Ask Nancy

We don't recommend freezing cakes before icing, because the cake should be at room temperature before it's iced. If the cake is still frozen, you risk having the icing slip off the cake as it thaws. We suggest doing a very thin "crumb coating" – a thin layer of icing which you allow to crust over (harden). Then, ice as you normally would, making sure you don't touch the cake surface with your spatula, and try not to raise the spatula as you work – both of which will cause crumbs to pull up from the cake.