Cake From Az To Vegas? Is It Possible?
Decorating By Dommers Updated 8 Dec 2010 , 10:18pm by sweetflowers
So I have a client that is getting married in Vegas and asked me to do her cake. I am not traveling to Vegas she is picking it up on their way out of Phoenix. Can a cake safely travel 6 hours? Should I stack it or have them stack it? Do you think the place they are having the wedding would be able to assemble it? Am I outta my mind?
Last year I drove a cake from San Diego to Tuscon. I boxed each tier separately on non-skid mats and blasted the ac all the way there. I then assembled on site. But if you are not going with the cake, then I would not recommend it. I had minimal damage, but anything could happen. And the last thing you want is to work hard on a cake only to have it assembled improperly or damaged in transit without anyone on the other end to fix it. Do you know any cakers in the Vegas area who would be willing to meet your cake at the venue and assemble or do damage control? If not, my best advice would be to just let this one go.
Do you think the place they are having the wedding would be able to assemble it?
I think any place in Vegas would be capable of assembling it, but they might not allow bringing in your own cake. It's Vegas... they can most definitely find a wedding cake locally. I'd let them go that route.
I sent one [ 3 tier stacked/fondant] from Bisbee to Yuma, a 5 1/2 hour ride, a couple of months ago and it arrived in perfect shape. Depending on the time of year, Vegas can get hot, but since you are in Phoenix you know all about heat, there should be no problem. The biggest concern for me would be an air conditioned vehicle with a FLAT place to put the cake, and the driver with common sense.... no jack rabbit starts or slamming on brakes....or fast turns....everything I worry about with local pickups as well!
Funny you should ask.........3 yrs. ago, my son was being married at the Venetian. I baked in OH and flew to LV, assembling a 3 tier stacked cake in a condo on the strip, but in relation to your question:
When we were setting up the cake in the Venetian, the coordinator came over and was asking about the support system (Wilton plastic dowels).
She then related the story of a stacked wedding cake that was driven from Phoenix to LV--late Feb.--in the TRUNK of a sedan. When the couple opened the trunk, the fondant covered creation looked as if it had EXPLODED. The coordinator thought that it was because it didn't have dowels like I had used.................I told her that given the intense heat in the trunk during the daylight drive, they'd just baked the cake A SECOND TIME
I agree that if this is to be done, the cake has to be on a flat floor in the interior of a temperature controlled car, preferably a van or SUV--NO TRUNK.
The hotels in LV are used to getting "outside" cakes, but if it needs to be stacked on site, I don't know if an in-house chef would be willing, or able, to do it properly.
Rae
So I have a client that is getting married in Vegas and asked me to do her cake. I am not traveling to Vegas she is picking it up on their way out of Phoenix. Can a cake safely travel 6 hours? Should I stack it or have them stack it? Do you think the place they are having the wedding would be able to assemble it? Am I outta my mind?
Release only:
#1 - use the SPS system, release it fully assembled
#2 - air conditioned VAN only, even if the weather is alread cool.....with the "sunny side" of the windows blocked by a sunshade (car is too small, never the trunk ever)
#3 - drive like a grandma
#4 - oh, one more thing, use a good sturdy cake recipe only
I just did this in October from San Diego to Vegas. I had each tier covered in fondant, dowels in place, each in it's own box. Traveled in the trunk. Now remember, it was raining and cloudy the whole way to Vegas, so we didn't have any heat to deal with. The cake arrived in good shape, but still settled a bit so I had to cut the dowels a little more and firm up the sides of the cake with my smoothers. The hotel had no problem with bringing cakes in from the outside. But I think you definitely will need someone to 'fix' the cake when it gets there. If it had been any hotter, I think there would have been bigger issues.
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