The shelf life of the cake depends on the ingredients and ranges from 7 hours to 3 months

Shelf life

It depends on the ingredients used or the method of preparation:

1. factory (production of large batches);
2. homemade (such sweets are preferred by people who adhere to proper nutrition);
3. exclusive baked goods (usually ordered for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries. Here the client’s imagination can come up with unimaginable combinations)

Without refrigerator

Without a refrigerator, i.e. Only dry waffle cakes can be stored at room temperature for 30 days.

This is also typical for some types of chocolate cakes, but their fat content must be taken into account: the higher, the shorter the period.

In a refrigerator

When purchasing a treat, you should follow the storage recommendations indicated on the box. For example, cakes containing fruit or decorated with cream must be kept at temperatures up to + 6 degrees. The refrigerator is the optimal place for this. Don't forget that confectionery products absorb surrounding odors very strongly, so aromatic knuckle or liver pate are not the best neighbors for them. When placing the cake in the refrigerator, cover it with a tight lid to prevent odors.

Storage standards for such products are determined not by GOST, but by technical conditions.

• The shortest shelf life is for cakes filled with sour cream and whipped cream: no more than half a day (6 hours).
• If the product is decorated with custard or curd mousse, it can be consumed for about 18 hours.
• Cakes filled with yogurt/yogurt mousse and cream cheese, such as Mascarpone, remain fresh for one day.
• Bird's milk, fruit and berry - 7 hours.
• Products with protein filler - 72 hours.
• Waffle ones can last up to 3-4 weeks.

In the freezer

Quite a good option!

There was a holiday coming up in our family: my grandmother’s anniversary, and she really loves baked goods with prunes “from Palych,” but you won’t find them in our local store during the day. There are 3 days until the celebration, and suddenly I see our favorite in the window, naturally, I buy it, put it in the freezer at home, hoping that it won’t spoil. What do we observe after defrosting? Yes, the same thing!

Store-bought or homemade products can feel great in the freezer for several days.

The deep-freezing method is often used in cafes and restaurants: frozen dessert remains edible for a reasonable period of time (within a week).

How to properly store cakes and pastries

The ideal place is the refrigerator. The temperature should not exceed +4, maximum +6 degrees. It is not recommended to keep desserts next to cold cuts, raw eggs, smoked meats and other aromatic foods that tend to emit odors. The surface should be protected from drying out. Lids and boxes are used for this. Light shortens shelf life, spoils decor, and decorations fade.

How to extend the shelf life:

• products with custard and topping can be wrapped in cling film;
• biscuits do not dry out if you leave a cut apple in the box;

• desserts with cream settle. It is important not to shake during transportation, choose a free shelf, and not touch unnecessarily;
• The meringue gets damp, but it doesn’t disappear even at room temperature. If the protein cakes have a creamy layer, we recommend storing them in the refrigerator without a lid. Condensation should not accumulate on the dessert.

The storage conditions and periods for cakes and cakes with butter cream are different. They deteriorate even with a short stay in heat.

Can it be stored at sub-zero temperatures?

Cream desserts should not be frozen. Butter, cottage cheese, sour cream, and other dairy products separate when thawed, water and fat leave, and the appearance deteriorates. This also affects the taste. If you need to prepare a cake for a holiday in advance, we recommend baking and freezing the cake layers. Biscuit tolerates storage best in the freezer.

Instructions:

1. Bake a sponge cake. Remove from mold.
2. Cool on a wire rack for 4-5 hours.
3. Wrap with cling film.
4. Place in an additional bag and tie.
5. Place in the freezer.

Before assembling, remove the frozen cake from the chamber, keep for 3-4 hours at room temperature, then cut into slices, layer, and decorate.

Of all the types, only “Anthill” with honey or condensed milk tolerates freezing well.

