How long does this cake keep?
Keeping time worked out from what is actually in the cake, then a dated plan counting back from the day it is wanted.
Free. No signup needed.The short answer
A sponge filled and covered with buttercream keeps 3 days at room temperature, 7 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer. The same sponge filled with fresh cream is a 2 day fridge cake, and with cream cheese frosting it is 1 day out or 5 in the fridge. The shortest-lived thing in the cake sets the limit, never the sponge, and a fondant cake can never go in a fridge at all. Working back from the day it is wanted, most buttercream cakes are baked 2 days before, or 3 weeks before if the sponges are frozen.
How long does this cake keep?
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What the cake is
Keeps at room temperature
3 days
Limited by the sponge or butter cake
Keeps in the fridge
7 days
Airtight, and bring it back to room temperature to serve
Keeps in the freezer
3 months
Unfilled sponge, double wrapped
When to start
Bake the sponges
2 days before
Cool completely before anything touches them, about 2 hours. Then wrap until you are ready to build.
Fill and crumb coat
1 day before
Buttercream between the layers, then a thin coat all over. Chill for 20 minutes to set it before the final coat.
Cover in buttercream
On the day
Buttercream sets in about 1 hour, so the morning is fine.
Decorate and deliver
On the day
Final decorations, then box it. Cool car, flat boot, nothing on top.
Add the date the cake is wanted and every step above gets a real day.
Worth knowing
- Sugar keeps it safe out of the fridge. Cold buttercream sets hard, so bring it back to room temperature before serving.
- Wrap it the moment it is properly cold. Air is what makes a sponge stale, not time.
Keeping times are for a cake that is wrapped or boxed, in a cool room, and never in direct sun or next to an oven. They describe quality as much as safety: a cake is usually still safe after it has stopped being nice to eat. Anything with fresh cream, cream cheese or fresh fruit in it is a food safety limit rather than a freshness one, so treat those dates as firm.
Every order has a date like this. BakerInbox keeps them all in one calendar.
Start free trialCake storage charts
| Cake | Filling | Covering | Room | Fridge | Freezer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sponge or butter cake | Buttercream | Buttercream | 3 days | 7 days | 3 months |
| Sponge or butter cake | Jam or curd | Naked or semi-naked | 3 days | 7 days | 3 months |
| Sponge or butter cake | Fresh whipped cream | Not covered yet | No | 2 days | 3 months |
| Chocolate or mud cake | Chocolate ganache | Ganache | 3 days | 10 days | 3 months |
| Sponge or butter cake | Buttercream | Fondant or sugarpaste | 3 days | Never | 3 months |
| Carrot or banana cake | Cream cheese frosting | Buttercream | 1 day | 5 days | 3 months |
| Baked cheesecake | Fresh fruit | Not covered yet | No | 2 days | 1 months |
| Cupcakes | Buttercream | Buttercream | 2 days | 5 days | 2 months |
| Rich fruit cake | Jam or curd | Fondant or sugarpaste | 3 days | Never | Months |
The shortest-lived thing in the cake sets the limit, and it is almost never the sponge. Fondant says Never in the fridge because condensation makes it sticky and the colours run, so a fondant cake with a fresh cream filling has nowhere safe to live. Freezer times are for unfilled, double wrapped sponge.
Cooling, and how long a bare sponge lasts
| Cake | Cool before frosting | Bare sponge keeps | Frozen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sponge or butter cake | 2 hours | 3 days | 3 months |
| Chocolate or mud cake | 3 hours | 4 days | 3 months |
| Carrot or banana cake | 2 hours | 3 days | 3 months |
| Rich fruit cake | 6 hours | Months | Months |
| Baked cheesecake | 6 hours | No | 1 months |
| Cupcakes | 1 hour | 2 days | 2 months |
Cooling times are to completely cold, out of the tin, on a rack. Buttercream on a cake that is still warm at the centre will slide, and cling film on a warm sponge steams it. Ten minutes in the tin first, then out onto the rack for the rest.
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How long a cake really keeps
Every published chart gives one number for cake, and the real answer changes completely with what is inside it.
What sets the limit
The shortest-lived thing in the cake decides, and it is never the sponge
A bare sponge keeps 3 days on the worktop and 7 in the fridge, so the sponge is rarely what runs out first. Buttercream is good out for 4 days, ganache and jam for 3. Fresh whipped cream cannot sit out at all and gives you 2 days in the fridge, and cream cheese frosting gives you 1 day out and 5 in. The cake takes the lower of the two numbers every time, which is how the same sponge is a 3 day cake for one order and a 2 day cake for the next. Choose the filling with the date in mind, then work out how much filling you need.
