Monday’s Dessert – Frozen “Expired” Cake

Does a Freezer Really Keep Foods Indefinitely?

Freezing is an indefinite form of storage, meaning that some things may last as long as the freezer itself and others will fare much longer than elsewhere but will expire or go bad at some future point in time. Back to the cake at hand: Opening the sealed box, we found that the internal foil packaging was still completely and tightly sealed. We knew that this cake had been in the freezer and frozen the entire time since purchase. These facts gave us confidence in proceeding to put the indefinite storage concept to further test with this cake.

The date is clearly visible on this product and I have to say the best-by date of “03 03 2014” made some of our testers resist partaking in this test, but we continued. We carefully checked the packaging and it was completely sealed, we opened it up and gave it a very careful look over. Amazingly, there was not even a single trace of freezer burn – which is the tell-tale sign of something either not being sealed well or being left in the freezer for an over-extended period.

Next we checked the ingredient list and there were no quick to spoil items that would cause concern. Actually, there was one ingredient that was especially working on our side. Alcohol is a natural preservative that helps to inhibit the growth of bacteria. Freezing also does this, but the fact that this cake was also armed with internal alcohol gave extra security of a desired result.

Since all of the above conditions passed the test, we proceeded with giving it the sniff test. Nothing off here. Check, check, check – so our bravest testers dug into a slice.

Expired Cake Results

It was actually pretty good! It was both moist and flavorful. There was no freezer taste at all. If you didn’t look at the box and notice the best-by date, you may not know the difference from the original cake.

Conclusion
Do not expect any cake to last this long in the freezer. This brand of cake is vacuum sealed (which will always make a product last longer until opened) and contains alcohol (a natural preservative). The box on this product also further protects the cake from moisture. A homemade or store bought cake that is wrapped at home and then frozen will most likely pick up other flavors from the freezer and become less desirable after about 4 months in the freezer. See the additional information section below for more information on storing cakes.