Freezing Raw Cake Batter

[cakewalk]

Can cake batter be frozen, then defrosted several days, weeks, or even months later for baking? If so, does this cause any changes in the way the cake bakes? This seems preferable to baking and then freezing the cake(s) because of considerations such as room in the freezer, but mostly, for me, because of time considerations. Has anyone ever done this?

Edited September 30, 2016 by Smithy
Adjusted title (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

My gut reaction says no. But I have no basis of saying this -- just something about the reaction of the eggs with the other ingredients leads me to think that it would degenerate during the freezing process. I am imagining a thawed batter being baked and it not rising.

Why don't you try it and report back? I'm really curious now...

[cakewalk]

My gut reaction says no. But I have no basis of saying this -- just something about the reaction of the eggs with the other ingredients leads me to think that it would degenerate during the freezing process. I am imagining a thawed batter being baked and it not rising.

Why don't you try it and report back? I'm really curious now...

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My gut reaction was also a "no," with no reasoning behind it, but since I'd really like the answer to be "yes" I figured I'd ask. I figure someone here has to know more about this than I do, and I could learn from someone else's experience rather than my own. (IOW, I don't really want to experiment and have it fail ) But I will eventually if there is no answer.

[jackal10]

My gut reaction is the answer is that depends on the baking powder.

Single action (bicarbonate + acid) will react even at freezer temperatures, but double action (initiated by heat) should freeeze OK.

You may need to double the amount though.

[DiH]

I freeze cake batters all the time and they bake up just as if they had been freshly mixed. No special freezing process... just ziplock freezer bags with the excess air squeezed out.

Most of my frozen batters get used up within a few weeks - but - I have (unintentionally) kept a carrot cake batter frozen for 1 year... the ziplock got hidden behind something. Experimentally, I baked it off... it turned out beautifully.

Di

[chefpeon]

Man, if you're gonna end up freezing something.....I would think it would be better to just bake the batter off and freeze the cake. Less hassle.

[Pam R]

My gut reaction says it's ok to freeze the batter (in most cases). I freeze muffin batter all the time...

though I agree with chefpeon... if you have the room in the freezer, bake it off and then freeze.

[cakewalk]

Man, if you're gonna end up freezing something.....I would think it would be better to just bake the batter off and freeze the cake. Less hassle.

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Besides the room in the freezer issue, for me it's the time issue. I don't bake all the time, and I don't bake professionally (to say the least ) Often in the evening I'll find a recipe that I want to try (I find it relaxing to read cookbooks), but I'm too tired to go through the whole thing, or I don't want to stay up that late -- mixing the batter, baking it, letting it cool, storing, cleaning up, etc. takes time, and if I'm just starting out at 8 or 9 in the evening, well, I usually just don't bother because I don't want to get to bed too late. And I've often wondered if I could just mix up the batter and freeze it and then bake it at some later point. I suspected that it wouldn't work, so I was also interested to hear if anyone could explain why it would work (if that were the case.) DiH -- you've certainly given me the message I wanted to hear! I think I will give it a go.

[Sugarella]

The only thing I can add is that I've tried whipping egg whites that have been out of the shell and refridgerated and they just WILL NOT whip up. So, to this end, I think if your batter relies somewhat on eggs making the cake rise then I think you'd be sadly disappointed. ......

[Woods]

The only thing I can add is that I've tried whipping egg whites that have been out of the shell and refridgerated and they just WILL NOT whip up. So, to this end, I think if your batter relies somewhat on eggs making the cake rise then I think you'd be sadly disappointed. ......

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I haven't ever had this problem Sugarella. I both refrigerate and freeze them. I have even made angel food cakes that work fine with them. Woods

[DiH]

Man, if you're gonna end up freezing something.....I would think it would be better to just bake the batter off and freeze the cake. Less hassle.

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Besides the room in the freezer issue, for me it's the time issue. DiH -- you've certainly given me the message I wanted to hear! I think I will give it a go.

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Glad I could help!

Ditto to the freezer space issue... 3-5 ziplocks of batter can be stacked in the same amount of space required for one baked cake layer. Plus, ziplocks are more versatile than baked layers... cake layers just don't roll up as well.

