So, you baked your first bundt cake recipe. But you’re now wondering whether these desserts need cooling before eating them.
Do bundt cakes need to be refrigerated?
Well, it primarily depends on your preference. However, you should also consider your ingredients and how long you want to keep them fresh.
Fortunately, we have all the answers outlined for you below. So stick with us, and we’ll break down the best bundt cake cooling and storing methods.
Cooling Your Bundt Cakes in the Fridge
As we said earlier, cooling your bundt cake in the fridge will depend on your preference. Do you personally like your dessert at room temperature or chilled?
Some people love to eat cakes cold, but you might prefer them warm—in which you simply need to let the bundt cake sit and cool down for a few minutes.
Bundt cake sellers will most likely advise serving their desserts at room temperature as well.
Any type of cake, whether frosted, unfrosted, sliced, or uncut, should last a few days this way. Just store them in a secure container and away from direct heat.
When Should You Refrigerate Your Bundt Cake?
Still, it doesn’t mean there’s no practical reason to refrigerate your bundt cakes. One example would be cakes you wouldn’t eat immediately after baking or buying.
If you purchase or bake the cake hours before consuming it, you should store it in the fridge.
It’s especially true for bundt cakes with frosting, particularly those made of cream cheese or butter. These ingredients can spoil quickly, so keeping them in the fridge is good practice.
Some cake frosting may droop when exposed to room temperature for extended periods. And storing them in the fridge can help harden the icing.
It’s also best to store bundt cakes with fruit ingredients in the fridge before consumption. The cake and perishable toppings should last a few days inside the fridge’s cold environment.
Your location can affect your cake’s shelf life as well.
For instance, people living in the deep South may experience humid and hot temperatures in the summer months. If this is your case, refrigerating your bundt cake is your best option.
How to Refrigerate Your Bundt Cakes
Refrigerating cakes is easy. Here are a few simple steps to follow when refrigerating your bundt cakes, whether you have frosted or unfrosted.
1 – Let the Cake Cool
If you have a freshly-baked cake, let it sit and cool for a few minutes. It’s the safest method of storing cakes, or any food in the fridge, without worrying about bacterial contamination.
Leave your bundt cake in its pan for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, gently remove the cake from the bottom of the pan to quicken the cooling process.
2 – Wrap the Cake
Wrap the cake when it’s cool and hard to handle by hand. You can use plastic wraps as they provide tight sealing, enough to contain the cake’s moisture.
Another benefit of plastic wrappers is that they prevent the cake from absorbing smells from inside the fridge. So, if you’re storing multiple foods at once, ensure to wrap your bundt cakes.
Unfrosted Bundt Cakes
Wound the plastic wrap securely around the unfrosted cake to protect it from drying out. If you have multiple pieces of bundt cakes, wrap them separately.
Frosted Bundt Cakes
Chill frosted cakes for 15 to 20 minutes before wrapping. This trick will harden the icing, which makes for easier wrapping that’s less likely to damage its design.
After chilling, just loosely wound the plastic wrap around the bundt cake. If your fridge’s space allows, you may use a cake keeper to retain the dessert’s freshness.
3 – Refrigerate the Cake
Refrigeration works for cakes you plan on eating within a few days. Anything longer than a week, and you could end up with stale dessert.
When taking out your bundt cake from the fridge, allow it 30 minutes to sit. Cold temperature reduces food flavor, so it’s best to warm them at room temperature before serving.
Can You Leave a Bundt Cake Out Overnight?
Yes. You can leave a bundt cake, or any cake, out overnight.
You see, cakes and baked goods aren’t prone to bacterial spoilage. So you won’t have to worry about them going bad even if you leave them out.
You’d still want to consider your bundt cake’s ingredients, though. If it has fruits or cream cheese icing, the safest option is to refrigerate it.
Bundt cakes with no frosting, fondant icing, nuts, or peanut butter can stay outside.
Nevertheless, you should protect your bundt cake from heat, dust, and other external elements. Put the cake on the counter at a cool temperature, away from your stove, window, or pets.
An acrylic cake container should do well with this task. If the cake comes with a bakery box, you can simply leave it inside its packaging.
Lastly, assess the temperature and humidity of your kitchen. Refrigerate your bundt cake if the temperature regularly reaches over 70℉.
How Long Does a Bundt Cake Last in the Fridge?
Staling is when a cake loses all its moisture. And it might sound surprising, but refrigerating your bundt cakes longer than recommended can cause staling.
In fact, that’s the reason we cover the cake with plastic wraps when inside the fridge. They keep the cake’s moisture from evaporating, which can work for several days.
This phenomenon has something to do with the starch molecules in the cake.
When hot and freshly baked, these molecules absorb and retain water. However, when you take the cake out of the oven, the starch molecules will start cooling and expel the absorbed water.
Generally, cakes will only last inside the fridge and stay fresh for at least three to four days before drying. So estimate the time from baking or purchasing the cakes to when you eat them.
Frosted cakes last longer than cakes without icing. The frosting helps keep moisture in their sponge, so they should last a few days more than undecorated desserts.
Freezing Your Bundt Cakes
So, how should you store bundt cakes for longer than a week?
Freezing your dessert is an excellent method to keep it fresh for weeks or months. Professional bakers also freeze cakes to hold their shapes when decorating.
How Do You Freeze a Bundt Cake?
Compared to refrigeration, freezing won’t make your bundt cake stale. Plus, this method works for both frosted and unfrosted bundt cakes.
Follow these steps to freeze your bundt cakes.
- First, wrap bundt cakes with double layers of wrapping plastics.
- Then wrap the cakes with aluminum foil or put them in freezer-safe containers.
- Finally, place the cakes in the freezer.
Frosted cakes may need an hour in the freezer to harden the icing before wrapping. When you’re ready to eat the cakes, let them thaw for a few hours before serving.
Final Thoughts
Temperature plays a critical role in baking. And serious bakers know the importance of temperature when cooking, storing, and serving baked goods.
You don’t need to refrigerate freshly-baked bundt cakes you plan to eat immediately. But it helps with cakes you can’t eat in one sitting or those that contain perishable ingredients.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.