Shipping cakes

[cakesuite]

I am planning to enter a cake or two into the Okla. Sugar Art Show, and haven't done anything like this before. Any advice on the best way to get my cakes down there from Connecticut?

[chiantiglace]

how far away do you live?

[JeanneCake]

maybe if you PM Kerry (Kerry Vincent, who organizes this show) she can either provide some helpful hints or point you in the direction of other participants who are coming from a distance and they can offer tips on how to safely transport your work. If you're flying, you might end up buying your dummy cake a seat on the plane!!! - or possibly plan to do your finish work once you arrive. Check out the past thread (end of May) on the Cakewalk display (50 wedding cakes) sponsored by Modern Bride or Bride's magazine for other designers to contact who flew their cakes in (Ana Paz, Laurie Lucov).

Good luck! Let us know how things work out!

[LCS]

BRIDES provided us with directions on how to ship the cake to the studio. I'll see if I still have mine and I'll gladly mail them to you. Though since I drove my cake, I might have thrown the directions away.

I spoke to several airlines about buying a seat to ship a cake. There is a federal law that you cannot do that. Buying an additional seat is only allowed for extra large passengers or if you are transporting a large musical instrument. This was verified with Southwest Airlines, Continental, and if I'm not mistaken, United...?

[chefette]

Since you are in Connecticut - you might want to start with the Salon Culinaire at the Javitts center in NYC in November. They always have quite a turn out of wedding cakes in the competition.

The Salon of Culinary Art

The Annual Salon of Culinary Art, presented by the Societe Culinaire Philanthropique features intricately sculptured and artistically prepared foods created by master chefs, pastry chefs, butchers, culinarians and apprentices from around the world. The display includes elaborate buffet tables, decorated fish and poultry, pastry works, spun sugar, cocoa painting, wedding cakes and centerpieces. Participants have the opportunity to compete for prizes, including the Medal of the French Government and the Marc L. Sarazin Trophy. For further information, contact the office of the Societe Culinaire Philanthropique at (212) 308-0628, or e-mail: salon@societeculinaire.com.

http://societeculinaire.com./salon.html

This is in realistic driving distance for you and can give you some real experience in moving a showpiece for competition.

Regarding the Oklahoma Sugar Arts event - I would plan on one of the following:

1- Send cake dummies with hardened fondant covering - well protected in bubble wrap and double boxed then travel to the event by air hand carry all delicate work sugar, etc.

Plan on renting a good vehicle there and doing final assembly on site or at your hotel. Bring extra parts. Send via Fedex to your hotel 2 days ahead and confirm ots arrival. Be prepared to pack and carry a backup or send a replacement overnight.

2- Packing cake with sturdy decor in a well padded box secured in your vehicle - drive. Pack all sugar flowers and delicate parts carefully. bring spares. Do final assembly on site.

3- Bring all your supplies - do the work in Oklahoma.

Sending the cake requires that you have someone to send it to. If you are not planning to be there physically - then it requires that you have a trusted 3rd party to assemble the decor and set up at the show according to your plan. In the Cakewalk event cake artists sent their cakes and decor along with photos and instructions to Maria's trusted and experienced staff. Even then if you recall from the cakewalk discussion there was stuff that got broken and improvided and not included.

Edited July 5, 2005 by chefette (log)

[cakesuite]

Thanks for the feedback.

Chefette, The Javits Center show is something I've considered doing for the past 20 yrs., and haven't gotten around to it. The one in Okla., although a logistical nightmare, seems somehow more exciting to me, because it's such a huge amount of cake artists in one space. Don't get me started-- I may have to do BOTH!!

LCS, I appreciate any info you have, and it's good to know that it's not possible to buy a seat for the cake.

[joiei]

I have been a visitor to the show for the last 4 years and am always amazed and impressed at the quality and high level of work that is displayed.

[chefette]

Connecticut to Oklahoma appears to be 1570 plus a few hundred miles depending on specific location - about 25 hour drive.

[cakesuite]

Connecticut to Oklahoma appears to be 1570 plus a few hundred miles depending on specific location - about 25 hour drive.

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Yeah, I don't think I'll be driving.

[LCS]

LCS, I appreciate any info you have, and it's good to know that it's not possible to buy a seat for the cake.

