AI'm new on here but I'm hoping for some advice from all you experienced cake people. Let me explain the situation. I've been asked to make and shoot a cake smash for a good friend. The 1st birthday party is about 3 hours from me and then the smash the following day. Im doing a giant cupcake with a candy melt shell (which I haven't done before) and whipped cream on top. My plan is to make the cake, candy melt shell, accessories and whip (and stabilise) the cream before I travel. If I put it in a cool box with ice blocks I'm hoping it will all stay cold till I can get to the party and put it in their fridge. Then the following morning construct it prior to the smash. So I guess my questions are Does this sound practical? Or would I be better off constructing in the comfort of my home before I go. I suppose I could cream and put the cake into the bottom shell. Should I take spares of the shell in case it breaks? How far in advance could I make the shell and how do I store it? Thanks for any suggestions.

AHave you considered using ganache on the bottom instead of a candy shell? It would travel better and still have the smooth pattern from the pan. It would also refrigerate well with the whipped cream part on the top.