Making and icing a cake - best time.

[mrscricket]

When is the best time to make and ice/decorate a birthday cake? The day before or the morning of the party? I am hoping to do DS's the day before his party so I'll have more time (and I have also never made and iced a b'day cake so possibly might have to chuck it in the bin and start again ). If I make it the day before, do I store it in the fridge or the pantry?
I never thought I would be so stressed about making a cake...

[{sarah}]

The day before absolutely. The cake needs to be stored in the pantry because the icing will go sticky & the colours could run in the fridge.

[Eenee]

you can make the actual cake part a few weeks in Advance if you want and freeze it. Makes it easier to Ice then when you go to use it as less crumbly. But make sure you defrost it first.

Then you can Ice once defrosted. Or alternatively make the cake the day before and then Ice it the day you use it.

[Erin_25]

I've always made the cake the day before, they keep no worries & if it goes wrong I can start again LOL. But I always have iced the morning of...just because i guess.

[2CheekyMonkeys]

good question!! i have been thinking the same thing.

though does it matter what type of icing you use as to when you ice it? the one i am looking into doesnt use standard icing but 'ready made soft icing'. can you do that the day before?

[Astrid]

I tend to do the icing about 10pm the night before, so a couple of hours later I would be icing on the day . I don't plan to do it that late, but by the time the kids are in bed and other things done it seems to be 10pm before I start.