By type

• Vienna Sacher. It is a chocolate sponge cake with one or two layers of apricot jam, covered on top and sides with chocolate glaze. Usually served with whipped cream. Duration 5 days.
• Meringue (meringue). A representative of French cuisine made from beaten egg whites with sugar. Sometimes they use corn starch, vanilla seasoning, coconut, and almonds. For example, Count's Ruins is made from meringue, so it stays fresh for up to 14 days.
• Don Sancho Pancho. Best Representative . Sour cream king has many fillings, but the most familiar taste is with condensed milk. for seven days .
• Kievsky (Roshen company) . It is recommended to eat for about 3 days , which indicates the quality of the composition.
• Fantel ( Fontelier company). A very beautiful, hearty cake with nuts that will complement family gatherings, so we eat it immediately after purchase.
• Crepe de Paris. Made from thin pancake dough, sprinkled with powdered sugar - five days of freshness.
• Forest. A fairytale forest decorated with little animals and cartoon characters made from mastic. Beautiful, tasty, a great addition to a children's party. We store 120 hours .
• Milky girl. Multi-layered, tender, airy - 3 definitions of this work of art, complemented with berries and cheese cream. Will keep for two days at room temperature.
• Flight. A simple but delicious cake that you can prepare even at home. 7 days.
• Bird's milk. A stunning and beloved dessert that is always welcome. We store it for two days.
• Tiramisu. This Italian favorite is made with highly perishable ingredients, so only 3 days ...
• Moscow. The capital's signature cake. The main part is made from hazelnuts, seasoned with boiled condensed milk, so the period is less than 72 hours.
• Prague. One of the historical sweets. Safe use time - 36 hours .
• Fairy tale. Sponge roll, complemented with butter cream, decorated with marmalade, candied fruits, marzipan. 5 days.
• Red velvet. Very tasty cream cheese cake. It has a short shelf life, consume immediately after purchase.
• Honey cake. Store from 0 to 6 degrees for 21 days, if frozen - up to three months.
• Anthill. Mirel's favorite dessert, topped with condensed milk. It is so filling that it is very difficult to eat more than one piece at a time. frozen for . This is such a long lasting cake!
• Ryzhik. Honey cakes are delicious! Keeps for one week.
• Boucher. This incredible cake is made from two circles of sponge dough with a melting buttery mousse in the middle. We store for a short time due to the filling.
• English cherry (Quality Factory). We store it for 5 days (it won’t stay longer than that).
• Esterhazy. As children, we called cakes similar to this cake shortbread. And here you can safely trust. If frozen to -18 degrees, it can be stored for 18 months.
• Napoleon (R obin Sdobin). The layered dessert is beyond praise. We store it for five days.
• Tatarstan. Cranberry jam with chocolate glaze, cream soufflé. Real jam! Use immediately.

Types of cakes and expiration dates

Cakes and pastries vary in composition and preparation methods, and each variety has its own specifics. When choosing confectionery products, pay attention to the technology used to make the cakes.

Types of cakes:

1. Biscuit, which are usually impregnated with various compositions.
2. Sandy, dry and crumbly in texture. This test does not require eggs.
3. Custard. When they are prepared, cavities are formed inside the semi-finished product, so choux pastry is usually used in cakes (eclairs and profiteroles).
4. Puff pastry. Such cakes should be fluffy and airy and at the same time remain the same in thickness everywhere.
5. Cottage cheese, which is prepared from a mixture of cottage cheese and flour.
6. Nut, with crushed nuts or made from nut flour.
7. Waffle.

Most of these baked goods will be good to eat within 3-5 days of production if placed in the refrigerator. The quality of the product is preserved longer with shortbread cakes, which remain fresh for a week. Waffle cakes can be eaten throughout the month.

The dangers of consuming expired products

A favorite delicacy can become a threat to the body if there are signs of improper storage: unsealed containers, wrinkled, damaged appearance, pasted labels with the production date, and others. Also pay attention to the bitter taste of the dessert (especially with mousse), in which bacteria multiply quickly. This most often happens in the hot season or if the rules and storage periods have not been followed.

