Marvelous make-ahead
Thanksgiving desserts!
Featured Recipes:
Colonial Apple Cake
Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Sauce
Butter Brickle Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze
Spicy Buttermilk Cake
While everyone loves turkey and all the fixings, for some of us it's the desserts that make the Thanksgiving meal! And what could be better than a delicious array of Thanksgiving desserts? Make-ahead desserts your whole family will love! Follow our simple make-ahead tips to get your baking out of the way, leaving you free to relax and enjoy the moment on Thanksgiving Day. Each of our cakes can be made at least 2 weeks ahead, with only minimal finishing done after they've thawed.
Whip some cream early Thanksgiving Day, and then refrigerate it to serve with our lovely, autumnal Colonial Apple Cake.
The tangy lemon sauce for our spicy Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Sauce can be made the day before Thanksgiving, and then re-heated gently before serving.
After making ahead, all that's left to do is glaze our Butter Brickle Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze and ice our Spicy Buttermilk Cake. Both can be finished the day before Thanksgiving and stored, covered, at room temperature.
Follow these tips for flawless freezing and thawing:
- Foods freeze at 0 degrees. Make sure your freezer's thermostat is properly set at constant zero or lower.
- Don't overload your freezer or add large quantities of unfrozen food at once. Doing so causes the food to freeze too slowly and quality will be lost.
- Always allow baked goods to cool completely before wrapping securely in plastic wrap and then a re-sealable bag or foil before freezing.
- Label frozen foods with the name and date it was frozen and any finishing instructions.
- Thaw baked goods still wrapped on the counter or in the refrigerator.
- Make sure they are completely thawed and at room temperature before icing or glazing.