From start to finish, My Very Best Chocolate Cake takes over an hour to reach the final "cooling on the racks" stage. But, if I add about 15 minutes--if that--of extra time to measure double amounts and grease/flour extra pans, the result is two sets of cakes! One set will get used right away, and one set will get frozen. Five or six months later, when I have a hankering for cake, or there's a food event (potluck or some such event) coming up, I can pull out those cakes, whip up a frosting or filling, and I'm quickly set to bring a dessert! So here's my formula:
Doubling a recipe = Saving time!
Now on to the freezing part. It's important to keep as much air as possible out of your freezer package, since oxygen promotes freezer burn or at least diminished taste. I don't have a vacuum sealer, so what do I do?
First, for, say, the cakes I mentioned above, I wrap them in plastic wrap. I do the cakes two ways (around one side, then turn 90 degrees and wrap that way) because they're not quite narrow enough for the plastic wrap to cover from edge to edge. And that also gives them some extra protection.
The cakes also fit nicely in gallon-sized freezer bags, so each one goes into a separate bag (can't fit two in one, unfortunately). Then, I seal the bags. Yes, there's more; keep reading. ;)
I open the seal in the center of the bag (easier to seal again once this step is done), and insert a straw into the bag. Then I seal the bag around the straw as much as possible. All that's left is lung power!
Suck out as much air as possible. This may take several inhales; usually two or three will do the trick. Once you've gotten as much air out as you think you can, use your lips to pull the straw out while using your fingers to quickly seal the bag up completely.
Of course, vacuum sealing is probably much easier, but without that handy machine, this has worked for me very well!
Above are my three sealed cakes, ready for the freezer. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the "common" name for My Very Best Chocolate Cake is...
Chocolate Cake To The Max
Just in case you were wondering what those letters meant. ;)
Back to life,
Christine
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This sounds like a great idea. I always make my husband a double layer chocolate cake for his birthday. I made your confetti rice last week with ground chicken and for the veggies I used zucchini (yellow and green) and a yellow onion. Family really liked it. I bought ingredients to make it again this week but with chicken breast I got on sale. Thank you for sharing your recipes. Hope the start of your week is going well. Heather
ReplyDeleteHeather, your cake sounds yummy, too! So glad you and your family liked the confetti rice. I love the idea of using ground chicken, and the chicken breast in it sounds great, too. :)
DeleteHello Friend! I've heard this method for years, but haven't done it...I've relied more on the "press and quick zip." However, I do get ice crystals in things, so it clearly hasn't worked well enough! Gonna bring a straw or two up to the farm (they're in the drawer of my kitchen table at home) and do it right! The double wrap is important, no doubt :-) Miss you! {{{HUGS}}}
ReplyDeleteHi, Lady!! :D I hope the "straw" method works well for you, too! And I miss seeing your beautiful face around here. Time for a visit (I sure wish I could come up to the farm...).
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