If a potentially dangerous product has already been consumed, then, most likely, poisoning cannot be avoided, which will spoil the impression of the holiday, and can lead to serious stomach problems.

Deterioration in health manifests itself literally within a few minutes; it can manifest itself as rumbling in the stomach, sharp colic, nausea, vomiting, fever, and weakness. The most severe form is fainting and even convulsions.

Unbreakable principles when storing cakes

With all the variety of cakes and pastries, most of them are recommended to be eaten as soon as possible after preparation. If this fails, the confectionery product must be stored in the correct conditions so that it remains safe for human health.

Rules for storing cakes and pastries:

1. A cool environment will not allow the product to deteriorate. The optimal storage temperature is from +2 ℃ to +6 ℃.
2. It is necessary to use packaging with a tight lid - the cakes quickly absorb foreign odors.
3. The shelf life of the entire product corresponds to the shelf life of its most perishable ingredient.

Eating expired product can lead to food poisoning, so it is recommended to throw away confectionery products with an unpleasant or sour smell.

Important! Homemade cakes should not be refrigerated until they have cooled completely. The resulting condensation can spoil the appearance of the product, and temperature changes will cause the biscuits to settle.

Where to buy a cake

Depending on the importance of the event and the skill of the hostess, desserts can be divided into:

• purchased at a nearby store;
• prepared with your own hands, at home;
• made to order by a professional pastry chef.

In the supermarket

As a rule, supermarkets sell products with a long shelf life, such as waffles and biscuits.
They are made with the addition of a large number of preservatives and are often stored for a long time and not in the refrigerator. When purchasing it, you should pay attention to the expiration date of the product, if its composition is not in doubt. If the store has its own production, then you can buy a cake with a shorter shelf life. Most often, such products are placed in the refrigerator and their shelf life depends on the ingredients included.

Frozen desserts are common. Some sellers sell them this way, frozen. The buyer himself brings it to readiness at home, at the temperature recommended by the manufacturer. When purchasing something that has already been thawed, you should focus on the date it was defrosted and count the expiration date from there.

Homemade

When making homemade cakes, natural products with a short shelf life are most often used. To ensure that the sweet remains fresh when serving, you should focus on the product with the shortest shelf life in terms of storage time and temperature. If fruits are used in the preparation, you need to remember that they will spoil first and the freshness of the product will depend on them.

To order

When ordering a dessert from a professional pastry chef, you should ask him about storage recommendations and expiration dates. A competent specialist cares about his work and reputation, so he is always happy to advise and share information.

Regardless of where it was purchased and what is written on the label, you should independently navigate the expiration dates of certain types of products; we will discuss this issue later in the article.

Requirements for the quality of cakes

A cake is a flour confectionery product . It is characterized by: a high percentage of fat and sugar; high calorie content.

The product contains a lot of moisture , which reduces shelf life.

Requirements for the production, packaging, labeling, acceptance, transportation and storage of cakes are specified in OST 10-060-95.

The shape of the cake must correspond to the type to which it belongs, the finish must be intact, and the design must be clear. The dough must be baked and free from any traces of unkneading.

Kinks and dents on the confectionery product are unacceptable.

Packaging for cakes - cardboard or made of polymer materials - is made in the form of an artistically designed box, at the bottom of which there is a parchment napkin.

The packaging indicates:

• exact time of dessert production;
• best before date;
• storage conditions;
• full information about the manufacturer ;
• name of the cake , its weight and composition;
• certificate of nutritional and energy value ;
• message about the presence of preservatives .

In the next article you will learn how long you can store honey at home.

Cakes differ in the method of baking the semi-finished product; the requirements for the consistency of the product depend on it:

1. sand crumbles without much effort from external influences;
2. sponge cake is characterized by porosity and soft consistency;
3. the main feature of puff semi-finished product is, accordingly, layering;
4. almond-walnut has a cracking, shiny crust;
5. Whipped protein by high fragility.

