Who doesn’t love a delicious, moist, fresh-baked cake? We absolutely love all types of cakes.
Sometimes, we decide to bake more than one at a time, which is also a bad thing because we run out of storage room.
Some of our cakes need to be refrigerated and some don’t. If you’re wondering which of your homemade cakes need to be refrigerated and which don’t we have a detailed guide for you.
Red velvet cake should be refrigerated since it has a cream cheese-butter frosting and tiramisu and cheesecake should be refrigerated due to the cheese, but German chocolate cake and bundt cakes don’t need to be refrigerated.
We’ve created this article to give you a better understanding of how to store the cakes in question and in which environment they thrive the best.
| Type | Refrigerated | Frozen | Counter |
| Red Velvet | 5 days | 4 months | 2-3 days |
| Bundt | 5 days | 6 months | 48 hours |
| German Chocolate | 4-5 days | 4 months | 5 days |
| Tiramisu | 4 days | 3 months | 2 hours |
| Cheesecake | 3-4 days | 2-3 months | 2 hours |
| Poundcake | 1 week | 4-6 months | 1-2 days |
*Store-bought cakes will last about a week longer since they contain preservatives
**Numbers based on if they had dairy-based frosting/filling
Do Red Velvet Cakes Need to Be Refrigerated?
Red velvet cakes without cream cheese frosting don’t need to be refrigerated, but if it has cream cheese frosting, then they should be refrigerated.
Since cream cheese frosting is dairy-based, it should be kept cool to avoid bacteria and mold growth.
What Is Red Velvet Cake?
Red velvet cake is a popular Southern U.S. dessert. It’s a vanilla cake with a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder and red food coloring mixed together.
There’s also vinegar and buttermilk in the batter that adds a bit of tanginess to balance the sweet cream cheese-butter frosting.
The flavoring is a mix between mild cocoa and slight tartness. You will find that the cream cheese frosting is the most prominent flavor.
The texture will be smooth, tender, light, and soft with creamy icing.
Since it typically has cream cheese frosting, there are a couple of ways you can keep it fresh to avoid spoilage.
Keeping Red Velvet Cakes Fresh
There are a couple of methods we like to use that keep our red velvet cakes fresh for days longer than usual.
If you’ve already eaten some of the cake, you can put the cake in an airtight container and put it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
After 3 days, your cake may not have the same quality as it did when it first came out of the oven.
If you choose to not refrigerate your red velvet cake, you can keep it at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
If your cake has cream cheese frosting, it has to be refrigerated or it will spoil since it’s dairy-based.
Freezing Red Velvet Cake
You can freeze red velvet cake if you want to preserve it for even longer. It can be frozen for up to 4 months.
When you’re ready to eat it, let it thaw first. You can wrap it in cling wrap and then put it in an airtight container to prevent freezer burn.
Do Bundt Cakes Need to Be Refrigerated?
Unfrosted bundt cakes can remain unrefrigerated for 48 hours before it begins to lose their quality. If it has cream cheese or buttercream frosting, it has to be refrigerated after 48 hours due to the dairy.
There are so many varieties of bundt cakes and toppings that can go on them.
Some of the most popular flavors of bundt cake include vanilla, chocolate, pumpkin, carrot, and lemon. You can even fill them with fruit, nuts, and cream cheese.
What Is Bundt Cake?
A bundt cake is a cake baked in a bundt pan. It shapes the cake into a doughnut shape, which is inspired by a traditional European cake known as Gugelhupf.
The cake will have a large hole in the middle and there are different shape bundt pans.
You can make just about any type of cake, including poundcake, into a bundt pan and it will come out the same.
Since bundt cakes are typically unfrosted or glazed, they don’t require refrigeration, but here’s how you can keep them fresh anyway.
Keeping Bundt Cakes Fresh
Bundt cakes can be put in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days or left on the counter in an airtight container for 48 hours.
After this time, your bundt cake will begin to lose quality. If it has cream cheese frosting or any dairy-based topping or filling, your cake will begin to perish quickly.
Poundcake has a shelf life of roughly 1 week in the refrigerator, 1-2 days at room temperature, and can be frozen for 4-6 months.
Freezing Bundt Cakes
You can freeze a bundt cake for up to 6 months but it is best if eaten within 2-4 months of freezing.
You should wrap it in cling wrap and put it in a freezer-safe container to avoid freezer burn. When you’re ready to eat it, take it out and let it get to room temperature before serving.
Does German Chocolate Cake Need to be Refrigerated?
German chocolate cake doesn’t need to be refrigerated to stay fresh unless you top it with a dairy-based frosting such as buttercream.