Di

[achevres]

... I don't want to stay up that late -- mixing the batter, baking it, letting it cool, storing, cleaning up, etc. takes time, and if I'm just starting out at 8 or 9 in the evening, well, I usually just don't bother because I don't want to get to bed too late. And I've often wondered if I could just mix up the batter and freeze it and then bake it at some later point. I suspected that it wouldn't work, so I was also interested to hear if anyone could explain why it would work (if that were the case.) DiH -- you've certainly given me the message I wanted to hear! I think I will give it a go.

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I'm glad to hear of someone else that wants to bake but can't start until 8pm. I often have one hour, but not 2, and I never thought of freezing the batter!

Two questions: How to defrost? In the refrigerator or room temp? And does it matter how cold or room temperature the batter is when baked? Thanks.

[DiH]

How to defrost?  In the refrigerator or room temp?

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I just toss the bag on the countertop, then cut off a corner and squeeze the batter into a pan when it's thawed.

Di

[Melanger]

I freeze batters all of the time. Financier, cobblers and madelines freeze especially well. I usually defrost overmight in the fridge but in a pinch microwaving has worked really well. Just zap it for 20 seconds, take it out, knead it a bit, back into the microwave in 20 second increments until it is defrosted.

[tekna]

The only thing I can add is that I've tried whipping egg whites that have been out of the shell and refridgerated and they just WILL NOT whip up. So, to this end, I think if your batter relies somewhat on eggs making the cake rise then I think you'd be sadly disappointed. ......

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I haven't ever had this problem Sugarella. I both refrigerate and freeze them. I have even made angel food cakes that work fine with them. Woods

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I also frequently use egg whites that have been separated and refrigerated for days, and they always whip up fine.

[rickster]

I've never tried to freeze batter and am surprised to hear it works so well. From what I'm reading here, I'd think the bigger issue wouldn't be the freezing but what you freeze it in and how you get it out of the container. When you freeze the batter in a ziploc and dump it or squeeze it out, don't you lose the structure of the batter and the cake won't rise?

[DiH]

I've never tried to freeze batter and am surprised to hear it works so well. From what I'm reading here, I'd think the bigger issue wouldn't be the freezing but what you freeze it in and how you get it out of the container. When you freeze the batter in a ziploc and dump it or squeeze it out, don't you lose the structure of the batter and the cake won't rise?

←

Nope.

Di

[jgarner53]

I think this is so cool! I've never even considered freezing batter before. Especially when my tiny oven is so hard to manage if I've got more than 2 cake pans in there. Next time I do a cake that's in three pans (rare, but I have a few recipes where it doesn't work to dump all the batter into one), I think I'll freeze 1/3 of the batter and bake it off later to make sure all three layers come out evenly.

[JamericanDiva]

This is very good to hear!!! I shall have to try this and report back!!!!!

[Steven Blaski]

The only thing I can add is that I've tried whipping egg whites that have been out of the shell and refridgerated and they just WILL NOT whip up. So, to this end, I think if your batter relies somewhat on eggs making the cake rise then I think you'd be sadly disappointed. ......

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I haven't ever had this problem Sugarella. I both refrigerate and freeze them. I have even made angel food cakes that work fine with them. Woods

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Me too. I always have a stash of egg whites in the freezer leftover from when I just needed the yolks. I just slip the extra whites into the container and keep a running tally on the lid with a Sharpie. When I get a dozen or so, I let them thaw in the fridge overnight and then make an angel food cake. Always bakes up great.

[Betts]

This is great - sometimes you want only a dozen madeleines or a few cupcakes and cutting the recipe down just doesn't work.

[rooftop1000]

I was actually thinking about this the other day. I wanted to throw together one more dessert for a repast preferably an apple dump/slump/grunt...whatever the kind with cake batter and fruit. But I had already discovered my blue round covered covered dish wont hold a whole recipe. I didnt bother, still have a ton of apples and thankfully someone brought a chocolate cake.

But I have allways worked with frozen muffin batters when working in delis.

tracey