How to choose a fresh cake

In order to buy a fresh confectionery product, you need to carefully inspect it. Signs of a good product:

• the surface is not overdried, rather damp;
• stands on a refrigerated display case;
• there are no crumbled edges, the cakes and cream are uniform in color;
• Expiration dates are normal.

The packaging must be intact, preferably transparent. The contents are clearly visible through it. This is usually plastic. Desserts without decorations may be sold in cardboard boxes.

Each confectionery product is marked. The manufacturer is required to provide the following information:

• Name;
• list of components included in the composition;
• mass;
• date of manufacture or deadline by which the product must be consumed;
• how much and how to store after opening the package;
• manufacturer's address.

Storing mirror glaze

Mirror glaze is the best option for decorating mousse cakes, which are good for 72 hours; In the freezer, the shelf life increases to 10 days. The cake should be glazed on the day it is served.

The mousse cake must be stored only in the refrigerator: the mousse will leak on the balcony or in any cool room.

The mirror glaze must be perfectly smooth and even, so you cannot cover it with cling film. The icing itself can be stored for up to a month, but the shelf life of the entire product depends on the other components of the cake.

When choosing dessert in a store, you should give preference to products with the release date on the label. Most supermarkets sell already cut and packaged pieces of cake, but it is hardly worth buying them, because the actual production time of the product is unknown. It is also risky to buy cakes from hand on the street - in unsuitable conditions, the shelf life of cakes and pastries is significantly reduced.

How to tell if a cake has gone bad

There are a number of signs that indicate that a confectionery product is unsuitable for consumption:

• There is a pungent odor that will be noticeable immediately when you open the lid.
• Bitter or sour taste can apply to both cream and cakes.
• Deformed appearance of cakes - thicker or thinner, uneven, shriveled or too loose.
• Spreading or flaking cream.
• Hardness – this may apply to cream, impregnation or cake layers.
• Strange spots of different sizes, shapes and colors - if they were not there initially, it is obvious that they appeared during the process of rotting of the components.
• Mold, often bright green in color.

About storage rules

Storage recommendations depend on several factors (given taking into account that storage is carried out in the refrigerator at a temperature of 2 to 4ºC).

If the cake is baked with your own hands, then you can set the time during which it will not spoil, based on the composition of the products used in its preparation.

• The shelf life of the sponge cake is 5 days;
• fruit dessert without cream, bird's milk, mousse cake and cake with protein cream are stored for 3 days;
• fruit cakes with cream, yogurt desserts, cakes with mastic will not spoil in 2 days;
• homemade cake with butter or custard can be stored for 36 hours;
• sour cream cake is good for 12 hours;
• The shelf life of a product with whipped cream is no more than 6 hours.

A cake from a store must be accompanied by a label containing detailed information on how to store the product correctly.

The dessert is placed in the refrigerator, packaged, on a shelf where there are no products with a strong smell (fish, cheese).

Deadlines may vary. This depends on the presence of additional perishable products in the composition, if the dessert is homemade.

It is not advisable to store cakes at room temperature, especially in hot weather. The product can stand without refrigeration for a maximum of 6 hours.

Exceptions include waffle, as well as chocolate and sponge cakes without cream - they are stored without refrigeration for 7 to 30 days.

Can it be frozen?

Almost all cakes are suitable for freezing, with the exception of fruit and low-fat cakes.

Rules for freezing a cake:

• if the cake is homemade, it needs to cool;
• cling film or foil is best for packaging;
• if there are a lot of other products in the freezer, then a baking sheet would be a good option for storing dessert;

• you need to pack the cake tightly so that air does not get into the empty space;
• It is not advisable to store dessert in close proximity to other products;
• The packaging must be marked so as not to forget the date of placement in the freezer.

Home freezing differs from industrial shock freezing. A cake frozen in a household freezer is usable for 2-3 months.

Defrost the cake in the refrigerator for several hours or about 2 hours without exposure to cold.

What affects the shelf life?

