How to Cool a Cake Fast? Detailed Guide for Beginners

Wouldn't it be amazing if you could start decorating your cake as soon as it comes out from the oven? But that doesn't happen. You have to wait for it to cool down before decorating the cake with frosting and toppings.

And if you are in a hurry or impatient like me, you may want to cool it down fast. So, how to cool a cake fast?

Well, you can use a cooling rack and horizontal slices to cool the cake in 45 minutes at room temperature. But if you need a quicker solution, you can use a refrigerator to do it in 25 minutes.

Sounds interesting? Please stick with me as I'll show you how you can cool your cake fast following some easy steps. Let's begin!

How to Cool A Cake Fast by Following 6 Easy Steps

Time Required: 25 minutes

Your oven-baked hot cake needs plenty of time to cool down. What to do then? Well, here's how you can bring that time down.

Step 1 - Take Out the Cake from Oven

First thing first, you need to take out the hot cake from the oven. The temperature inside the oven is always high. So, it's better to bring out the cake immediately after baking.

Step 2 - Check the Temperature of the Cake

Do you know you can check the temperature using a toothpick? Indeed, you can. You have to stick a toothpick in the middle of the cake. Keep it there for a while and check the cake's residue.

If the cake's residue is too hot, don't try to take out your cake from the pan. And if you find melt residue inside, you need to put the cake into the oven again.

Step 3 - Place the Cake on a Plate

When you take out the cake from the oven, it is still in a pan. A metal pan holds a lot of heat and doesn't allow cool air into your cake. You have to keep the cake on a plate to cut it perfectly. So why not now? Swiftly place the cake on a plate or cake board from the pan.

But, flipping your cake from pan to plate is not easy. To flip perfectly, you need to place the plate at the top surface of the pan and slowly flip the pan. Give some tap on the exterior surface of the pan to ensure the cake is on the plate fully.

Step 4 - Use a Cooling Rack

The cake's lower surface won't get enough air when it's on the plate. There's trapped heat all around.

Don't worry about this trapped heat. A cooling rack is there for you to eliminate the heat quickly. How does it help? A cooling rack lifts off the cake and allows cool air to pass through it.

Step 5 - Cut the Cake

To fill your cake with tasty fillings or frosting, you need to slice the cake. Horizontal slicing allows your cake to contact natural air and bring down the temperature easily.

While you slice the cake horizontally, the cake gets several layers instead of one. The thin layers allow more air to pass inside them.

Step 6 - Use the Refrigerator

What comes to your mind when you hear, "need to cool down something"? Refrigerator, right? A fridge helps to cool your cake immediately. If you use a cooling rack along with a fridge, you can perfectly cool down a cake within 15 minutes.

Quick refrigeration sometimes cools the top portion while the center may still be trapped with some heat. So, don't bring out the cake from the freezer after 5-10 minutes. Before taking the cake out of the fridge, ensure there is no trapped heat anywhere. Or else, it can crack down your beautiful cake.

When you are sure that the cake is cool enough, you can take the cake from the freezer. Just leave the cake at room temperature for 2-3 minutes to cool down naturally. Now, you are all set to start the decoration, frosting, and icing.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why do you have to wait until your cake is cool before icing?

The cake is made from sugar. Heated sugar breaks down and turns into a hard crust on the top layer of your cake. These hard crusts may curdle and not let you properly decorate the cake. That's why you need to wait before icing.

2. Can I put a cake in the refrigerator to cool?

Yes, you can use the refrigerator to cool the cake. But don't put it there for a long time. It can freeze your cake entirely. Also, less cooling may leave your cake hot inside and cool outside.

Final Words

It's always tough for you to keep waiting for your hot cake to cool down. You can't decorate the cake nice and quick until you know how to cool a cake fast.

If you keep your hot cake in the pan for a long time, it'll stick to the pan. As a result, the cake may break down when you try to serve it.

In a hot cake, icing melts into the cake. So, it's better to cool it down before icing and decorating. Hopefully, you can now cool down your cakes quickly whenever you hurry.