I was wondering who among us has been brave enough to ship a cake. I just work out of my home, mainly a hobby, so I have never shipped a cake before. I have a friend who lives in PA, I live in GA, and I want so bad to make her a baby-themed cake and send it to her -as a surprise... question is -how on earth do I do this? I'm not looking to do anything extravagant, I'm thinking a fondant covered round cake with a circus theme -the new baby's room will be a circus theme. My friend and her hubby love cake and I would love to make them one. What do you think about this -or am I completely out of my mind? I also have an aunt who is having a baby and she is in TX -would love to make her one too... just not sure how to go about doing it!

I have never shipped a cake, although I have shipped lots of cupcakes. Visibility seems to be key when shipping I have found. If the carrier can see the product inside they are going to work a lot harder to keep it upright and not tip it! I watched a program on TV...I can't remember which one it was, but this guy shipped his cakes all over the country. He used heavy-duty cardboard boxes and cut "windows" on two opposite sides of the box. He covered the windows with a heavy plastic (much heavier I'm sure than the overhead papers I use for my cupcake boxes!) and then cuts open the box to put the cake in. He hot glued stryofoam around the cake to prevent sliding and tipping and I think he even hot glued the cake down too. Then he reclosed the box with packing tape and sealed it good. I don't know if this helps...but it is an idea to get started with anyway?!?!

There have been many posts regarding shipping of cakes. I have shipped cakes before to my family members. Never to a customer and never to such an important event as a wedding!

With that said, I would make your cake like you wish and ship it. You can make gumpaste decorations, wrap them in bubble wrap, and pack them with the cake. I used the USPS, shipped directly from the main office that goes out of my area (we have 3...the other 2 send to the 3rd...) you want as few people handling your cake as possible. I used a good sturdy cake recipe, like the WASC, covered the cake in icing and then sugar paste or rolled buttercream (even crusting recipes will smush, so use the SP or the RBC). Make sure you dowel your cake all the way thru the inside box. Place the inside box inside another packing box. Let it set inside the fridge all night, to keep it nice and cold. Send it priority/overnight.

It works. PM me if you need more instructions.