I have to make a cake this weekend (for my grandmother's 95th birthday party) and I have to travel with it for 2 1/2 hours to get to where she lives. I will be using Buttercream icing. We live in HOT, HUMID Houston. How do I keep the icing from "melting" and sliding off the cake while I am traveling? I want the cake to still be pretty when we get there.

Thanks.

Crank up the a/c and make sure that the interior is cool before you put the cake in your car. I crank up the a/c so cold that I have to wear a sweater while I driving! Also, if the windows aren't tinted and the sun will be shining in on the cake, get a car window shade. You can find these in most baby departments at stores. Good luck!

Thank you, Cake Girl! I will try that. Should be an interesting 2 1/2 hours.

If at all possible chill the cake well before leaving.
Create a box that is bigger than the cake box; freeze large ziploc bags of water into ice blocks; place cake box into plastic bag; set on bags of ice and surround the cake box with more. Wrap all this in many layers of newspaper, then towels or blankets.

Just wondering if you are using straight butter in your buttercream. I did this once and wouldn't do it in the heat. I usually do 2 to 1 ratio. 2 cups shortening to 1 cup butter. Unless you can keep your car really cold, I wouldn't chance it. Even go straight shortening and butter flavoring. I made a cake for my nephew, 2 hour drive in hot summer, and then the cake sat outside in the heat, I could taste the butter going rancid. No one else could, but I did. So I worry about melting and the taste.

I traveled with my golf cart cake for 8 hours. It was fondant with buttercream underneath and not all buttercream. I put mine in a cooler with 2 cold packs and just kept it behind the seat (with the lid closed) and it worked great! This would work just as well for an all buttercream cake too.

Well, I got the cake to the party (after the 2 1/2 hour drive). The cake did fine but the icing was sliding on the sides, quite a bit. I did not have enough room to take all of my decorating supplies that I used to make the cake since we were riding with someone to the party so I could not really fix it. The top was perfect but the sides had slid down some. Any ideas to avoid this in the future? I had the cake cooled before we left and had the air vents blowing directly on the cake and they were turned on high.

I drove 5 hours around the 4th of July to Virginia Beach from South Carolina with an unassembled, 4 tier wedding cake iced in crusting buttercream. No problems. We cranked the ac wide open and carried wraps for us to stay warm. We also put up shades to keep the sunshine off the cakes because the sun was shining bright through the tinted windows in the SUV. The temps were in the mid 90's with high humidity.

I wonder what I did wrong then? I use an all shortening buttercream - it is the Wilton Snow White Buttercream Recipe...that is the one that I use. I did a DH Vanilla cake mix. Would love to know how to avoid having this happen in the future. Any advice would be MUCH appreciated.

I live outside of the Houston area also...and Ive learned to use INDYS RECIPE!!! It crust really good and holds up in the heat well, and when you slice into your cake, its moist and I get alot of request for that bc!!!!

Maybe you should try it....what part of the Houston area do you live in?