on a pub crawl and if last year was anything to go by, Monday I will be drinking pints of water and eating many bacon sandwiches!

For more photos and details of anything I have spoken about in this blog, make sure to check out my Facebook and Twitter.

Happy baking,

Britt xo

The post The week of awesome appeared first on She Who Bakes.