Overnight Chilling for Layer Cakes: Prue's Make-Ahead Wisdom

Prue's advice that if you'd had overnight to set it would have been better reflects professional pastry wisdom about layer cakes with soft fillings. Overnight refrigeration serves multiple critical purposes: allows gelatin or stabilizers to fully set creating firm structure, lets buttercream firm up completely for cleaner slicing, gives flavors time to meld and develop (cherry and almond especially improve), prevents layers from sliding when cutting, and makes the cake easier to frost smoothly. When Paul said oh the knife drops through oh lovely, he was appreciating the satisfaction of a properly set cake that slices cleanly without layers squishing or filling oozing. Assemble layer cakes the night before serving whenever possible, applying the final decorative buttercream layer and garnishes the morning of serving if desired. Bring cake to room temperature 15-20 minutes before slicing - this softens buttercream slightly for easier cutting while maintaining structure. Professional bakeries always work at least one day ahead for this reason. The dramatic spectacular height Prue loved requires firm filling to support multiple layers without collapsing.