Transporting In Hot Weather Help Needed By 7/5/12 6Pm Est

Decorating By Delynn Updated 16 Jul 2012 , 5:11am by Delynn

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Delynn Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 12:46pm
post #1 of 8

Here's the CHALLENGE:

My brother wants me to make a BC iced cake. No problem, HOWEVER, he needs to transport it to work, 1 hour away, IN HIS TRUNK, IN 90 DEGREE WEATHER. Does anyone out there know if this is possible, maybe using Dry Ice in some way?

This is a 1 layer sheet cake 18x26 sitting on 1/2" thick foamcore. The cake will be sitting in a HD cardboard box bottom that I made, with a piece of plastic covering the opening.

Thank you in advance icon_smile.gif

7 replies
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karensjustdessert Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 1:08pm
post #2 of 8

I did something similar recently, but it was a 4 hour trip.

I had refrigerated a cake in a plastic cake carrier, put the carrier into a cooler, and surrounded with bagged ice. It worked very well, and there were no leaks.


Edited to add:

For a sheet cake: If you can freeze it until it is picked up, I would do so. It really should make the trip and still be very cold upon arrival, without any extra provisions.

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MimiFix Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 3:06pm
post #3 of 8

I would be very concerned about a one layer BC cake sitting in a car trunk for one hour when the outside temp is 90 degrees. In those conditions I doubt that freezing ahead will stop the BC from thawing (and then melting). Try rigging something so the cake box has dry ice top and bottom. Or tell your brother he can wait until Christmas..

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BakingIrene Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 3:17pm
post #4 of 8

Starting with a frozen sheet cake will help.

Better, pile a bunch of bags of water ice (not dry ice) underneath in another cardboard box.

Tape a white sheet over the trunk lid to keep it as cool as possible (unless the vehicle is white). Yes this makes more difference than you think.

Dry ice will make more condensation than you might want to deal with.

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heyjules Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 3:34pm
post #5 of 8

Does it have to be in the trunk? Would there be some way to put it on the floor, or even on a seat that's been made level? I personally wouldn't put it in the trunk. Buying a bunch of dry ice for a sheet cake seems a little crazy to me.

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scp1127 Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 3:45pm
post #6 of 8

I have no problem with cold cake, fake ice, and in the car, but the trunk would be a challenge for even the cooler.

I have kept a cooler under a table all day long at a family reunion in VA in the heat, but again, under a table, under an awning, is a lot cooler than a trunk.

I woulldn't do it.

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MimiFix Posted 4 Jul 2012 , 3:46pm
post #7 of 8

We had a bakery in TN for several years and during the hot hot summers I delivered by packing cakes into coolers. The cake boxes were in plastic bags and there was no dry ice damage. Just had to wear gloves to protect our hands. For summer delivery we added a dry ice fee. But the size of a sheet cake presents problems. I'd tell my brother "sorry, but no way."

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Delynn Posted 16 Jul 2012 , 5:11am
post #8 of 8

Thanks to all who replied! As it turned out my brother was going to be working a day shift which meant that I would have had to meet him at 3:00 in the morning (YIKES). I was ok with that; CAKE DECORATORS do whatever it takes don't we? Consequently, he asked his co-worker to drive from Ohio to pick it up, which he did. Either the guy was smart and opted for this plan or his wife opted for this plan for him LOL . What a guy either way.... problem solved! Prior to that I told my brother to measure the width of the car door opening to see if the 27 x 22" wide box would even fit, if we wanted to put it on the back seat, resting part of the heavy duty cardboard box bottom I made, on a cooler he could set on the floor. I also had called to get a price on dry ice ($16ish for a 12" slab) and some approx. usage directions. Part of that problem/equation was that I didn't have another piece of cardboard to make a little larger box bottom to set the smaller box bottom into, with dry ice underneath and covering both with plastic. Plus, the lady at the store recommended I pack regular ice around the dry ice as a cooling effect vs freezing effect.

Consequently, one of these days soon, I'm going to buy a small piece of dry ice and experiment with a couple of 1 layer 6" cakes; dry ice above a box and bag-covered cake vs dry ice underneath with regular ice in contact with it. I'll have him be the guinea pig/do quality control on the taste & texture on the cake and IF it freezes at all, how long to thaw.

Funny, never using dry ice before, I have to admit that I did wonder if the vapors from the dry ice would seep out of the trunk at all and make other drivers think his trunk was smoking (like at stop lights) Hee hee

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