Every cake leaves our kitchen at its best. How you keep it over the next few days decides how long it stays that way. This is the advice we give at collection, cake by cake.
How long does a cake last?
- Fresh cream, fresh fruit, cheesecake, tiramisu, mousse or a mirror glaze: 2 days, kept in the fridge.
- Buttercream and iced cakes, and most cupcakes: 3 days, kept somewhere cool.
- Sponge cakes: best within 2 to 3 days of collection or delivery.
- Ganache cakes: up to 7 days in the fridge or a cool place. Best within 2 to 3 days.
- Pavlova: 1 day, kept in the fridge. Best on the day.
- Fruit cakes: best within 3 months of collection, or you can freeze them.
- Celebration cookies: 2 weeks. Each box has an Enjoy by date.
- Sugar paste cake toppers: about 4 months in a cool, dry place, out of the fridge and freezer.
Every cake's page gives its own time under Keeping it fresh. If the page or the cake box says something different from this guide, go by the page or the box.
Getting it home
Carry the box flat, on the floor of the car or a level seat, never on a lap. Cream and buttercream don't like corners. Keep it out of a hot car and take it inside as soon as you're home.
If your cake is delivered, open the box to check it, then put it straight somewhere cool, or in the fridge if it's a fridge cake.
Where to keep a cake
Store your cake in a cool place, away from direct sunlight, in its box until you're ready to serve it. Most sponge and buttercream cakes keep well in a cool room. Avoid a sunny windowsill, a conservatory or the worktop next to the oven.
Cakes that go in the fridge
Anything made with fresh cream, fresh fruit, mousse, cheesecake or a mirror glaze belongs in the fridge, and is best within 2 days. That includes Our Grand Tiramisu, the Vanilla Cheesecake and the Violet Mirror Mousse.
Take a fridge cake out about 30 minutes before serving, so the flavour comes back and the sponge softens.
The Cloud Nine Pavlova is best eaten on the day: its meringue softens once it meets the cream, and the fridge speeds that up.
Cakes that stay out of the fridge
Buttercream and iced cakes keep best somewhere cool, out of the fridge, and are best within 3 days. That covers most of our birthday cakes, from the Pistachio Rose Cake and the Salted Butterscotch Cake to the Loaded Number Cake, and most of our cupcakes.
Please don't keep a cake covered in sugar paste (fondant) in the fridge. The icing picks up moisture in the cold and turns sticky as it warms up again.
A fridge cake with a sugar paste topper
Lift the topper off before the cake goes in the fridge, and keep it in its box somewhere cool and dry. Put it back just before you serve. Our cake toppers keep for months that way, and each topper's page gives its own time.
Ganache cakes
Our ganache is double cream and chocolate. A ganache cake can go in the fridge, or it keeps in a cool place if it's stored properly, for up to 7 days unless the cake's page or box says otherwise. We still recommend eating it within 2 to 3 days, especially in the warmer summer months.
Fresh fruit changes that. Our Chocolate Ganache Cake is finished with fresh berries, so it goes in the fridge and is best within 2 days.
In warm weather
Summer is hard on cakes, which is why we suggest eating ganache cakes sooner when it's warm. Keep cool-place cakes in the coolest room you have, keep fridge cakes in the fridge until about 30 minutes before serving, and keep any cake in the shade at a picnic or a garden party.
Leftovers
Once a cake is cut, cover the cut side or move it to an airtight container so the sponge doesn't dry out. Keep leftovers where the whole cake was kept: in the fridge, or somewhere cool.
Before you slice
Some decorated and sculpted cakes have supports inside, and some of them are sharp. Take out any supports, ribbons and fresh flowers before you cut and serve.
For neat slices, use a long, sharp knife and wipe it clean between cuts.
Every cake is handmade
We work to keep every cake's texture and taste the same each time. Because we bake with fresh ingredients, a cake can vary a little from one batch to the next.
Allergens
Each cake's page lists the allergens it contains and may contain. Read how we handle allergens in our kitchen, and if anyone eating the cake has an allergy, tell us before you order.
Questions about keeping cake
Should I put my cake in the fridge?
Only if it has fresh cream, fresh fruit, cheesecake, tiramisu, mousse or a mirror glaze. Buttercream and iced cakes keep best somewhere cool, and sugar paste should never go in the fridge.
How long can a cake sit out?
A buttercream or iced cake can stay somewhere cool for its whole 3 days. Cakes with fresh cream, fresh fruit, cheesecake or mousse go back in the fridge once they've been served.
Can I freeze a cake?
Our fruit cakes can be frozen. For any other cake, ask us before you freeze it.
How do I keep a cut cake fresh?
Cover the cut side, or move what's left to an airtight container, and keep it where the whole cake was kept.
Anything else? Get in touch and we'll tell you how to keep your cake. Ready to order? Browse our cakes, or see how collection and delivery work.