←

Ok, I definitely tossed it out (I just organized every piece of paper on or near my desk). Here is what I can remember, but the details are a little fuzzy (and some of this is just plain common sense)...

-Let the fondant harden at least a week.

-Drive a dowel down the middle.

-Pack in box with packing peanuts.

-Put box in another box with packing peanuts (this is where it gets fuzzy, but that all seems to make sense).

-Place something heavy at the bottom so the carriers are less likely to turn it upside down.

-Label it "THIS SIDE UP^^^".

-And while you can't buy a seat, it *can* go with your lugguage. I'm sure if you call ahead, you can make special arrangements for special handling.

Hopefully someone else on here who did the Cakewalk can clarify.

[cakesuite]

Thank you, LCS!!

[Melanger]

I am making a wedding cake for my sister in law. The wedding for 150 ppl is the at the end of July in Nashville, I live in Las Vegas. I wondered if anyone has some advice or critiques of my plan. I have a lot of experience in making cakes, just none in shipping them. Here's the plan...

I am planning to make four tiers- 6",10",14",18". I am going to build the cakes in 4" rings, pre doweled, with parchment on the tops, cardboard circles top and bottom and wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap. Then they go into the blast freezer, I want them super firm. Up to this point the methodology is pretty much the same as I usually use, except I usually use regular freezer, not blast freezer. And if all else goes to complete hell I still have the rings in which I can make a new cake. Do you sense my unease?

Having a bucket of fondant shipped to the reception location ahead of time.

The wedding is on Saturday, I was planning to ship it overnight on Wednesday (leaving on the plane to go there on Thursday). Packing it in a cardboard box fitted with a styrofoam box insert and dry ice. UPS says that I can put up to 5 lbs of dry ice without a hazardous materials declaration or more dry ice if I make a declaration. Thinking I need something like 10# of dry ice.

Cake arrives Thursday, leaving the extra day heaven forbid it doesn't get there until Friday, in which case I probably have other problems. Chef at the reception place is already notified about requirements for receiving, mainly unpack it and put it into the cooler to defrost.

Friday I go to reception place, fondant the cake, stack it and do the piping between the tiers. Saturday I do the flowers on the cake prior to the ceremony.

Saturday night I have a glass of champagne of two and have a happy sister in law.

I am a bit concerned about the amount of time that the cake will be in various states of shipment/defrost but I can't think of a better way of doing it short of shipping the sponges, fillings and buttercream and building it on Thursday or Friday, but with planned events and whatnot I am concerned about having enough time or space in the reception kitchen. Option C it that I could bring it with me on the plane, the idea of checking it makes me pretty queasy and it would be too large to hand carry.

I should note that the main reason I am so freaked out about this shipping thing is that a few years ago my chef at the time had the not-so-hot idea of overnighting baked alaska to a charity event in Napa. Needless to say It was more like vanilla apricot soup when we unpacked. Thankfully I has enough sense (fear) to leave them packed in the bombe molds and bring my recipe book and scale. I think I am still haunted by the memory of seeing that go sort of south. Turned out ok, though not as well as it should have.

Thanks for any comments, questions or concerns that my long-winded post might generate!

[Sunny Simmons Steincamp]

Jeepers. I have no advice, but will send you good energies. I can't even *imagine* how hysterical I would be.

I made my first-ever wedding cake for a friend's handfasting on April 1. I tried to tell her that just because she likes my food doesn't mean I can pull off a wedding cake, but she insisted, so I obliged. With great trepidation.

Sixteen hours worth of work (for a three-tiered cake <i>without</i> columns; I just wasn't that brave!) netted me what I thought was a pretty respectable result (along with a hilarious, Batman-themed groom's cake) and an instant ulcer as I contemplated transporting the cakes... a whopping 15 minute drive across town!

I had my friend arrange for transportation, and freaked out when she sent two of her *male* friends (yes, it was sexist of me, but they were musicians, NOT foodies!) to pick up the cakes in a mini-van. We tried to get the cakes settled, and one of the guys rode in back with them, but not until I arrived at the banquet hall and found that the cakes had, indeed, arrived unmolested did I relax.

I hope you get some good advice, and that everything goes perfectly for you. Let us know how it turns out!

[Pam R]

I wish there was some fail-safe advice I could give you!

