Proper baked good and dessert storage is critical for maximum enjoyment. This might sound like an overstatement, but trust us, it’s not. Our aim is to get you to consider storage as carefully as your preparation. It should not be an after-thought. A tart filled with pastry cream and covered with fresh fruit left out at room temperature will become soggy and potential dangerous to eat. A simple pound cake left out and exposed to the air will stale very quickly. Very specific instructions are given in individual recipes and, if followed, your desserts will be the best they can be and last as long as possible.
In regards to cookies, at the very least, crisp should be stored with crisp and soft with soft, or they will all end up soft! The soft cookies lend moisture to crisp cookies if stored together. That said, we think the optimum situation is to store individual types of cookies by themselves following individual instructions. This way, chocolate cookies will remain tasting like chocolate, pure butter cookies will retain that purity, spiced cookies will not lend their flavor and aroma to others, etc. Also, believe us when we say that some must be stored in single layers separated by parchment; it is because we learned the hard way that this extra step is helpful. The Florentine bar cookies in the picture are a thing of beauty, but only if handled with care.
I plan to bake my own cake for my November wedding, and I want to do as much as possible ahead of time. Is it possible to freeze an iced cake? I am thinking about carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Any pointers?