Cardamom and Tea

storing baked goods

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My husband is a philosophy professor, and so it’s always extra funny when silly things blow his mind. Most recently, he was floored by the following fact: a stale piece of cake has the same calories as a fresh piece of cake. Like, even though one tastes way worse than the other, stale cake is just as sugary and buttery as fresh…… boom!

If you’ve got stale cake around, I guess it’s better than nothing, but there is a super easy trick to preventing this tragedy in the first place: you need to rethink your relationship to both your fridge and your freezer.

If you’re a fan of both superhero movies and romcoms, you’ll probably see it coming. That person you thought was your reliable friend, the one who was there for you from the beginning, turns out to be your arch nemesis. And that guy you always took for granted and never noticed (until he grows up, moves to Greenwich Village, and becomes a gritty photographer), the one you always thought was just your best friend—well, it turns out it was him…. it was always him!

In this case, your refrigerator is Harvey Dent/Two-face and your freezer is Mark Ruffalo in 13 Going on 30. While it seems like the reliable choice, the refrigerator will often betray you—putting bready baked goods in the refrigerator will make them stale even faster than leaving them out at room temperature. And while the freezer is so often the place where we ignore our leftovers until we feel ready to let them go, it actually happens to be an ideal environment for storing these bready baked goods. See? Harvey Dent and Mark Ruffalo. Boom!

a quick guide to storing baked goods

I’ve put together this guide to what goes where (and when). I’m sure there are exceptions for each of these items, but generally speaking, these are sort of best practices for storing baked goods. Some things will need to be stored in the refrigerator (generally things with a lot of dairy, or pastry that doesn’t stale easily), but most things will prefer the freezer, or room temperature for shorter periods of time. When storing baked goods in the freezer, make sure you seal them tightly in a plastic bag, removing as much air as possible, and always let them cool completely before freezing. Once they’re cool, get them in the freezer quickly to preserve as much of their freshness as possible. They’ll usually last about 3 months before starting to noticeably degrade in quality. Most things can be thawed at room temperature, but if something tastes a little stale after thawing, you can always throw it back in a 350°F oven for just a few minutes (long enough to warm almost completely through, but not enough to dry it out).

store it In the refrigerator

cheesecakes
frosting
cookie dough that’s resting overnight
most pies
swiss rolls

store it In the freezer (or at room temperature under 12 hours), but never ever in the refrigerator

bread (either store-bought or homemade)
unfrosted cake layers, or cupcakes
muffins
brownies
scones
biscuits (in the US sense of the word)
pound cake
quick breads
most Middle Eastern pastries (like kadeh and kleicha, except baklawa can be stored pretty much anywhere)
cookies (which can be stored at room temperature much longer)

store it In the freezer (but obviously never at room temperature)

balls of cookie dough (frozen on a sheet pan, then stored in a bag)
other unbaked doughs (like scones, biscuits, proofed pizza dough—although yeast-risen bread dough can usually be stored in the fridge for a couple days)
leftover slices of frosted/decorated cake, individually wrapped and then placed in a bag

baking a cake ahead of time

While I’m not going to stop you from baking cake at the last minute, I’m definitely going to encourage you to bake them ahead of time. If you store everything correctly, you lose very little quality, if any at all. It’s just important to know when to use the refrigerator, when to use the freezer, and how to bring everything to room temperature.

The cake layers

Unless you’re baking a cake that’s going to be eaten within 12 hours, you should really consider freezing the layers. Once they cool, wrap them tightly with plastic wrap, then seal them in a bag, and freeze them for about 1-2 months. The sooner you freeze them, the fresher they will be when you thaw them. To thaw them, leave them at room temperature for a few hours. You can even sometimes decorate your cake with the frozen layers, which makes them easier to handle, and easier to apply a crumb coat. If you decorate layers while they’re still frozen, simply allow the cake to thaw before serving.

the frosting

When it comes to actually making and using it, frosting loves to be at room temperature. But most frosting (the creamy or eggy kind) needs to be stored in the fridge to make sure it doesn’t spoil. So work with room temperature ingredients, store it in the fridge right away, and then let it come to room temperature before decorating. You can do this by letting it sit out for a while, or you can zap it in the microwave with very short bursts of heat (like, just 5 seconds at a time), giving it a stir between each zap. Just be very careful it doesn’t melt!

assembling

While you can decorate your cake earlier, I like to decorate as close to the last minute as possible. Once you have all your components, it comes together in such a snap. Just make sure the frosting is at room temperature, the cakes are thawed, and everything is ready to go. I don’t love elaborate cake decoration, because it has to be done in advance of events, which means it has to be stored in the fridge… and the fridge is an unkind place for a cake. In my experience, simpler cakes are always tastier than elaborate ones for this reason.

leftover frosted cake

But what to do if you have leftover frosted cake? No worries, just slice up the remainder into individual pieces, wrap them in plastic, store them in a bag, and freeze them. Whenever you want a piece of cake, just take one out, zap it in the microwave for like 20 seconds just to thaw it, and enjoy! It doesn’t even matter if you accidentally melt the frosting a little bit at this point—trust me, it’s good. But whatever you do, don’t refrigerate leftover cake, because it’ll dry out very quickly.

