I remember hearing that a handy trick, when it comes to cake decorating is
to freeze the cake first, and frost / ice it while it's still frozen. I'll
be using (blush) store - bought icing. After the cake is decorated, should
I just leave it out to defrost? Will the process of defrosting affect the
consistency of the frosting? Do you call it frosting or icing and is there
a difference (just thought I'd throw this question in while I was on a roll
;-) )? Thanks!
Teri

"Teri" > wrote in message
...
>I remember hearing that a handy trick, when it comes to cake decorating is
> to freeze the cake first, and frost / ice it while it's still frozen.
> I'll
> be using (blush) store - bought icing. After the cake is decorated,
> should
> I just leave it out to defrost? Will the process of defrosting affect the
> consistency of the frosting? Do you call it frosting or icing and is
> there
> a difference (just thought I'd throw this question in while I was on a
> roll
> ;-) )? Thanks!
> Teri
>
>

I too heard the "frost a frozen cake" tip and tried it once. The cold cake
immediately congealed the shortening in the frosting, making it very stiff
and nearly impossible to spread. So be prepared for this if the frosting
has any kind of fat in it.

The defrosting process won't affect the consistency. You can either
refreeze the frosted cake or leave it out, whichever you prefer.

I grew up calling it "icing" but moved to an area where everyone calls it
"frosting". I think it's a regional thing...

Karen

Teri wrote:
> I remember hearing that a handy trick, when it comes to cake decorating is
> to freeze the cake first, and frost / ice it while it's still frozen. I'll
> be using (blush) store - bought icing. After the cake is decorated, should
> I just leave it out to defrost? Will the process of defrosting affect the
> consistency of the frosting? Do you call it frosting or icing and is there
> a difference (just thought I'd throw this question in while I was on a roll
> ;-) )? Thanks!
> Teri

Just make sure you don't spread the icing too thin. When the cake
thaws it's going to expand slightly and if you don't have enough icing
on the cake it'll form cracks all over it. This is most common with
icings that tend to harden after they've set for a while. If the icing
you're using remains soft, even after it's set up, then this problem is
as bad.