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REFRIGERATION

Food storage

How to store cream cakes and gateaux

Cream cakes combine sponge, sugar syrup, whipped cream or topping, fruit and decorations. The cream and fruit layers are moist and perishable, and decorated cakes are handled a great deal, so they are a classic high-risk bakery item. They also have a structural problem: whipped cream softens, weeps and slides when warm. Store finished cream cakes at +2 to +5 °C, in a closed pastry showcase or reach-in, and sell them within the period your food-safety plan sets. Plain sponges and bases can be frozen at −18 °C or colder and decorated as needed.

  • Chilled+2 to +5 °C
  • Frozen−18 °C or colder (plain sponges)

Do

  • Chill sponges fully before assembling; warm sponge melts cream and encourages bacterial growth in the middle layers.
  • Assemble and decorate in the coolest part of the bakery, working in short bursts, and return cakes to the fridge between stages.
  • Store finished cakes in boxes or covered, away from raw eggs, meat and strong-smelling foods.
  • Use a closed pastry showcase for display, and keep doors shut between customers.
  • Freeze plain sponge layers wrapped airtight; thaw them in the fridge, still wrapped, to prevent condensation on the surface.
  • Label each cake with the date of assembly.
  • Advise customers to keep cakes chilled and to collect them close to the event in summer.

Avoid

  • Do not display cream cakes in open-fronted cabinets in a hot shop.
  • Do not place cakes directly in front of the cabinet's cold-air outlet; the surface dries and cracks.
  • Do not reuse unsold cream from piping bags.
  • Do not stack boxed cakes on top of each other in the fridge.
  • Do not refreeze sponges that have been thawed.

In Indian conditions

Birthday and celebration cakes are a large part of Indian bakery sales, and many are collected by customers who then travel in heat. In summer, fresh-cream cakes can begin to soften within minutes outside the fridge. Many Indian bakeries use non-dairy whipping cream partly because it is more stable in heat, but it still needs refrigeration. A properly designed pastry showcase, with cooling around the cake and not just under it, keeps cakes stable and presentable. During power cuts, keep showcase doors closed and move high-value cakes to a reach-in if the outage is likely to be long.

General good practice for commercial kitchens and shops. Where your FSSAI licence conditions or food-safety plan set stricter limits, follow those.