How to Refrigerate and Reheat Pastries, Cakes, and Pies

Your sweet tooth got a little carried away, and now you have a plethora of desserts and pastries that you just can’t possibly eat all in one day. What do you do? A few simple techniques can help you store your baked goods and help them taste as fresh as the day you brought them home from the bakery.

Frosted or unfrosted, sliced or unsliced, a freshly baked cake needs some TLC to keep it tasting fresh. Knowing how to store a cake in the fridge without it tasting like the contents of your refrigerator isn’t difficult.

If you’re refrigerating a frosted cake, chill the cake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes to get the frosting hard to the touch. Cover the cake loosely in plastic wrap to keep it from absorbing refrigerator odors. You can insert toothpicks into the top of the cake to keep the plastic wrap from touching the top. Once you’ve sliced into a cake, be sure to wrap the uncut portions well in plastic wrap to lock in the moisture.

Frosted cakes will last for about four to five days in the refrigerator. Cheesecake will last in the refrigerator for three to four days; be sure to wrap the cake tightly in plastic to keep moisture in the cake.

Do all cakes need to be refrigerated? Not necessarily. Some cakes, such as pound cakes, store perfectly well in an airtight container on the counter for up to three days. To preserve the freshness of the cake further, wrap any uncut parts in plastic.

Here’s what to know for reheating pastries so that they retain the best taste and texture:

• Use your oven
  A standard conventional home oven preheated to 350 degrees works wonders for warming already baked and chilled pastries.
• Bring out the baking sheet
  Place your pastries on a parchment-lined baking sheet for reheating (see timing guidelines below for the best way to reheat pastries).
• Let them crisp
  After removing the pastries from the oven, allow them to stand briefly on the baking sheet to crisp up before serving.

For sweet croissants, reheat for approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Let them stand for about 2 minutes, until crisp. For savory pastries, such as slices of quiche, reheat them for approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes to crisp.

You can keep pies in the refrigerator for about three days or frozen for up to two months. If you’re planning to serve pies beyond three days, it’s best to freeze them, let them defrost, and reheat them before serving.

What’s the best technique for reheating pie in the oven? If your pie has a flaky crust, place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet and warm it in a preheated 325-degree oven before serving. Generally, it may take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to ensure the pie is sufficiently warmed throughout before serving.

Now that you know how to refrigerate and reheat your favorite baked goods, it’s time to visit Frost Artisan Bakery. We always have a selection of fresh cakes, cookies, dessert bars, and more that will delight your taste buds.