Can You Freeze Cake Batter? [Detailed Guide]

We all love cake and often want to make it ourselves rather than buy it at a store.

Making homemade cake can be simple, fun, and satisfying when you do it right.

Cake-making doesn’t have to be hard as long as you follow the few easy steps needed to get the best results.

Not only can you make the cake yourself, but you can also customize it to exactly how you like it every time.

Making homemade cake batter is easy as long as a few basic things are kept in mind, as the measurement of the ingredients, especially if you’re using baking powder or baking soda along with the flour.

Having all your ingredients measured ahead of time will make your process run smoothly.

Also, one of the most important things to remember when making cake is not to over mix your batter.

Can you freeze the cake batter? Yes, indeed, you sure can.

The only thing to remember is not over mixing the batter since you’ll be “thawing” it after it’s been frozen.

You can do a few things to help ensure that this doesn’t happen, like freezing small portions of your cake batter in ice cube trays or any other freezer-safe container (like a plastic bag).

In this article, we will guide you through making cake batter and help you freeze it without any issues.

How to Make the Best Cake Batter?

If you’re making a cake, it’s best to use extra-large eggs instead of medium-sized or jumbo ones.

Extra-large eggs are easier to separate and measure out, making the batter preparation for your homemade cake run smoothly.

You’ll notice that some recipes call for separating egg whites from the yolk first before measuring them out.

This is best to do when there’s more than one extra-large egg yolk in your recipe because each egg white will be less if you separate it from the yolk.

Measure Out Your Flour – Best to use a kitchen scale for this, especially if you’re using self-rising flour.

If you don’t have a kitchen scale, spoon out your flour instead of measuring it with a cup.

Self-rising flour is different from plain flour, so make sure you don’t interchange the two in recipes.

Add the Baking Powder and Baking Soda to Your Flour – If you’re using self-rising flour, make sure that all of your baking powder/soda has been added to it already. This will keep your cake mix fluffy.

It’s also important that you measure out all ingredients according to the recipe so if you’re using self-rising flour, keep in mind that it contains baking powder and soda.

Start Whisking the Eggs – Start whisking your eggs before you measure out your milk or any other liquid ingredients to ensure the best results when making the cake batter.

The additives in your flour, such as baking powder and baking soda, will need the help of a lot of liquid to make your cake fluffy.

Remember, if you’re using self-rising flour, there’s no need to measure out baking powder/soda as it will already be in your flour mix.

Add the Liquid Ingredients – Pour your milk or other liquid ingredients into your eggs while you’re whisking them.

You can add a little bit of water at a time to help ensure that they’ll be well mixed.

We need to add the liquids first because we want to make sure that all of the baking powder or soda has been mixed into the eggs before we add our flour mix.

Add the Flour – Using a spatula, stir your flour into your batter slowly until it’s just combined with no dry spots left behind.

It’s important not to over stir your batter after adding the flour and other ingredients to ensure you obtain the best results when baking your cake.

Mix Well – Make sure that you thoroughly mix your batter by taking a spatula and fold it through the batter in a circular motion, or else use an electric hand mixer to do this for you.

You want to make sure that all ingredients are well combined.

Also, if there’s any flour left in your mixing bowl after you’ve added the batter, make sure to get that out, so it doesn’t burn on the bottom of your cake when you put it in the oven.

Let Your Cake Batter Stand – After adding your flour into the batter, let it stand until bubbles appear on top or at least for 10 minutes.

This will ensure that your cake doesn’t turn out too heavy, using up all the flour in your recipe and making it dryer than it should be.

Once your Batter Is Ready, Use It Right Away.

Cake batter doesn’t last long. It’s best to use it as soon as you can get your hands on it.

You need to take precautions so that the batter doesn’t dry up while you’re preparing your cake mix.

Does Freezing Affect Cake Batter?

We talked about how quickly cake batter can turn into a dry mess.

If you’re not planning on baking your mix for the day or you just made too much batter, then freezing it is the way to go.

Remember what we said above? The key to keeping your cake mix from getting old and unappetizing is by making sure that you don’t let it stand longer than 10 minutes after your other ingredients have been added in.

As we’ve talked about, the baking mix will dry up quickly, but freezing is a great step to ensure that it doesn’t turn into a brick of dry cake batter.

It’s going to work the same way as refrigerating will.

The difference is that you’ll want to make sure that your cake batter isn’t frozen for too long because it will become a solid brick of ice and no one wants to frost a brick.

Freezing is best done by portioning out your cake mix into mini containers, so you don’t have to worry about scooping the equivalent of a lifetime’s worth of cake mix in one go.

If you’re using a self-rising flour recipe, then you already have the added advantage of baking powder and soda in your ingredients.

To help keep things fluffy, you can use whipped topping mix to add air into your batter or egg whites for the fluffiest results possible.

How to Freeze Cake Batter?

There are many methods of freezing cake batter that you can choose from, but the best thing to do is make sure that your frozen cake mix is not stored together in a large container, or else it will turn into an icy brick.

To prevent this from happening, use freezer-safe containers such as Ziploc bags for smaller batches and plastic containers for bigger batches.

You’ll want to make sure that you label them with the expiration dates to keep things neat and easy.

To freeze your cake batter:

Mix all ingredients pour into a freezer-safe container, making sure to leave room for expansion.

Freeze until it’s firm. This will take about 3-4 hours, depending on your freezer size and the type of container you’re using.

Add a layer of parchment paper between each cake mix layer, making sure that it’s tightly sealed so there are no air pockets inside the container.

They can freeze for up to 3 months.

How to Thaw Frozen Cake Batter?

If your frozen cake mix is in a container, you can put it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.

This works best if the container is already cold, with at least a few hours left before you plan on baking.

You can also place it in warm water for about 5 minutes or so before using it.

Take your batter out of the container, place it in a heat-proof bowl and submerge it in warm water.

Once you’re ready to use your thawed cake batter, make sure that you don’t let it stand for too long, as this will dry up your mix.

How to Tell if Frozen Cake Batter is Bad?

Is your cake mix frozen? You’ve probably been using the containers you saved from last summer or some other plastic food container that you don’t mind freezing with.

Just because storage is not your top priority doesn’t mean that these boxes and bags should be thrown away immediately.

If there’s any chance of it being still edible, even if it’s just a few bites, then keeping it may just be your best bet.

If your cake mix is freezer burned and you’ve left it alone for a few days, then the chances are that it’s no longer edible.

It will have become solid and has probably lost most of its moisture.

The best thing to do in this situation is just throw it away.

Another way to tell if frozen cake batter is bad, you’ll want to look for mold growth.

This type of thing will normally happen within a couple of days or so, depending on the temperature it’s stored at and how often you open your freezer door.

It won’t necessarily be easy to spot because the frosting may cover up the evidence of what’s inside.

If you notice discolored spots on the cake batter, then it’s probably time to throw it away as well.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cake batter does freeze very well.

You can prepare a few batches of it and store them away for your birthday cakes or any other occasion that calls for celebration.

So, next time you have more cake batter than you can eat, remember that there are always many ways of extending its life.

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