What Is German Chocolate Cake?
German chocolate cake gets its name from German sweet chocolate. This type of chocolate was originated by the Baker’s Chocolate Company, which is now a subsidiary of Kraft Foods.
The chocolate was named after Sam German in the 1850s.
German chocolate cake is most famous for its rich, sticky-sweet custard with coconut flakes and chopped pecans.
Keeping German Chocolate Cakes Fresh
Just because German chocolate cake doesn’t need to be refrigerated doesn’t mean you don’t actually have to do it.
We like to put our German chocolate cake in the refrigerator because it keeps it fresher longer and does have custard filling.
It stores well for 4-5 days in the refrigerator and on the counter at room temperature for up to 5 days.
If you don’t plan to eat it within two days, we suggest refrigerating it to keep the quality good.
Freezing German Chocolate Cake
You can freeze German chocolate cake for up to 4 months. It freezes pretty well with very little change in texture.
We suggest using cling wrap and then placing it in an airtight freezer-safe container or ziplock bag to keep the freezer burn away.
Does Tiramisu Need to Be Refrigerated?
You absolutely have to refrigerate tiramisu after 2 hours to avoid bacteria growth.
Tiramisu will last 4 days in the refrigerator if kept in an airtight container.
Since tiramisu contains mascarpone cheese and whipped cream, it’s not recommended to keep it on the counter.
What Is Tiramisu?
Tiramisu is a popular Italian dessert that doesn’t require baking. It contains layers of ladyfingers and mascarpone soaked in coffee.
The coffee makes the ladyfingers soft and you can add coffee liqueur for an added pick-me-up.
Since there are dairy products in tiramisu, here’s how to keep it from spoiling.
Keeping Tiramisu Fresh
You can keep tiramisu fresh by placing it in an airtight container and placing it at the back of the refrigerator.
You will want to keep it back there to avoid the heat that gets in the refrigerator when you open to door.
It’s best to eat it within 2 days to enjoy maximum flavor and avoid overly soggy ladyfingers.
Freezing Tiramisu
Tiramisu can be stored in the freezer for 3 months. The best method for this is to put it in an airtight container or a Ziplock bag meant for a freezer.
If you are using a container, we suggest wrapping it in cling wrap for even more protection. Freezing tiramisu will extend its life considerably.
Does Cheesecake Need to Be Refrigerated?
Cheesecake absolutely has to be refrigerated even after it has been baked due to its high dairy content.
What Is Cheesecake?
Cheesecake is a delicious dessert made from mostly eggs, cream cheese, and milk. It has a very high dairy content and is more susceptible to bacteria growth if left out at room temperature.
The original New York-style cheesecake is the most popular type, but there are other variations such as red velvet, german chocolate, chocolate, and more.
Since cheesecake has such a high dairy content, here’s how to keep it from spoiling.
Keeping Cheesecake Fresh
Cheesecake should be refrigerated after it has cooled down to avoid bacteria growth and will remain edible for 3 to 4 days.
You can store the cheesecake in an airtight container or wrap it in plastic wrap to help keep it fresh.
You shouldn’t place it in your refrigerator without a container because it won’t keep its quality for very long. It should only be kept on the counter for a maximum of 2 hours.
This dessert has both milk and eggs, which are high in protein and moisture that will make the cheesecake grow bacteria quicker.
When bacteria grow on cheesecake it can result in listeria or salmonella.
Both of these bacteria can have some pretty nasty outcomes such as vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, dehydration, and even death in extreme cases.
Freezing Cheesecake
If you don’t think you can eat all of your cheesecake before it spoils in the refrigerator, you can freeze it.
Cheesecake will last 2 to 3 months in the freezer.
Before you freeze it, be sure it’s cooled down, and then place it in an airtight container. Write the date on it and stick it in the freezer.
When you’re ready to defrost it, take it out of the freezer and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
Alternatively, you can let it sit at room temperature for 45-60 minutes before you serve it.
Final Thoughts
The main thing we learned is that you can refrigerate any cake you want, but any cake with a dairy-based frosting or filling should be refrigerated no matter what.
If you have a red velvet cake or bundt cake that’s unfrosted, you don’t need to refrigerate it.
Cakes high in dairy always need to be refrigerated to avoid bacteria growth that can disrupt your digestive system and cause unpleasant symptoms.
We are a team of passionate moms and homemakers. Among us are certified nutritionists, chefs, certified food handlers, accountants, financial gurus, and other professionals. Our joint goal is to educate homemakers. Check out the about us page for more information about our team’s credentials.