Hello everyone. We are doing a party for my son in the UK and I want to make for my son.

We will be arriving a week before the party. I don't think I'll be able to make the actual cake in the UK as I'd be too nervous to use someone else's oven.

So my questions are:
1. How advanced can I make and freeze these cakes. I thought I'd try a box mix with an extender. I'm normally a scratch baker, but I seriously don't want to take an risks. )

2. Can anyone tell me how I can travel with these cakes so they remain frozen. (it'll be a 8 hour flight! )

I really do appreciate everyones help.

Thank you

I have heard lots of bakers say you can make a freeze a cake up to 2 weeks before, I have personally never done that so I don't know how the cake would be but I would guess it would be fine. As far as traveling with it that would be scary.. I'm not sure there is anything for you to keep it frozen... that is going to be a stressful flight for you I would imagine

I would call the airline and ask them if they can help you. They may have special packaging for frozen goods. Hope this helps.

bmarlow001......
pvcat2000 ...I'll try that.

Has anyone used those freezer bag that is supposed to keep things cool for a number of hours. What if I wrapped the cakes in those and placed them in a cool box. Would cabin pressure mean they won't work......

I would recommend ice bricks. They're used for shipping many different perishable items. They stay cold for days if packaged correctly. You can purchase them online. The one thing I would mention if you use these is that they do freeze solid. Make sure that you freeze them in the exact position you want them in. Otherwise they could get sharp edges and and tear your cake. And wrap them in a thin dish towel in case they defrost more than you want. They're non-toxic but I wouldn't want the condensation to ruin your cakes. Perhaps double saran wrap your cakes and then place in an oversized ziplock bag. I might also make one extra layer of cake, just in case! And make sure that there is not much room in the container for the cakes to move around.

I would also make sure that the airlines don't have safety regulations preventing or controlling how you can transport food. I wouldn't want you to go through all this trouble to have them confiscated at the airport.

You may also consider the option to ship them in advance. That way if they arrive at the location damaged you can either pack them to carry on the plane or plan to bake when you arrive.

Has anyone used those freezer bag that is supposed to keep things cool for a number of hours. What if I wrapped the cakes in those and placed them in a cool box. Would cabin pressure mean they won't work...... [/quote]

That should work.

I've flown with cakes before, both frozen uniced and fully decorated single tiers. For the frozen cakes, I simply kept each frozen layers wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap, stacked each individually wrapped layer on top of each other, placed them on a sturdy cake board, put them in a cake box and carried them on board. No extra packaging. After an 8 hour flight, 3 hour transit and 5+ hours waiting/traveling time to and from the airport, the cakes were fine. The 12" was still partially frozen, the 9 inch was cold and solid.

The biggest hassle was how heavy those babies were! When I got to my destination, I refroze them. The cakes were still moist and wonderful, no loss of quality. I used them to make my cousin's wedding cake and they got rave reviews from literally everyone. I used a scratch white chocolate - vanilla bean white cake recipe.

You cannot use ice packs or freezer packs for carry on items as they count as liquids. If you package your cakes with these, the airline will ask you to check them in. I wouldn't check in cakes as baggage handling is rough, even for those labeled "fragile".

Having said that, I also had 2 six inch layers which I boxed in plastic tupperware-type containers and flew them in my checked baggage. Those were okay because I had packaged them securely and they were inside my suitcase, cushioned by clothes.

KitchenKat. Thank you thank you thank you.

I was getting really stressed and thinking I won't be able to do it. You see the cake is for my son. He has memorised 604 pages of Arabic (The Quran) yet English is his first language. So we are doing a surprise party for him in the UK. He has no idea. (He's only 10 and so easily fooled, but definately has more brain power than I do!! ) My son is my number one fan. He loves my cakes and relishes me making anything. It would so make the party if I was able to do the cakes. So thank you again

BTW So if the cakes are still cold it's still ok to refreeze? Just worried about any food safety issues.

great.....

Just wanted to say a big thanks to kitchenkat. I managed to make the cakes for my son's party. The smaller ones did defrost ever so slightly but it didn't affect the final results. Thanks again.

here are the cakes if any one is interested


http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1809365

and....

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1809364