How to Save the Top Tier of Your Wedding Cake

Almost every bride we meet expects to save the top tier of her wedding cake.  And each is also afraid it will taste terrible after a year in the freezer. But it's tradition.

Although I ALWAYS recommend just enjoying it when it is fresh, it doesn't have to create a bad food memory if you follow these directions.

1. Assign this job, well in advance, to someone who will have the time and freezer space immediately after the wedding to do the job properly.
2. Tell your baker that you intend to freeze the top tier, and ask them to provide an extra cake board and box for this purpose.
3. Remove any non-edible decorations that may still be on the cake such as flowers, gumpaste bows, etc.
4. Place the cake in the freezer for about 20 minutes. This will firm up the icing and keep it from sticking to the plastic wrap.
5. Now you are ready to wrap the cake.  Take the cake out of the freezer and lift it off the circular cardboard cake board it is sitting on.  Place a piece of plastic wrap over the cake circle and replace the cake.  This will help miminize any "cardboard taste" that may seep into the cake during the months it is in your freezer.
6. Roll out a generous length of plastic wrap, place the cake (on its "circle" from step 5) on top, and wrap it securely.  If your plastic wrap is not extra wide, rotate the cake 90 degrees and repeat this process to be sure the cake is covered on all sides.
7. Place the covered cake in the box and wrap the box well with more plastic wrap in both directions.  Now is not the time to think about the environmental impact of all that plastic.
8. Label the wrapped box "WEDDING CAKE" so you don't accidently throw it out.
9. The day before you plan to eat it, take the box out of the freezer and defrost it (fully wrapped) for about 2 hours in the fridge.
10. Remove the cake from the fridge, unwrap the box, take the cake out, and unwrap the cake.  Don't forget to remove the plastic wrap from under the cake.  You need to do this while the icing is still hard so you don't damage it too much.
11. Put the cake on the new board you remembered to get from the baker, replace it in the box and let it continue defrosting in the fridge.
12. Just before serving, let the cake rest at room temperature for about an hour.
13. Garnish the top with your orininal topper or fresh flowers or your saved gumpaste decorations.
14. Get out your cake server and knife, and make a toast to married life.
15. If this seems like too much work, order a new small cake from the bakery that made your wedding cake, ask them to decorate it the same way, and you'll have a perfect opportunity to enjoy some delicious fresh wedding cake.