Assembling the cake
Many people think that making mousse cake is very difficult and requires professional equipment. In fact, this is just a misconception. Everything you need can be found in the most ordinary kitchen of any housewife.
The only thing that may cause some difficulties is assembling the cake. These are not sponge cakes that you coat with cream and place one on top of the other. The mousse has a fairly liquid consistency and hardens only after several hours in the refrigerator. Therefore, in order to fill everything evenly, it is necessary to strictly follow the sequence of actions, to carry out all manipulations very carefully and with pinpoint precision. And here you can’t do without a split mold or ring. Otherwise, the layers may lie unevenly, spread, form smudges or air gaps, cavities. Of course, this will not greatly affect the taste, but the aesthetics will be lost. Agree, when you eat something not just tasty, but also beautiful, you get twice as much pleasure.
In our case, the dessert is quite simple; we will assemble it from a cake layer and three layers of chocolate mousse with different flavors. We will not add any additional layers. The dessert is already delicious, original and self-sufficient.
You will learn more about how to make a mousse cake using the example of a three chocolate cake by watching my baking master class. I tried to present everything as simply, clearly and clearly as possible, so that even a novice pastry chef will understand. The main thing is to follow the technology. And for those who are already familiar with the oven, I added a few secrets, including assembly tricks.
To take the course, you will need:
- Mousses: cream 33%; chocolate - dark, milk, white; gelatin; milk; powdered sugar.
- Chocolate sponge cake: flour; sugar; kefir; milk; vegetable oil; egg; soda; baking powder.
At what temperature can the cake be stored?
To preserve the taste of the finished product, in a professional confectionery, special refrigeration chambers with flexible settings are used. But in the absence of such equipment, storing the cake in the refrigerator is allowed. However, even when using products with a long shelf life, certain conditions must be observed:
- Firstly, the temperature in the chamber should not exceed +6°C (and not fall below +2°C);
- Secondly, the maximum shelf life is 5 days, further, consuming sweets can cause serious health risks (with the exception of store-bought deverts with special preservatives, the shelf life of which is slightly higher than that of dishes with natural ingredients);
- Thirdly, in order to avoid the appearance of foreign odors, it is recommended to use a special form; in the absence of which, you can use cling film, a cardboard box or a plastic lid for heating in a microwave oven.
Often, to extend the shelf life, housewives decide to store the cake in the freezer for several days, not even suspecting that not all delicacies are suitable for freezing. Experts are inclined to believe that sponge and shortbread desserts with canned fruits and butter-based cream can withstand freezing without catastrophic consequences, while sweets containing fudge or jelly are completely unsuitable for placement and storage in the freezer. It is worth noting that in order to preserve the taste and “marketable” appearance, the product needs proper, gradual defrosting.
The culmination of any holiday, be it a child's or adult's birthday, name day, wedding, graduation or anniversary, is considered to be the taking out, cutting and serving of dessert. And it just so happened that the main sweet treat is cake. Of course, if you want to save money, you can prepare a sweet treat without the help of professionals.
But in practice, ordering a confectionery product from qualified craftsmen allows you to save time, effort and nerves necessary for purchasing products, baking, assembling and decorating the finished dish. And given that not all housewives know how to properly store a cake, often, even with the strictest adherence to the recipe and strict timing, the slightest deviation from the established norm can affect the attractive appearance and taste characteristics of the dessert.
Do you use expired food for cooking at home?
Yes, the main thing is to process it if it is meat or expired kefir for pancakes.
27.72%
No, it is very dangerous and not useful.
36.37%
If the products have fungus or mold, then we throw them away; if they are a couple of days past their expiration date, we use them for food, even without heat or other treatment.
35.91%
Voted: 1952
How and where to store prepared sweets? What temperature regime should be maintained? How many days can a sweet treat last? What techniques, tricks and tricks do modern confectioners use? Are there clear rules defining storage conditions and periods? Let's try to figure this out together!
How to store a cake in the refrigerator
The cake must certainly be stored in the refrigerator not only at the retail outlet, but also at home. This is especially true for homemade cakes made without preservatives. It will not be possible to keep it fresh for many days. When determining the shelf life, you should be guided by the above GOSTs. It is also worth considering the following points:
- The cake is best stored in store-bought packaging - cardboard or plastic.
- It is best to place the homemade cake in a large closing tray or on a tray and carefully cover it with film.
- It is better not to keep it open, as the product will quickly become saturated with foreign odors.
Many people are interested in whether it is possible to store a homemade cake, after cooking, on the balcony. It is undesirable to do this, since it is very difficult to provide it with a suitable temperature regime in such conditions.
Cake shelf life
The maximum shelf life of a cake is determined by the most perishable product in the composition, often this ingredient is cream.
The date of manufacture of the product is considered to be the moment of completion of production processes and packaging of the product. Subject to storage conditions, during the stated shelf life, the cake must have the initially specified properties.
