Preparing as much as possible of a cake in advance
It's my girlfriend's birthday this WE and I plan on secretly preparing a cake she likes. However, we'll be in the countryside with friends this WE, and I'll have very limited time to prepare on site without getting caught.
So my plan it to prepare/mix as much as possible before hand, and do as little as possible there before throwing the whole thing in the oven.
However, I have little experience in deserts, and I need help determining what can/can't be done the day before.
Here's the recipe: https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-chocolate-cake/
Two parts:
The (chocolate) cake itself
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup canola oil OR melted coconut oil
- 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups earth balance vegan butter, softened baking sticks preferred
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
Can I safely prepare the chocolate cake batter on one side, and the buttercream frosting on the other side, the day before? I would keep them in containers, in the fridge...
Thanks!
Best Answer
If you look at how boxed cake mixes do it, you'll get the right idea. They combine the dry ingredients and you have to add the wet ingredients. There are a couple of good reasons for this: spoilage (not too much of a problem if you're taking about a couple of days in the fridge); and gluten formation, which requires water and will give a tough, bready texture.
I suggest you mix the dry ingredients, and measure each of the wet ingredients into its own container (combining the apple sauce, vinegar and vanilla should be fine). Use containers that you can get everything out of or your measurements will be off. Then you don't need to refrigerate the oil or dry mix but do need to chill the wet mix and presumably the almond milk.
The buttercream should be fine made in advance - it certainly would be if it was based on dairy butter and milk. Of course this needs chilling. It also needs to be applied to a cool cake so it doesn't melt.
The other option is to bake the cake in advance and only ice it when you get there, but some recipes keep better than others. This has the advantage that the cake will definitely have cooled. I'm no expert on the keeping properties of vegan cakes in general, let alone this recipe, but many of the vegan cakes I've eaten have been the sort of thing that would keep their texture for a few days.
Pictures about "Preparing as much as possible of a cake in advance"
Can you prepare a cake and bake it later?
Despite that the cake batter can be refrigerated and frozen, nothing will ever compare to the freshly mixed and baked right away cake. So instead of storing cake batters, bake your cakes right after mixing them up, and freeze baked cakes or cake layers. Or bake the cakes the day before, and decorate them the next day.Can you prep cake batter in advance?
Cake batter can be made ahead of time, but leaving it for too long will result in a cake that's more dense and flat than normal. After a while, the air that was whipped into the batter will be lost and the baking powder will lose effectiveness. Cake batter should be stored in the fridge.How Far In Advance Can You Bake Cakes? | When To Start Decorating Cakes
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Nicole Michalou, Nicole Michalou, Nicole Michalou, Nicole Michalou