This won't be what you want to hear, but my best advice is to have a back-up plan. (have the chef at the event-location bake it and you decorate it? - be ready to bake it again when you get there)

We once sent a whole pastry table (I think about 10 tortes) with an airline to St. Louis Park, MN. Unfortunately it arrived in St. Louis, Missouri.

Good luck!

[therese]

Speaking from the bride's point of view (as I'm not a baker), there's no way in heck I'd ask a non-local to make my cake: there's just too much that can go wrong. You could get sick, the cakes could be lost, etc.

At the very limit I'd consider having the cake made locally in a bakery with sufficient resources for you to work there (or at the reception hall) and decorate it.

Does she (the bride) know how much work this is?

[Melanger]

Speaking from the bride's point of view (as I'm not a baker), there's no way in heck I'd ask a non-local to make my cake: there's just too much that can go wrong. You could get sick, the cakes could be lost, etc.

At the very limit I'd consider having the cake made locally in a bakery with sufficient resources for you to work there (or at the reception hall) and decorate it.

Does she (the bride) know how much work this is?

←

The bride is my sister in law! I was recruited for the project by me brother in law after a fine dinner with the family and several bottles of wine I am a pastry chef so the whole making of the cake doesn't faze me, just the shipping of the cake. It is a gift from me to her, considering I would normally charge about 1200 dollars, without shipping, I think it is a nice gift.

[RuthWells]

Speaking from the bride's point of view (as I'm not a baker), there's no way in heck I'd ask a non-local to make my cake: there's just too much that can go wrong. You could get sick, the cakes could be lost, etc.

At the very limit I'd consider having the cake made locally in a bakery with sufficient resources for you to work there (or at the reception hall) and decorate it.

Does she (the bride) know how much work this is?

←

The bride is my sister in law! I was recruited for the project by me brother in law after a fine dinner with the family and several bottles of wine I am a pastry chef so the whole making of the cake doesn't faze me, just the shipping of the cake. It is a gift from me to her, considering I would normally charge about 1200 dollars, without shipping, I think it is a nice gift.

←

I think this is a fabulous gift, and that you're very very brave! I have no advice, just good wishes that you pull it off.

[therese]

Speaking from the bride's point of view (as I'm not a baker), there's no way in heck I'd ask a non-local to make my cake: there's just too much that can go wrong. You could get sick, the cakes could be lost, etc.

At the very limit I'd consider having the cake made locally in a bakery with sufficient resources for you to work there (or at the reception hall) and decorate it.

Does she (the bride) know how much work this is?

←

The bride is my sister in law! I was recruited for the project by me brother in law after a fine dinner with the family and several bottles of wine I am a pastry chef so the whole making of the cake doesn't faze me, just the shipping of the cake. It is a gift from me to her, considering I would normally charge about 1200 dollars, without shipping, I think it is a nice gift.

←

Yes, I did catch the part about the bride being your sister-in-law, and I agree that $1,200 worth of anything would be a great gift. In fact, you might actually want to consider how much you'd charge a normal customer for this service, as that's what it's really worth (and what it will cost you, at least in potential anguish).

It sounds like you've got a good plan in any case, and it will be a very personal gift. The better back ups you've got in place the more fun it will be.

[K8memphis]

The only time I got scared was when you said someone should unpack it and put it in the cooler. Agh, you want it between the cut onions and open pickle jar or by the minced garlic & salami. I mean surely they would not have any aromatic fish in there or parmesan, etc.

I think it sounds like a great plan. A zillion things could go very wrong but to have it all work out & then taste like deli poo would be a real tragedy. Keeping it frozen is much safer. But of course this is not about safety. But then again it doesn't take much to thaw it out enough to cover with fondant either.

I really think I would try to have a bakery on stand by to whip you out some tiers for just in case. They'll be able to pop them out in a heart beat. But just let them know now so they can be ready to jump if you need them. That's what I would do.

You gotta let us know how it all goes--hope it all goes wonderful.

[Sunny Simmons Steincamp]

The only time I got scared was when you said someone should unpack it and put it in the cooler. Agh, you want it between the cut onions and open pickle jar or by the minced garlic & salami. I mean surely they would not have any aromatic fish in there or parmesan, etc.

←

I had that fear when I found the cake I made in the banquet hall kitchen surrounded by all manner of odd things. Thankfully it was only in there for a couple of hours.

