My co-worker ask me to make her son a sour cream pound cake for his birthday. She would like for me to cover it in fondant and she wants to seal it in an airtight bag, pack it in dry ice and mail it to her son who is in Afghanistan. It will probably take about 2 weeks for it to get to him and I just don't know if this is safe. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Based on this that I found online, I'd say not, It's not a good idea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_ice Look at the "safety" section

I've been doing a lot of research about sending cakes overseas (I have a friend I would like to send one too) and from what I can tell the best way to send a cake is without any icing on it. I read that many people have tried to send cakes with fondant, but they end up molding. I would just wrap the cake up and put a separate container of frosting in with it. They can frost it themselves when they receive it, and if the frosting were to go bad in transit, they can still enjoy the cake plain. I'll probably try sending a cake out within the next week or so...keep your fingers crossed that it makes it while its still edible

There is also a thread somewhere here about someone sending cakes in a jar. They're sealed like preserves and so worries about how long it takes to get there.

is he serving? I thought it was a rule that it it strictly forbidden for them to accept anything that is not pre-packaged......

wait, so that means no homemade cookies either? hmm, I thought I read this but am now questioning it..just something u might want to check out.

Thanks everyone for the responses. He is actually working as a private security contractor in Afghanistan. So he is not on a military assignment this time. I will have to ask his mom if she has ever sent him anything that was not prepackaged. She wants me to cover it with fondant just so it would look decorated. Then she was going to use the sealer to take all the air out. It will take at least two weeks to get there she said.

Packages take 1 week to get to over there normally. The longest I've seen it take is 10 business days. I'm not sure that dry ice is a good idea, how long does that stay cold? I would send the cake in jars so that you know it won't mold.


TavyHeather, I'm not sure where you heard that rule? My husband is on his 3rd year long deployment and in all the briefings I've attended I've never heard anything about sending only pre packaged foods. Maybe that only applies for companies/organizations that send packages to troops so the quality of home baked items can't be controlled?

Sent my son homemade cookies and treats while he was deployed in Qatar....

Received them in good condition, and he and his buddies said they were yummy.

HTH