I'm considering making a 3-tier wedding cake for a friend who is having her wedding about two hours away in Chicago. She has made it clear that she prefers buttercream or whipped cream as opposed to fondant, but the transport issue makes me nervous because I have only ever worked with fondant.

So my question is, is it possible to transport a buttercream or whipped cream cake that far in an unrefrigerated car? (And, if so, what's the best way to ensure it doesn't melt and/or fall apart?) Is it even a good idea?

Thanks in advance!

Yes it's possible. By unrefrigerated, do you mean no air conditioning? If your car/van has no air conditioning, I would rent or borrow one that does to keep the cake cool while traveling

Definitely possible! I just drove a cake 12 hours this past weekend. I just purchased a CakeSafe which I love, but before I got that, I would box the cake (stacked with SPS) in a cardboard box with no slip mat at the bottom, put that into a larger cardboard box lined with no slip, and then surround with dry ice, then into the car on another no slip mat. AC cranked! No transport problems. Good luck. 2 hours isn't too far. Most of my wedding deliveries are 1-2 hours one way.

I'd def do bc, and use SPS!

I would not do the whipped cream for sure. I probably would not stack it ahead of time either. I know many others would. I would box the layers to keep the sun off them and put them on a flat surface. My car has reclining back seats, so I can put them in the trunk and run the air conditioner and they stay nice. I have done 2 hours many times but I always carry my emergency kit with extra buttercream just in case. I do borders on site and flinish off any other decorations such as flowers on site as well. I am not able to lift a stacked cake all by myself so I have found it works better for me to stack and finish when I get there.

So glad you asked this question karicroop...I'll be transporting a small stacked wedding cake in September about 4 hours away. I don't have the SPS because I don't do enough cake business (I'm a hobby baker by choice) to justify the cost and the cake will have to be complete because I'm not the one transporting it. I'm really worried about the heat/humidity!
Thanks aprilismaius for the dry ice tip...I didn't think of that...it just might work for me!
I'll be checking for more tips/advice on this one...

oops I forgot to say that if those layers just happen to be frozen(frosting and all) they really travel well. May not even be thawed all the way in 2 hours. Do not fear this. I freeze decorated cakes all the time if they do not have a lot of dark colors on them.

SPS is relatively inexpensive to me, means everything is nice and stable, and I can travel with things stacked already. To me, it is worth $10-20 per cake, and I build it into the cost.

Thanks for these suggestions! I'll admit I had to Google "SPS" though.

I agree that the whipped cream just sounds like a bad idea, even though, yes, our car is air conditioned. But the buttercream boxed up in separate tiers sounds like the best option for me. (And great idea on the nonslip padding!) Glad to know others drive cakes this distance all the time!

I was also wondering about the option of freezing the cakes, pre-iced, and whether that would work. Any special instructions if I decided to do that (so as not to compromise taste, etc.)?

Love this forum.

Just decorate each tier as usual. Box it up and put it in the deep freeze. Like I said earlier, I don't put any flowers on until I get to the site. I usually use air dried buttercream or fondant flowers and pack them seperately. (they aren't frozen) If I use bubble tea straws for doweling, I put them in before I freeze. I have not used the other method so can't comment on that. I would not freeze a cake with black or any dark colored
side decorations as they may bleed. I live in a small town and most of my deliveries are quite a ways away. I leave myself plenty of time to assemble and bring necessary tools and supplies, just in case. I have only had 2 small boo boo's in 18 years, and both of them were fixable. ( I only do about 10-20 wedding cakes in a year.) Try not to stress, this should be fun!!!!