Birthday parties, holiday celebrations, and other momentous occasions are all marked by the sugary goodness of a cake. If you accidentally left your cake out overnight after the festivities, you might be wondering if it is still safe to eat the next day?
Cake can be left out overnight, but it should be properly covered and stored. When left uncovered your cake is not only likely to get dry, but it might also get exposed to bacteria or contaminants if the cake contains perishables. Make sure you cover your cake before leaving it out overnight on the counter.
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If you are wondering what kind of cakes store the best and how to prevent them from getting dry, you are in the right place. In this article, you will learn how to properly store your cakes, prevent mold development, and what types of cakes store best in the freezer.
How Long Can Cake Sit Out Unrefrigerated?
On average, cakes can be left out of the refrigerator for up to 3-6 days. However, this amount of time differs depending on the types of cake and how the icing was made. Softer cakes with heavy cream-based icing usually have shorter shelf lives than sugar-based icings and heavy cakes.
Cakes are typically broken down into the following categories:
- Butter cakes
- Angel food
- Pound cake
- Chiffon cakes
- Cupcakes
- Brownies
- Sponge cakes
Each of these cakes is made with different kinds of ingredients or is baked and prepared in different ways. Thus, they all have a different shelf life based on how well the ingredients hold up.
Pound cakes, butter cakes, and pudding cakes last the longest on the counter. The only thing you need to be careful of is the amount of humidity in the room.
These cakes are very moist and thus can grow mold and mildew more easily than drier cakes. As long as your house is air-conditioned, these types of cakes should last up to 6 days.
Pound cakes usually have buttercream icing on them to complement the heavier nature of the cake. Buttercream is usually made with whipped butter along with sugar, food coloring, and other fun ingredients. The high amounts of sugar in this icing acts as a preservative, extending its shelf life.
Angel food cakes, chiffon cakes, and other soft cakes can last about 4 days on the counter. They are more likely to develop mold or to dry out and get stale. If you put meringue or whipped cream on this cake then it must be refrigerated within 2 hours to prevent spoilage.
Cakes with fruit, including fruit filling, must be refrigerated after a few hours as well. Fruit spoils very fast and will likely taste bad the next day after they have fermented.
What Can Happen If You Eat Cake That’s Gone Bad?
Spoiled food, including spoiled cakes, can cause food poisoning. Food poisoning occurs when bacteria from food, such as bacteria E. Coli or botulism get into our digestive tracts by eating contaminated foods. Since cake and icing contain starches and sugar this could happen under the right conditions.
Most of the time you do not have to worry about cake spoiling as long as you finish it in a certain time frame. The only reason your cake is likely to spoil on the counter is that it is very hot in your home or humid.
Additionally, if you failed to either wrap it or cover your cake properly it’s more likely to be contaminated.
If your cake has become contaminated and you eat it, it is possible you will get infected with bacteria and suffer from food poisoning. This usually involves vomiting, nausea, dizziness, and possible severe dehydration.
Severe food poisoning can occur which can lead to death when left untreated. The most common cause of death from food poisoning is severe dehydration caused by chronic vomiting or diarrhea.
However, it is not very likely that you will die from food poisoning. It may cause a great deal of discomfort as your body struggles to remove the bacteria from the intestinal tract.
For most people, this manifests as fatigue, hunger, cramps, and difficulty passing stool as you suffer through vomiting and diarrhea.
How Can You Tell If Cake Has Gone Bad?
Mold and bad smell is the best indicator of cake that has gone bad. Mold is not always harmful, but it is typically accompanied by bacteria and other contaminants.
Therefore, the presence of mold is usually a good indicator that your cake has gone bad since it requires moisture and heat in order to grow.
Cake is an odd substance since it can go bad both by having too much moisture and not enough moisture. Too much moisture can cause your cake to spoil or grow mold.
Some tell-tale signs that your cake was left out in temperatures that were too warm are if your cake feels clammy or very soggy.
This will usually smell pretty bad as well. If you smell yeast or a mildew-like scent accompanied by a seemingly sweaty cake, you should toss this out. In comparison, a dry cake is less likely to harm you, but it is unpleasant.
Dry cake usually tastes stale and might have crisp and chipped edges. This usually occurs because the cake was not frosted and was left uncovered. When the cake is exposed, the moisture is pulled from the cake by the atmosphere.
