I'd like to bake the cake on Friday evening and ice the cake on Saturday to serve at my husband's birthday dinner on Saturday evening. Do you thin...

Thanks everyone for your help. I am in Florida so I will definitely refrigerate overnight!

Carrot cakes keep well because of the moisture and fat content. I work in a bakery; we have found that it is easier to ice carrot cakes that have been either stored over night in the cooler (refrigerator) or partially thawed from the freezer. If it is very hot and humid and you have no air conditioning I would recommend that you store the iced cake in your refrig until an hour before serving.

How you need to handle the cake layers after you've baked them depends largely upon what kind of cake you're making, the temperature/humidity in your home/region> If you do refrigerate the cake, be sure you bring the layers to room temperature before you fill and frost the cake.

If the weather is hot I would refrigerate the cake until you frost it on Saturday. If your kitchen is a cool place then it can be wrapped and kept at room temp. Either way, your cake will be cool and ready for frosting.