Fondant
A fondant cake can never go in the fridge
Fondant, sugarpaste to most of the UK trade, pulls condensation the moment it comes back out of the cold. It goes sticky, the sheen dies, and dark colours bleed into the white. So a fondant cake lives at room temperature and nowhere else: 3 days on a sponge, 4 on a mud cake, and no fridge option at all. Fill one with fresh cream and you have built something with nowhere safe to live: the filling needs a fridge the covering cannot enter. The planner says that out loud rather than quietly showing a fridge number you would have followed.
Cooling
Cool it completely, or the frosting slides and the wrap steams it
A sponge or butter cake needs about 2 hours out of the tin on a rack. A chocolate or mud cake needs 3, a rich fruit cake or a baked cheesecake needs 6, and cupcakes need 1. Buttercream on a cake that is still warm in the middle will slide off it, and cling film, plastic wrap in the US, on a warm sponge steams it into something gummy. Ten minutes in the tin or pan first, then out onto the wire rack for the rest, and how long to bake it decides when that clock starts.
Working back
Bake 2 days out, or 3 weeks out and freeze
For a single tier that is not being frozen: bake 2 days before, fill and crumb coat the day before, cover and decorate on the day. A tiered cake takes an extra day. Freezing changes the shape of the week completely. Bake 3 weeks out, double wrap each layer while the centre is still slightly warm, freeze it flat, then move it to the fridge 2 days before and defrost it still wrapped, because unwrapping a frozen sponge is what makes it wet. Fondant wants about 12 hours to firm up so it goes on the day before. Buttercream sets in an hour and can wait for the morning.
After it leaves
Put the keeping time in writing
Most complaints about a dry cake are about a cake that was made on time and then left in a warm kitchen for 3 days. Tell the customer how long it keeps and where to put it, and it stops being an argument. It belongs on the order and in your cake terms and conditions, alongside the collection window. If somebody else is moving it, they need what the finished cake weighs too.
FAQ
Common questions
How long does cake last?
Three days at room temperature for a wrapped sponge or butter cake, and 7 days in the fridge. A chocolate or mud cake keeps a day longer because it is denser and wetter. What is inside cuts that hard: fresh cream takes it down to 2 days and only in the fridge, and cream cheese frosting to 1 day out.
How long does a cake last in the fridge?
Seven days for a wrapped sponge and 10 for a chocolate or mud cake. A cream cheese frosted cake is 5 days, a baked cheesecake 4, and anything with fresh whipped cream or cut fruit in it is 2. Box it or wrap it first, because a fridge is dry air and it will stale a cut cake faster than a covered worktop.
How do you store a cake so it stays fresh?
Airtight, cool, and out of the fridge unless something in it needs the cold. Air stales a sponge, not time, so wrap it in cling film, plastic wrap in the US, or box it the moment it is completely cold. Press greaseproof or parchment against the cut face of a cake you have already sliced. Buttercream and fondant cakes are happier on the counter than in a fridge.
How long can you freeze a cake?
Three months for a double wrapped, unfilled sponge, 2 months for cupcakes and 1 month for a baked cheesecake. A rich fruit cake goes a year. Freeze the layers unfilled and flat rather than the finished cake, and defrost them still wrapped in the fridge overnight, because unwrapping a frozen sponge condenses water straight onto it.
How far in advance can I make a cake?
Two days ahead for a normal buttercream cake, or 3 weeks ahead if you freeze the sponges. Bake 2 days before, fill and crumb coat the day before, then cover and decorate on the day. Freezing is the better answer for a busy week: the baking happens long before and the cake is still built fresh.
How far in advance can I make a wedding cake?
The sponges can be frozen up to 3 weeks out, and the cake is built in the last 2 days. A rich fruit tier is the opposite: bake it 12 weeks before, feed it a tablespoon of brandy every fortnight, stop feeding 2 weeks out, marzipan 10 days out and ice it 6 days out. Never assemble a tiered buttercream cake more than a day before it is wanted.
How long should a cake cool before frosting?
Completely cold, which is about 2 hours for a sponge, 3 for a chocolate or mud cake and 1 for cupcakes. Ten minutes in the tin, then out onto a wire rack for the rest. Frosting a cake that is even slightly warm in the middle melts the butter in the buttercream and the whole coat slides.
Can you put a fondant cake in the fridge?
No. Fondant, or sugarpaste, draws condensation as it comes back to room temperature, so it goes sticky and dull and the dark colours bleed into the light ones. A fondant cake keeps 3 days at room temperature, boxed and out of the sun. If the filling has to be refrigerated, change the filling or change the covering.
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