This can also occur if you cut your cake, exposing the interior of the cake to the surrounding air. If you have a cake with a slice in it, or cut in some way exposing the interior, then you might try covering the exposed area with icing or plastic wrap.
How Long Can a Cake Last?
For a heavy cake, such as a pound or pudding cake, you can expect your cake to last between 3-5 days. This is true regardless of whether you store the cake in the fridge or on the counter. Cakes with icing last much longer in the fridge since it helps prevent the cake from drying out.
Each type of cake will last for different amounts of time in the fridge and counter. However, there is little to no difference between the time cakes last on the counter and in the fridge. Unless you are seeking to store a cake made with cream frosting or an ice cream cake.
| Cake | Fridge | Counter | Frosted/Unfrosted |
| Heavy (Pound, pudding, etc) | 6-7 days when well wrapped or covered | 3-5 days, well covered | Frosted: Stay moist longer. Unfrosted: May dry out in the fridge unless well covered in plastic wrap. |
| Light (Angel food cake, sponge cake, etc) | 5-6 days when well wrapped and covered | 2-5 days, well covered | Frosted: Most lighter cakes are served without frosting. They tend to have whipped cream on the side, added when ready to consume. |
| Other (Ice cream cake, Fruit filled cake, fruit-topped cake, etc) | Depends. Ice cream cake must be kept in the freezer. Others in the fridge last 3-5 days | 30 minutes to 2 hours. Should be stored in fridge or freezer | Icing and frosting will not greatly impact shelf life. |
How Should You Store Cake?
Cakes should be stored in a covered dish, plastic wrap, or other secure wrappings. This will keep bacteria, dust, and dirt from accumulating on your cake.
Additionally, properly wrapping and storing cake will extend its shelf life and ensure no cross-contamination occurs. Keep your cake covered and up high so no pets or possible rodents disturb it and contaminate it.
As we have discussed above, cakes tend to last about the same amount of time on the counter as in the fridge.
However, if you do not store your cake properly in the fridge it could become dried out and stale. Also, you won’t want to cover it in an airtight container to avoid the cake absorbing flavors from the fridge.
These are some of the best ways to store your cakes either in the fridge or outside of the fridge:
- Sliced and stored in an airtight container
- Ziploc bags with either a sip zip shut seal or other secure seals
- Covered in plastic wrap
- Cake container
You should not slice your cake until you are ready to serve it. If you have already sliced it then you should wrap each piece in plastic wrap to keep it fresh.
Cakes such as sponge cakes and angel food cakes should be stored without whipped cream on them. The cream could make the cake soggy and it has a shorter shelf life than the cake itself.
The best way to serve angel food cake is to make the whipped cream no more than 2 days before you plan to eat the cake. This way the cream is fresh and has not curdled and made the cake turn bad as well.
Can You Freeze Cake?
You can freeze a cake, but some cakes store in the freezer better than others. Heavy cakes, such as pound cakes, pudding cakes, or even fruit loafs such as banana bread store the best. These cakes are very moist and keep well in the dry environment of the freezer.
Cakes can last up to 6 months in the freezer if they are properly covered and protected. Moist, heavy cakes store the best in the freezer and should be wrapped several times in plastic wrap. You can also store them in zip lock bags and other freezer-safe bags.
Angel food cake does not store well in the freezer. Since it is so light and aerated it tends to become grainy and unpleasant when frozen, but it can be eaten. Whipped cream and other icings should be frozen separately from the cake.
The best way to store icing in the freezer is in a sealed plastic or glass container. Additionally, you can store the icing in sealed bags, but this is usually not as good a choice as a container.
How Do You Store a Cake Without Drying It Out?
The best way to prevent cake from drying out while stored is to ensure it is properly covered. Plastic wrap is the best method of storing the cake, but you can also use aluminum foil. If you freeze your cake, proper thawing is the best way to prevent it from drying out or becoming soggy.
If you want to freeze your cake without it drying out you should properly wrap it and store it in an airtight container. If you are storing a cake in the fridge or on the counter, putting the icing on your cake will help keep the moisture in.
However, in the freezer, cakes store better without the icing. Keep the icing or fruit filing separately in the fridge or freezer.