Can Cake Batter Be Refrigerated? (Truth Revealed!)

What special occasions and family gatherings call for? A delicious and soft cake that melts right into your mouth as soon as you take that first bite.

A lot of people who know a thing or two about baking prefer to bake their cakes at home only. And why not?

By baking your cake yourself, you know what ingredients go in your batter and you can customize the cake the way you want.

It’s a win-win!

Everyone knows that it is the best option to make your fresh cake batter according to the recipe you are following and bake the cake right away.

But it isn’t that easy. Right?

Life comes your way and you can not use that cake batter right away.

So what do you do now?

Panic, because your batter will be of no use? No.

You might be a little shocked to know that for most cake batters, you can easily store them and bake them at your convenience.

This goes without saying that you can store your leftover cake batter and store it too to bake the cake later.

Table of Contents

Can Cake Batter Be Refrigerated?

The short and crispy answer to – “Can cake batter be refrigerated” is yes, freshly prepared cake batter or leftovers can be preserved in the refrigerator for overnight or up to two days.

Placing your cake batter in the refrigerator for a certain amount of time before baking it does not come in the way of its ability to rise nor its freshness.

Though placing your cake batter in the refrigerator for up to two days does not do any harm but it is recommended to bake the cake right after you prepare the cake batter.

When you place the cake in the refrigerator, the beaten air in the cake batter takes its time to slowly and steadily escape.

The batter with less beaten air in it results in a denser and shorter cake. And who wants a cake which is not soft and spongy?

I think, no one.

So now the question arises, how long does prepared cake batter last?

According to professional bakers, you should not leave your freshly prepared cake batter for more than an hour at room temperature.

When you place your cake batter in the refrigerator, it can last up to two days at maximum. So is that it?

Can cake batter be stored for just two days at maximum? No. You can store your cake batter for up to three months by freezing it.

You have to remember the fact that the longer you store your cake batter, the less its chance to rise properly.

If your cake batter does not contain baking powder and you store it to use later, there is very little chance that it will rise.

The baking powder and baking soda which are used as raising agents in the cake batter are highly affected when you refrigerate the batter.

Raising agents in the cake batter becomes inefficient and thus the refrigerated cake has problems rising.

Want to know an interesting fact? A cake batter prepared from scratch in your kitchen home has less chance of survival than a cake mix batter.

So in conclusion, you should bake your cake right after you prepare the cake batter. You can place the batter in the refrigerator for 5 to 6 hours or overnight and bake the following day.

Related Articles:

How To Freeze And Defrost Cake Batter?

You now know that you can easily freeze your cake batter effectively for up to three months. But how to do that?

Do not worry if you have no idea how to freeze the cake batter or what container to store it in because we are going to discuss this next.

You can freeze your prepared cake batter in several different methods and let me tell you that all of them are successful.

All you need is to get your hands on some premium quality zip lock bags that are freezer-safe. We will use these ziplock bags to freeze cake batter.

You can also take some plastic wrap instead of zip-lock bags to freeze the cake batter. Below I have mentioned two methods that are my personal favorite.

Ziplock bag freezing

This method is really simple and I heavily use it to freeze my cake batter.

For this method, you have to find a thick, sealed freezer bag (the number of bags depends on the quantity of your cake batter) to store your cake batter.

If you’d rather, you may also use a sealed plastic or glass container in place of a freezer bag.

I prefer to store my batter in several small-sized bags so that it is easy to defrost them. You can use my way or store all your batter in one large bag. It is up to you.

Simply fill the ziplock bags with the cake mixture, press out any extra air, and then carefully seal the bags. Just freeze it until you are ready to use it.

When you are ready to bake your batter, let it thaw in the refrigerator until it is completely reconstituted and back to its former consistency.

To ensure that the cake batter is dispersed uniformly and defrosted, shake the bag in which it is stored.

Either let the cake batter warm up to room temperature first or bake it while it is still cold from the fridge. If the batter was frozen in little zipper bags, I’d suggest letting everything defrost at room temperature.

Baking tin freezing

If you don’t want to do extra work and pour the cake batter into zip-lock bags or plastic bags, you can try freezing the batter directly in the cake pan.

If you choose to opt for this method of freezing the cake batter, do not forget to generously oil the baking pan before adding the batter.

After greasing the baking pan with oil, seal it in plastic wrap, and freeze it. You may simply keep the tin in the freezer until you are ready to bake it.

To avoid freezer burn from spoiling the batter, make sure that you cover the cake tin firmly.

When you are ready to bake your cake, take out the tin from the freezer and place it in your refrigerator for around twenty-four hours (yes! You need to plan this in advance).

If you are in a hurry and do not want to wait twenty-four hours, you can take the baking tin out of the freezer and place it at room temperature for about two hours.

FAQ

How long can uncooked cake batter be refrigerated?

If you are looking for an exact time or exact hours for which you can refrigerate your uncooked cake batter is 48 hours.

You can prepare your cake batter from scratch and place it at room temperature for two hours without any harm.

If you can not bake the cake the same day you prepare the batter because of some reasons, you can refrigerate it overnight and for up to two days at maximum.

If you want to store the prepared cake batter for a long period, freeze it. You can store the cake batter for up to three months if you freeze it.

How to make a soft and moist cake?

When I think about eating a cake, I imagine it to be soft and moist which just dissolves in your mouth as soon as you take the first bite.

Nobody likes dry and dense cake, so here are some to bake soft cakes.

Ditch the all-purpose flour to make your cake batter and use cake flour. The soft and tender texture of the cake flour will directly affect your baked cake.
In addition to milk which is used to thin out the cake batter, add sour cream to your cake batter.
A good balance between dry and wet ingredients is the key to a soft and moist cake. Add oil to the batter if you think the batter is too dry.
Last but not least tip is not to over-mix the cake batter and not to over-bake the cake.