This is a popular question I’m asked by those who attend my cupcake classes, so I thought I would share with you my tips on storage.
Cupcakes that are frosted are best eaten on the day they are baked, or the day after.
To store butter cream frosted cupcakes overnight store in a container such as a cake tin or cupcake box. The important thing is to keep them away from sunlight, heat and high humidity. A cool, dry area is ideal. This also applies to undecorated cupcakes.
People also recommend storing their cupcakes in a Tupperware container, as they keep moist for longer. I’ve found they do stay moist, however the cupcake liners can have a nasty habit of separating from the cupcakes, and sugar paste decorations can also droop and turn soft.
Plastic Tupperware containers can also take on the scent of previous food stored in the container, so I would recommend using a cake tin instead. This will keep out the air and any unwelcome smells.
Frostings that include perishables (fresh cream, cream cheese) should ideally be eaten on the day, or refrigerated and consumed the following day.
Also note that refrigerating cupcakes for too long dries them out, and cupcake frostings/ decorations can be affected by the condensation.
Another option is to freeze undecorated cupcakes, and then bring them to room temperature when you’re ready to ice them.
Happy Baking x
Hi, I hav ejust baked 400 cupcakes for a charity event, that went well. A full day baking and frosting and making fontant flowers was fun, exhausting and a tad stressfull! I like to make things only a day in advance and store in large tupperware containers over night, which was ok as i covered them in foil. The day of the event i put the fondant decorations on so they did not ‘melt’ on the butter cream. This last minute detail was very stressfull! Do you have any tips for producing large amounts of cup cakes without the stress of last minute decorating? Many Thanks
Hi Andrea, sorry in delay I’ve just come come back from a Summer break. Decorating 400 cupcakes on your own before they go out of the door is stressful and you have my sympathy. For that amount I would suggest that you really consider pulling in some help from either a friend or family member (you’d have to train them up) or from another local cupcake decorator and pay them for their services. There comes a point when you really can’t do it all on your own! I hope this helps, Tracy x
We are having a cupcake competition on campus. They need to be baked about two days in advance and decorated day of. I am making a a caramel cupcake. If I don’t decorate it, will it still be pretty fresh if I store it in new tupperware? Also, can I store a buttercream frosting in the fridge for two days and it still be pretty good?
Hi Sarah, your cupcake competition sounds like fun! I personally recommend baking cupcakes as close to the time they are going to be consumed. Depending on the recipe you use they are usually fine baked the day before, baking them 48 hours before would be the absolute latest time as they tend to start drying out. To have the best chance of keeping them moist store them in a cool, dry place and if possible store them in a tin or a cardboard cupcake box. If you store them in plastic tupperware for 2 days there is a high chance that the liners/cases will peel away from the cupcakes. Other tips to consider is that you could freeze them undecorated, or you could keep them moist by feeding the cupcakes with a sugar syrup solution (made with combining granulated sugar,any flavoring such as vanilla extract and boiling water which is mixed together and then cooled and with a cocktail stick make a few holes in the cupcake and pour in a little of the solution). Consider whether this would work with your recipe, I find a sugar solution works well with sponge type recipes such as vanilla, lemon or orange cupcakes.
For the buttercream this can happily be kept in the fridge for up to a week after it has been made, good luck I hope this helps. Tracy x
I am making 36 cupcakes for the next day, can i frost and store them in the fridge? am using buttercream icing for half and ready-made frostin for the other half
Hi Ann, you can frost them and store them in a cool dry cupboard if they are for the next day, they’ll be perfectly fine. If any of your frosting contains fresh cream then this is different they absolutely need to be refridgerated.
I am making fondant cupcakes for my friend’s baby shower, how can I store them to avoid melting? I m planning to make them two days advance. I have experience that my cake melt in the fridge with fondant decorations. Thanks!
Hi Amy, your fondant decorations will melt in the fridge due to the moisture. I would bake the cakes and store them in a cool, dry place and then place the fondant decorations on the cupcakes a couple of hours before they are due to go out the door. You can make the fondant decorations in advance, so they don’t need to be made on the morning they are due to be delivered, hope this helps.