The shelf life of confectionery products is affected by:

1. Conditions of transportation and sale. It is almost impossible to find out how the product was delivered to the store. Conditions for pre-sale storage at a retail outlet can be assessed. The bulk of confectionery products should be kept in refrigerated cabinets.
2. Storage after purchase. In warm conditions, the delicacy spoils faster; in the refrigerator compartment it can be stored longer.
3. Composition of cakes and cream. Depending on the ingredients, the shelf life is at least several hours, maximum several weeks. If the cake is home-baked, then its period of suitability for consumption is determined by the expiration date of the most perishable ingredient.

Cakes have a longer shelf life, so in general the storage period is determined by the composition of the cream.

The period and conditions for storing confectionery products, as well as the requirements for their labeling, are established by the industry standard OST 10-060-95. At what temperature should the cake be stored in the refrigerator?

The refrigerator where you plan to store the cake must maintain a temperature of +2°C to +6°C. To prevent the dessert from absorbing foreign odors, it should be stored under a tightly closed lid , and strong-smelling foods should first be removed from the refrigerator.

If there is no plastic or cardboard container with a lid for a homemade cake, it is packaged using cling film.

In the cold season, instead of a refrigerator, the cake can be placed on a balcony or loggia , but this is a last resort. It is worth remembering that sub-zero temperatures and dampness have a negative impact on the confectionery product.

Homemade baked goods are placed in the refrigerator compartment after they have cooled completely.

Signs of freshness of a purchased or homemade cake

The first thing people focus on when choosing a dessert is the taste characteristics and appearance, which makes you want to eat the cake. But the attractive appearance of sweets does not always indicate its freshness. In order not to buy a confectionery product that will subsequently cause digestive problems, you need to focus on the following points:

1. Dessert storage area. When the cake is not in the refrigerator or in a special display case, this indicates its dubious freshness and suitability for food.
2. The equipment must be clean and have a significant viewing angle to be able to examine the confectionery product.
3. Be sure to check the expiration date stamped on the box or other type of packaging of the dessert.

It is easier to determine the degree of freshness and suitability for food with store-bought confectionery products than with those prepared at home. In order not to develop health problems by eating a cake whose shelf life has already expired, you need to focus on the following points:

1. Keep the confectionery product exclusively in the refrigerator.
2. It is advisable to bake a homemade cake on the day you plan to eat it, and not in advance.
3. Use only high-quality and fresh products as ingredients for home baking.
4. The shelf life of a homemade cake is up to 18 hours, depending on the ingredients used during preparation.

Attention! The most dangerous part of any cake is the cream; its shelf life is much shorter than that of the cake. This is due to the fact that it is prepared from perishable products such as eggs, sour cream, cream and the like.

Useful tips when choosing a cake

When choosing a cake in a store, pay close attention to the labels that indicate the release date. Often in supermarkets such a label is replaced with a new one.

Avoid already cut and repackaged confectionery products, as this is how the manufacturer most often hides their expired shelf life.

Do not buy a similar product on the street from your hands, they are positioned as homemade, but the shelf life of custard cakes is short (maximum 18 hours), and in open sunlight it is reduced several times.

Features of choice

The first thing we pay attention to when purchasing a cake or pastry is its taste. A confectionery product should attract us and make us want to eat it as soon as possible. But there are points indicating the shelf life of the cake that many do not notice.

1. The first is the place where confectionery products are stored. They must be located in display cases specially designed for these purposes.
2. All equipment must be clean, neatly decorated, and with a wide viewing angle. It’s great if the display case is glazed on all sides, then you can see the purchased confectionery product in all its details.
3. An important aspect here is the expiration date, which each manufacturer indicates on the box with the cake.
4. Unnaturally bright colors of cream and decorations indicate a large number of artificial dyes and other harmful additives.
5. It is best to ask to hold the box in your hands and read the ingredients. A high-quality confectionery product that will benefit health uses only natural products - cottage cheese, sour cream, cream, eggs.