Tacos Árabes (oven-roasted)

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My oven is about the size of a large shoebox. So you can bet that I, like you, do not own a spit or anything remotely like it. But regardless, I’m always trying to recreate shawarma at home. And luckily, there are a bunch of good ways to approximate pork shawarma without a spit. I’ve discovered a simple technique that works remarkably well (and doesn’t require any special equipment!):

the best shawarma technique for tacos árabes:

My technique is simple: thin-slice, marinate, layer, slow-roast, and sear. It’s partly inspired by Serious Eats’ Tacos Árabes technique, but with one really important difference: Instead of cooking it in a loaf pan, I roast it in a wide skillet.

Here’s a video demonstrating how I use this technique to make super crispy, delicious tacos árabes:

Why this technique works:

Roasting in a wide skillet allows the juices to run off and concentrate, and the outside roasts beautifully. Because it’s got so much exposed surface area, the outside bits end up tasting exactly like real crispy pork shawarma, and the inside ends up getting all seared and delicious eventually.

Helpful tip:

In order to roast it in an open pan without the whole thing toppling over and falling apart, you’ve got to layer the slices in particular way, which actually approximates spit-layering. Instead of just stacking them straight up, you create an overlapping rough pentagon, and continue layering this way. It has a lot of structural integrity, which means you don’t actually need a skewer going through the center (or the sides of a loaf pan) to hold it together.

A little pork shawarma history:

Tacos árabes are pork shawarma tacos from Puebla, Mexico; they were created by Lebanese and Iraqi immigrants in the early 20th century. This ingenious adaptation combines Middle Eastern technique (spit-roasting layers of marinated meat) with local Mexican ingredients (pork and lime).

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Tacos Árabes (oven-roasted)

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for a halal version, try my chicken shawarma

  • Prep Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: about 6 hours
  • Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

for the pork shawarma:

  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons lime juice (90g)
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cumin (8g)
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon oregano (2g)
  • between 2 tsp – 1 tbsp salt (12-18g), to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (1g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom (1g)
  • 2 teaspoons paprika (4g)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper (2g)
  • 1 large onion, sliced thinly (250-315g sliced)
  • 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder (1350g)

for serving:

  • banadurah harrah or your favorite salsa
  • thin pita bread, or tortillas (best for wrapping, rather than stuffing)
  • lime wedges
  • labneh or Greek yogurt
  • cilantro

Instructions

  1. Place the pork shoulder in the freezer, and set a timer for 1 hour (this makes it easier to slice thinly).
  2. Combine the lime juice, cumin, oregano, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, paprika, and black pepper.
  3. Toss the onions together with a few tablespoons of the marinade until they are very evenly coated.
  4. Thinly slice the semi-frozen pork, and toss it together with the rest of the marinade until it’s very evenly coated.*
  5. Preheat the oven to 250° F (121° C) once the pork is sliced, and lightly oil a 10 to 12-inch oven-proof skillet.
  6. Build a layer of overlapping pieces of pork, leaving a border of at least 1 inch between the pork and the walls of the skillet. Add a layer of onions, followed by another layer of pork, and continue until all the ingredients are used up. When layering, make sure your pieces of pork overlap a little, aim for making a pentagon or square with them, make sure it doesn’t taper too much as you build upwards, and squish it down every few layers to make sure it’s stable and compact.
  7. Bake for about 4 1/2 hours, until the pork is very tender and crispy on the outside. About once every hour or so, baste the shawarma with the juices collecting around the edges.
  8. Once it’s done, remove the shawarma from the skillet to a cutting board (don’t throw out the juices!), and let it rest for about 20 minutes before slicing.
  9. Remove the juices to a small bowl or measuring cup, and allow them to separate for a minute. Rinse out the pan.
  10. Peel off the top of the shawarma, thinly slice it, and then thinly slice off the crispy edges from the shawarma. Set these aside in a bowl (they don’t need to be seared). Thinly slice the rest of the shawarma.**
  11. Heat the empty cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Use a spoon to skim about a tablespoon of the fat off of the surface of the reserved juices, and add it to the hot skillet. Swirl to coat, and then add about 1/3 of the sliced shawarma. Stir it frequently for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove to a bowl, and repeat with the remaining batches, adding a little more fat each time.
  12. Taste the finished shawarma. If it needs more seasoning, discard the remaining fat from the surface of the juices, and use some of the juices at the bottom to season it a little more. They’re quite salty and acidic, and add a ton of flavor, so use them very sparingly.
  13. Serve with salsa, pita, lime wedges, cilantro, and/or labneh.

Notes

* You can make ahead to this point, and let it marinade up to overnight, or you can bake it right away (it makes little difference).

** You can even make the whole dish ahead up to this point. Cook and slice the shawarma the day before you plan to serve, reserve the juices, and then sear at the last minute. The fat will solidify in the fridge overnight, and the juices will gel, but you can use it just like butter the next day (throw it in the pan and let it melt).

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