Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Just wanted to double check as a customer is asking – if a wedding cake has a ganache crumb coat but it’s a hot day, will it be ok or is there a risk of melting/seeping into the sugarpaste? I’m assuming not otherwise I don’t think Paul would use it but wanted a definitive!!  I’m also assuming it wouldn’t need to be in the fridge, particularly after it’s got sugarpaste on it?

Thanks, Rachel x

Hi Rachel, I did a wedding cake last July filled and crumb coated with ganache. It was pretty hot on the day and the cake stood up well to the temperature in a cool reception room. I really don’t think it would hold up in a warm marquee or outside, so it really depends on the venue. Before decorating I kept mine in the fridge, fully decorated the day before it was required but kept it in a cool room in my house.  I’m sure you’ll get more answers here from other people’s experiences so you’ll be able to make an informed decision.

I’m pretty sure it’s inside – in a hotel. I was going to ganache it on the Wed, ice the bottom two tiers on the Thursday (so that they firm up a bit before stacking) and then ice, stack and decorate on the Friday. Wedding is the Saturday. Should I be trying to do this in a smaller time frame? This is my first paid cake (only doing it as the mother in law is a friend of my mum’s and begged me!).  I much preferred the finish with the ganache and they wanted a ganache filling, so didn’t want to do a buttercream crumb coat. Don’t want to say it will be fine if there’s a risk that melting will move everything about!!

I wouldn’t feel comfortable with icing too early, so really if you think you could do it in a smaller time frame it may be better. If you have a mountain of decorations to put on will you have enough time to complete without half killing yourself? Can you enrole any addition help? I made all the decorations months in advance so I just had to ice the cakes and adorn. I dowelled but didn’t stack as it is eaier to box the cakes individually and stack at the venue. The wedding I did was for my friend’s son. They took the responsibility for stacking as I didn’t go to the wedding (my own wedding anniversary!), however, staff at the venue were more than happy to stack as I provided royal icing, and extra flowers in case a repair was necessary.Try and find out as much as you can about the venue and also see if you can speak to some one there to discuss what sort of ventilation the room has. I did that because obviously I had the same concerns and they were very happy to help in any way.  I don’t charge for baking and decorating, just ingredients so I guess your stress is a bit different to mine was. It would also be wise to discuss your concerns with the customer, I think it is only fair to make them aware of how ganache could (not necessarily will) behave in hot weather. Oh, and I do agree, ganache finish is sooo much better than butter cream.

Hi, as previously said if the cake is left out in the sun or heat it will prob start to melt, how quickly will depend on the cocoa content of your ganache.  I would call the venue and find out if you could deliver it to them and if they could keep it in their cold room (usually where they keep and chabge their barrels).  A couple of places I have delivered to have done this for me,  but the bride needs to know the risks.