Since I am a newbie, my other orders for 12" round cakes were tiered ones, and I transported them w/o any box. My first cake order for a 12" round, I made the mistake of buying a 12" cake box. OOPS! I wasnt thinking right. I noticed my mistake as I was cutting the cake board out. I had to trim the "crust" off of the cake, which gave it JUST enough room on the sides for it to fit somewhat. The cake board underneath had about 1/4" showing. NOT good.
I told the customer I had made the mistake of getting a smaller box than I should have, but she said it's fine. The cake was in the fridge so the bc did harden a little, hopefully not much smearing went on before it was served!

My question, is where can I find a 13x13 or 14x14 cake box for my 12" cakes? Or do you all use regular (not "cake") boxes for some cakes?

Well, sending a cake out of your kitchen without a box is unhygienic.... and what are they supposed to hold on to? The right sized boxes really make things alot easier.... there is another thread going on in just about this same subject here:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-604718.html

As far as using 'regular' boxes..... make sure they are food safe, not boxes that the shoe store down the street gets their shipments in.

I have ordered sturdy boxes in food-safe corrugated for all my tiered cakes, in the sizes I use most. They weren't cheap, but I would say worth it. I add the cost to the price when I give customers a quote.

I might add...the 2-tiered stacked cakes I sent out without a box, were for my family as a gift, and it went straight from my counter...transported on a cake board and then was served the same day at a family party.

I wouldnt ever send a paying customer out the door without a box. LOL.

12 round cake goes on a 14" board (a cardboard made for cakes) and all then goes into a 14" cake box. The size of the bottom board determines the size of the box.

And where do you find a 14" cake box? I feel a 12" double layer round is still a little too "small" for a cardboard box, I would prefer to deliver it in a cake box if I can find a store that carries one this size.

Has anyone ever asked a Michael's (or another store) if they would special order anything from Wilton?

Hi,

I'm not sure what state you're located in, but the bakery supply store that I go to has boxes from 6" to 20" square. As Leah suggested always go at least 2" larger for the cakeboards and match the box size to the cakeboards.

The boxes at Michael's don't seem to be as strong as the boxes that I can get from the bakery supply. Whenever I've HAD to use their boxes, I always double the cakeboards especially on heavy cakes, for added support.

I would order "real" cake boxes on line if you don't have any suppliers other than Michael's in your area. The boxes at the bakery suppliers sites are actually cheaper per box than Michael's are. Oh, and the cakeboards from suppliers are stronger than the Wilton ones too, the cardboard is more corrugated I guess, they just feel more substantial. I think it's worth the investment, just build it into the cost as chutzpah noted.

Our local restaurant supplies store carries cake boxes and cardboards.

I have a local cake supply shop that carries boxes big enough even for my 14x22 and my 18x24's, so I'm fortunate in that she can get me anything I need.

I ran out once and had to run to walmart to get about 6 boxes for my cookie order. Let me tell you, those wilton brand boxes are paper thin!!! I was disgusted with how non-supportive those boxes were and I will never use them for a cake! avoid that brand if at all possible.

Wow, really? Those are what I usually get, the Wilton cake boxes from Michael's. I just figured ALL cake boxes are probably paper thin. I do hate that they have a small selection of sizes too. (10x10, 12x12, 14x19 is all I seem to come across)