Cook and keep for Xmas

While they are fun and often easy to make, baked goods don’t always last very well and you don’t want them to go stale after a day.

What you put in is what you get out the ingredients you use to bake or decorate your baked goods will ultimately affect the life-span or freshness over time. If fruit or any perishable substance such as whipped cream or cream cheese is used in your baked goods, they will go off in a shorter time.

Store them well

Before you store your baked goods, it is important to ensure that they are completely cooled. If the cake is wrapped before it cools the moisture will encourage mould growth. Most unfrosted cakes keep well for a week on your counter top if they are wrapped in foil or plastic wrap and kept inside a cake dome. If you are storing biscuits decorated with icing, fragile decorations or sticky glazes, then pack them between single layers of waxed baking sheets.

A great trick to make your biscuits last is to store them in an airtight container with a slice of apple keeping them chewy, or a piece of bread to keep them crispy. The moisture in the apple will help to keep your biscuits fresh and the bread will soak up the unwanted moisture. It is also very important to store different biscuits in different containers so that they retain their flavour and aroma.

Bread will stay fresher for longer when stored at room temperature in a cool, dry place. Forget the stories you’ve heard about refrigerating bread. It is not good. When bread is stored in the fridge, moisture is drawn out of it at a faster rate causing it to become stale faster. Wrapping bread in foil or keeping it in an airtight bag allows it to retain its moisture, keeping it fresher for longer.

Freeze them

This is good for long-term storage as you might only need the goods in a few weeks or so. For my cakes and breads I cover the top of the item with a piece of cloth (a paper towel will not work). The cloth just needs to be big enough to cover the top. Now place them in an airtight container. The purpose of this cloth is to draw moisture away from my baked goods so that when I take them out to thaw, they look and taste great.

With my biscuits, I put them in a freezer-safe plastic bag and place them in an airtight container before freezing. This preserves the flavours, protects against freezer burns and keeps the biscuits from absorbing smells of other foods in the freezer.

Wrap it up

When you are ready to give the baked goods gifts out to friends and family, place them in airtight containers. Old jam jars with tight lids and biscuit tins are great for presenting your gifts in. Tie a ribbon around and they are ready to go.