Ask Nancy

It is best not to refrigerate a cake before decorating it. As the cake comes to room temperature, there’s a greater chance that the icing will fall off the cake when moisture builds up due to condensation as the decorated cake comes to room temperature. If you are having problems with crumbs pulling off the cake, I suggest allowing the cake to sit uncovered at room temperature for an hour or so. This will allow the crust to firm up. Then, brush away excess crumbs and add a thin crumb coat of icing. Allow the icing to crust. Finally, decorate your cake as usual.