I posted the other day asking about transporting a cake from Chicago to Atlanta.  My friend now wants to use her FedEx account and have me ship the cake to her.  This is completely unchartarted territory for me, I don't even know if it can be done.  Has anyone ever shipped a cake?  This is a 5 tier cake that she said she would assemble upon delivery.  I use the SPS cake system so I could send assembly instructions, I just don't know if it's possible.  Has anyone successfully shipped a cake via fedex?  Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Beth

ASorry I think this is insane

you can always take a test cake with the SPS system in place, wrap it, ice it, box it up.  Then take it outside and drop it a few times, toss it in the air, put a rock on the box, shake it, and leave it in the sun for 8 hours.  Take a photo of the results and let your friend decide if that's what she really wants.  

if she wants you to make her cake, it would be much cheaper (ie she wouldn't have to pay for your cake, shipping, and a replacement cake) to just fly you and your supplies out to make it there for her.  

Totally agree fedex will not take any care of your item even if you tell them its a fragile cake- you could try a specialised 'fragile courier', this worked for me once although these couriers tend to be local so any great distance might not be feasable. I used a box with a plastic window in the lid so the driver could actually see what was inside, I insisted on an untiered design, I used a strong recipe: fruitcake, with nothing heat sensitive- marzipan & fondant only. 

Next month I am flying out to make a cake for a client rather than courier it because sometimes, no matter how much you want a courier to work, it doesn't.

The only possible way to Fedex is overnight, frozen solid with a ton of dry ice inside.  You will pay the highest charge possible for such delivery.  A round-trip airplane ticket would be less.

ADepending on the recipe 2-3 day air shipping might be OK, you would need to run some tests first though. Make a tier using the same recipe, put it in temperature sensitive packaging, throw it across the room a few times, and leave it outside in direct sunlight for as long as it will be in transit.

Even if it's not overnight the shipping will add up (at least $150 plus the cost of packaging), is your friend OK paying that much?

I ship delicate stuff for a living.  I would NOT under any circumstances ship a cake other than overnight. 

Shipping with dry ice REQUIRES overnight service.  

If you don't use dry ice for a fruitcake, OK.  But in my experience, the "overnight" service provides the best possible handling of sensitive goods.

ADry ice does not require overnight shipping, 2 day shipping may be OK (again depending on the recipe).

http://www.dryiceideas.com/shipping-with-dry-ice-dos-and-donts/

Thanks everyone.  I decided that I just didn't want to risk shipping.  I would feel horrible if the cake arrived damaged. 

Good choice, Liz, too risky I would assume

But sometimes there is no option left other than shipping cake. It is risky, but bakeries should take responsibility for cake damage. moving company Brooklyn
 

Or you could contact one of those shippers like on the TV show (I think it is called Shipping Wars).  The lowest bidder picks it up and personally drives it, but it would be a fortune, and still would probably be demolished upon arrival.

Liz