Tips for "Safely" Transporting Your Cake!
You've baked your cake , smoothed your icing and piped all your details to perfection.... Now you have to safely get your cake from your counter to your client's counter without a "cake disaster"! This part can be extremely stressful, but with the following tips, transporting your finished cake will become second nature:
Refrigerate your cake for at least an hour before transport. This tip is especially helpful if your cake is iced with Swiss Meringue buttercream. Doing so, will make your cake sturdy (think refrigerated butter). Don't worry: your icing will soften as it comes to room temperature at it's final destination!
Make sure to place your cake into a container that fits! I've purchased durable 8" tall cardboard cake boxes with window tops from Sweetwise (Nashville, TN) that easily holds two-tiered cakes on a 10" drum base. For larger cakes, I prefer to buy a clear plastic storage tote and flip it, using the lid as the base.
Remove all cake toppers and heavy details secured to your cake with skewers or dowels. These toppers can fall over or shift during transport and ruin all your hard work. It's usually easier to fit your cake into a box or other container WITHOUT these items on top!
If possible, ask someone you trust to hold your cake while you drive. This prevents your cake from being jostled by bumps in the road.
If you can't find a friend to hold your cake, carefully place your cake on the floor of your front passenger seat OR in the trunk of your car (colder months only). Never sit your cake in a seat! It may fall to the floor if you brake too hard. If you're placing your cake in the trunk, make sure that there's nothing nearby that can shift and damage your cake. Additionally, placing a flat yoga mat under your cake container will help keep it in place in your trunk.
A special note about sheet cakes: Make sure that your cake board is very sturdy! I recommend using a covered masonite or wood board under these larger cakes to prevent flexing. If you only have cardboard cake boards on hand, I recommend tripling the boards. The last thing you want is for your decorated cake to crack down the center!
Best of luck on your next cake delivery!
