I am so nervous about transporting a 4 tier stacked cake on Saturday. The sizes of the tiers are 14", 12", 10" and 8" rounds. I will be using SPS for the support. It will be about a 45 minute drive. I know everyone here says they do it all the time. Can anyone share any tips or words of advice to help ease my worries?

Make sure you use a center dowel and place the cake on non stick skid to keep it from moving. You can purchase non stick skid at the dollar store or in the contact paper isle at Target or Walmart. Just make sure to try and avoid rough roads and sharp turns. I drive really slow when making turns. I tease my daughter about getting magnetic sign to put on the back of our car that says Cake delivery will drive slow. LOL.

I liked the post in another forum that recommended putting a sign in your back window that says "Wedding Cake On Board!!" I'm going to do this on Saturday when I transport a couple of larger cakes. My hope is that other drivers will be more tolerant when they know why I'm creeping along :>)

Great idea for the sign! That is hilarious...I'm sure people would get a kick out of seeing that and would yield to the cake deliverer!!!

You don't use a center dowel with SPS.

Non skid is a must.

I'd take the bottom three assembled and put the 6" on onsite.

Thanks Leah-s, for the advice. I wondered about that...about maybe just transporting three tiers and adding the other when I get there. I just hate decorating on site. Everyone stands around and watches. This cake does not have any borders on it. It is going to be decorated "homestyle"; kind of a messy textured cake! I guess it shouldn't be too hard to put the top tier on and add a little frosting around the gap and smear it around! Much easier said, then done!!!! LOL

I recently transported the cake below fully assembled using SPS. I just needed someone else to assist with lifting, so my mom went with me. It was a 6-8-10-12, and it was absolutely perfect when we got to the venue. We could have still done it if it had been an 8-10-12-14. My drive was 45 minutes as well, and the cake was in a 24"x18"x18" box with non-skid underneath the cake board and underneath the box. I agree that non-skid is absolutely necessary. You can't beat those deliveries where you take the cake out of the box, put it on the stand, and leave!

QueenOfSweets: Your cake is beautiful! I am just so nervous about transporting! I haven't slept well all week. It's something that I want to attempt just as a challenge to keep improving! I was also worried about lifting the cake. But it is reassuring to know that if you and your mother did it, I think me and my husband can do it also! I've heard that some people refrigerate their cakes prior to transporting. Any thoughts on this?

I refrigerate my cakes before delivery. Helps firm things up a little for at least part of the drive.

REFRIGERATE!!!

I would stack the bottom three tiers before leaving and add the 8" on site. I NEVER refrigerate a cake...NEVER.....and I've transported several cakes...I've never had any problems transporting a cake that wasn't "chilled" HOWEVER I have had problems with a cake that had been refrigerated. For me refrigerating a cake is just inviting trouble. :lol

Just make sure to get the non skid paper, place on flat surface and drive like you have all day to get there. LOL I liked the idea of the "signs" on the vehicle....too funny...although not a bad idea. At least maybe it will keep people from flipping you off.

Thank you everyone for your words of advice! I think I have decided to transport the 3 bottom tiers stacked and add the top tier when I get there. I bought the no skid paper last night and have that ready to go.

Ok, thanks. I'll have to give that a try.

UPDATE: I love SPS! I ended up transporting the bottom three tiers stacked (14", 12", and 10") and added the top tier (8") when I got there! It worked like a charm! I knew that I could do it, but was just so nervous about transporting something that big all in one piece. I'm so glad I ended up challenging myself and will not be near as nervous in the future. I am a little bummed though...the MOB was supposed to put the flowers on when I got there, but was busy with other things, so i didn't get a picture of the final cake with flowers. They said they'd take pictures and send to me.

Ahh . . . another happy member of the SPS chorus!

I'm glad it all went well. I also use SPS and have successfully delivered more than 1 5 tier cake completely stacked. I live in central Arkansas and if possible, I prefer to refrigerate if possible.

Once my cake is stacked and decorated, I put it into a large cardboard box (usually from Fedex) that if not new, is used only for transporting cakes. I put non-skid mat under the cake in the box. I tape up the box and put into the refrigerator. When it is time to transport, we get the car running and cool, I put non-skid in the back of the SUV, take the entire box, still completely tape up, into the SUV. When we get to the venue, we take the entire box inside, and take the cake out once we get to the cake table. I set the cake on the table, put any topper or fresh flowers on it and head out. The cardboard box helps absorb moisture and keeps the cake cooler for transport. I've done this with buttercream, fondant, even cakes iced with cream cheese icing. Works wonderful for me!

I am new to cake decorating abbreaviatins, what is sps?

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