What kind of cake? 8" round? Tiered? Not sure what she is wanting?
I shipped a cake from Ohio to Pennsylvania and it didn't go well to say the least. I started a thread about Fed Ex being "Cake Killers". I'll find it and you can read through it....to see all of the comments/ideas/advice I recieved from others who have done it successfully.
Here it is:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-199881.html
HTH-
Michelle
i dont recommend it in the summer. although, i am in texas, and it is HOT here. what is your summer temp like? both mn and wi are northern states so it is possible.
first, you should make the cake very simple and keep the decoration minimal. use a buttercream (although all butter tastes better, you may need to use a shortening buttercream with the addition of meringue powder so it is more stable) and then cover it in fondant. i dont recommend refrigerating the cake before you package it because in the summer heat, it will sweat and the moisture will cause problems.
i mailed this cake: http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=127633
but it was in january to New mexico. it arrived just fine.
i started with sizing the cake to a usps priority FLAT RATE box. ($7.80 for any weight). i made a 6" round (there is room for a larger one) and after covering in fondant, i allowed it to set up for about 6 hours. the cake was "glued to an 8" round cardboard with icing. i wrapped it loosely but well in good plastic wrap. i bought a roll of BUBBLE wrap for $4 at walmart, and began to wrap over, under, on all sides, over and over again until the entire box was full and there was no room whatsoever for the cake to shift. if you want to use a cake box for presentation, wrap as i suggested and place in a cake box with no wiggle room, then wrap the cake box in bubbble wrap too until the mailing box is full. basically this is going to pad the cake on all sides because its inevitable that it will be tipped, tossed etc.
dont use perishable fillings, (fruit, cream etc) and keep the decoration to a minimum. this is a good time for flat fondant embellishments, painting, impression matts etc. i wouldnt suggest royal or buttercream decorations. if you do any thing on wires for the top of the cake, wrap them separatelyand place it in the box and have them place it on the cake when it arrives.
i have heard some horror stories of peoples cakes being destroyed, and i really think it has a lot to do with the packaging more so that the courier.
good luck and post a picture on this thread so we can see when you get done with your cake as well as an update when it arrives.
just keep in mind that the post office, fedex, dhl, ups, or whoever you use will NOT choose to be careful with your lonely little box in a sea of millions of others.
I used to work for UPS and part of our training involved having a team of people take a delicate cup and saucer and use given items to package it as best we can, as fast as we can. Then guess what we did...that's right. We kicked it around and threw it and whichever team's dishes survived the onslaught won the mini competition. Let's just say all of us were very surprised at what our trainer imparted on us after that. These shipping guys not only throw packages, but they stand on them if need be. They kick, they hit, they slam, they do whatever they have to do to get that package where it needs to go so they can move onto the millions of others right behind them.
So why did we have to do that in training? Because we had to have the experience and knowledge to explain in detail to our UPS customers how to package something. Just when you think you have enough bubble wrap, PUT MORE. I guarantee your box will be kicked around.
Package it to the point where you know you can dropkick that sucker and it won't do a thing to your cake.
Just when you think you have enough bubble wrap, PUT MORE. I guarantee your box will be kicked around.
Package it to the point where you know you can dropkick that sucker and it won't do a thing to your cake.
oh my gosh, that is HILLARIOUS! such words of advice, seriously!!! 
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