I, too, hope you'll update us after the SUCCESSFUL transport!

[Sugarella]

I would never ship a finished cake but seeing as how you'll be completing the decorating on site and you'll be there by Thursday I think this will be fine. I'd do one of two things:

1) Don't ship the cake. Bring all of your decorating equipment with you on the plane and bake, decorate, on Thurday and Friday after you've arrived, provided the reception location will let you use their facilties to do all of the work. You did mention that you'll be adding the fondant there and decorating so getting them to let you do all of it wouldn't be that much of a stretch. Just make sure the person you speak with at the reception location actually has the authority to allow you to do this. I don't know if you usually work from home or a small studio but don't forget the reception location will have more pans, larger ovens and better facilities overall and it won't take nearly as much time doing the baking there than it would at home. Just remember that once you arrive you'll need to go shopping for all your grocery supplies, or better yet, have someone get everything you'll need prior to you arriving, so you can just grab and go.

2) If you absolutely MUST ship the unfinished cakes, I'd go with the same timeline you planned but do it a little differently. I'd freeze the baked cakes, wrap tight in plastic wrap, then slip the cakes right back into their own pans for protection. Don't forget frozen cake shrinks so they will fit back in there. Then wrap the cakes, pan and all, in foil. Box them up in a double packed box (cakes + dry ice in box, that box inside another box with packing peanuts between the 2 boxes). And leave instructions for the person receiving them that the ENTIRE BOX is to go into their deep freeze unopened. If they open them and put them in the cooler the cakes will expand making them hard to get out of the pans, plus they'll absorb odors as well. And they'll be thawing and losing condensation inside the pans and will end up soggy, so it's better to leave them frozen until you can take them out of the pans. You'll have plenty of time on Thursday and Friday while decorating for those cakes to thaw. Just remember to bring an extra suitcase with you so you've got a way to get all of your pans home.

Hope that helps..... enjoy the wedding and let us know how it goes.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Read Rose Levy Berenbaum's book The Cake Bible. She writes extensively about freezing, defrosting, and transporting cakes. Too much to quote here...

[adoxograph]

I transported a croquenbouche , sugar roses, pastillage and all, for my dad's wedding last year, so you definitely have my empathies. We went by train and hauled everything with us, rather than ship, but I think the "don't unpack the box" version of shipping is the best idea if you do ship. A few more points to add to some of the good advice already stated:

1. Bring some treat for the chef/staff there who are responsible for taking care of things when you aren't there. I loaded myself down with chocolate candies and passed them out liberally, which made the kitchen staff much more welcoming when I needed to use a microwave while they had four weddings to prep for.

2. Confirm when you will be able to get into the kitchen for your assembly, how long you'll be able to be there, and if there is an alternate location you can work if something goes awry. After all the arrangements had been made, one wedding decided to go a few hours overtime, and I ended up with just an hour to work before the ceremony, and that was in one of the conference rooms. I had arrived two days before the wedding. Talk to the kitchen if you can.

3. You probably have this covered, but I'll say it anyway. Bring extra of everything you can.

When it's all said and done, it feels pretty good- even if the bride and groom have no idea how much work it really is - so good luck, and enjoy the reception!

[StephMac]

First off, you're a braver caker than I to even think about much less acutally attempt this!

I've seen a couple of the Food Network cake shows where the competitors/decorators ship their cakes only to have the airlines lose them/delay them/etc. Granted, you're sending yours UPS or FedEx, which may be better at tracking and delivering... That said, I have no idea what it would cost to ship everything, but would you consider buying an extra plane ticket for the cake and carrying it onto the plane yourself? I believe some decorators do this for high-end clients, and if the shipping fee is very high, maybe it would be worth peace of mind?

Whatever you choose, let us know how it goes (and take pictures )

[Blanche Davidian]

I'm not a baking professional, but I've made wedding cakes for friends. I have to say I prefer bake-and-ship. Things can go wrong in either situation; you just have to try to anticipate the snags and sweat the ones you didn't see coming. If those babies are frozen rock hard and packed with dry ice you'll probably be fine. I suggest NOT using UPS, though, everything I've ever sent through them has gotten lost/damaged/delayed. I sent a birthday cake to a friend via FedEx and it was fine (with whipped cream frosting, no less!)