Shelf life of cakes depending on the cream component:
6 hours - sour cream or whipped cream;
18 hours – curd, custard or butter cream;
36 hours – yogurt cream;
72 hours – whipped protein cream.
Shelf life of cake in the refrigerator
Since one of the main ingredients is often perishable cream, the shelf life of the cake is therefore short. Therefore, cream cakes must be stored in the refrigerator and only at an air temperature of +2 to +6 degrees. But the shelf life of the cake itself depends on the specific ingredients used in the manufacture of the product.
If the cake uses curd, butter or custard, the shelf life already reaches 18 hours . Cakes filled with sweet cheese and yoghurt can be stored for 36 hours from the date of production. Cakes with poppy seeds and candied fruits have the same shelf life. Berry and fruit cakes can be safely stored for up to 3 days , provided there is no cream of any kind. If cream is still present in such cakes, then the shelf life is reduced to 18 hours .
In the case when whipped vegetable cream is used, the shelf life of the cake in the refrigerator is 5 days . Cakes can be stored a little longer if preservatives are added to the cream. Then the shelf life can reach 7 days .
It is recommended to store cakes in the refrigerator away from fish, meat products, and cheeses. The strong smell of such products can negatively affect the taste and aroma of the cake. On the other hand, cakes can be stored next to desserts and other confectionery products without consequences.
Shelf life of cake in the freezer
It is not recommended to store cakes in the freezer, since when the product is frozen and subsequently thawed, it will lose its original appearance and taste characteristics.
Shelf life of cake without refrigeration
Some types of cakes can be stored without refrigeration at room temperature. First of all, these include waffle and dry cakes. They can be stored at home for up to 1 month . Chocolate and sponge cakes without cream can also be stored at room temperature. However, it must be remembered that in the sun or in a warm room, chocolate may begin to melt and become deformed.
At air temperatures up to +20 degrees, the shelf life of a cake with preservatives (for example, sorbic acid) is 36 hours . Therefore, even some cakes with cream can be stored at home without a refrigerator.
Shelf life of cake in the refrigerator
First, pay attention to the storage location. According to technical conditions, most of the cakes should be stored in refrigerators or specialized display cases. If the seller does not follow these simple rules, we recommend that you refuse to purchase from that location.
When stored in the refrigerator
When storing factory-made cakes, you should be guided by the expiration date specified by the manufacturer. When making a homemade cake and storing it in the refrigerator, you should focus on the components used in its manufacture.
Is it possible to store bread in the refrigerator or not? Find out the answer right now.
with custard have the shortest shelf life .
This dessert cannot be stored for more than 6 hours from the moment of preparation.
It is advisable to consume cakes soaked in sour cream cream within 16-18 hours after the cake is ready.
It is advisable to eat a cake with candied fruits, fruits or berries within 3 days from the moment of baking. Cakes based on vegetable cream have a shelf life of 5 days from the date of production.
Despite the fact that factory-made cakes have an expiration date indicated on the label , knowledge of the recipe and manufacturing components helps the consumer to correctly navigate the selection and storage of a sweet product.
In addition, the manufacturer may add preservatives (sorbic acid) to some cakes, which increases the shelf life of the product, but reduces its consumer qualities.
- The cake, which is made with cream , is stored for 18 hours in the refrigerator. If whipped cream , the shelf life is reduced to 6 hours.
- The shelf life of mousse cake is 2-3 days after preparation.
- For a cake decorated with mastic , the shelf life is determined by other components, since the food mastic itself (sugar paste) has a fairly long shelf life, exceeding the shelf life of other components of the delicacy.
- A classic sponge cake, not soaked in perishable creams, can be stored in the refrigerator for quite a long time - up to 15 days. So, when purchasing such a cake, you should focus on other components of the product.
- Sour cream cake contains a perishable component, so the shelf life of such a cake does not exceed 12 hours; in extreme cases, you can extend the period to 24 hours from the date of manufacture.
- Cakes made with beaten egg whites (white cake) can be stored in the refrigerator for 72 hours.
- Honey cakes, or Medoviki , are stored for 5 days from the date of preparation.
- The shelf life of shortbread cakes, depending on the filling, can be up to 7 days.
- Yogurt cakes can be stored in household refrigerators at a temperature of +2 to +6°C for 36 hours.
- Cakes with cottage cheese cream can be stored for no more than 24 hours.
- Chocolate cakes that do not contain other perishable ingredients can be safely stored in the home refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.
- Bird's Milk soufflé cake , made according to the classic Soviet recipe, has a shelf life of up to 30 days in the refrigerator and up to 4 days at room temperature.
- Napoleon cake contains a perishable component - custard, so it can be stored in a household refrigerator for no more than 36 hours.
- Prague cake can also be stored in the home refrigerator for no more than 36 hours.
Read about the shelf life of different types of beer here.
