Baking a cake is more than just making dessert. It’s an act of love! Because even if you’re just doctoring up a boxed mix, you’re still baking, cooling, filling, and decorating, which is a lot of effort. Homemade cakes show you care and make any get-together a celebration.
But even professional bakers will tell you that the delivery is the hardest and most stressful part of the whole process. Cakes are delicate and susceptible to sliding with every twist and turn on your journey. But if you learn how to transport a cake with these easy tips, you will significantly reduce your stress and get your cake there safely.
First and foremost, as much as you’ll want to serve a cake on a pretty cake stand, it’s not ideal for transportation. You can bring the stand with you and transfer the cake onto it once you arrive. And if you follow these easy tips for transporting cakes, that whole process will be easier, too. Read on for more!
How to Safely Transport a Cake
1. Chill the cake.
Much like decorating a cake, it’s easier to transport a cake when it’s cold rather than at room temperature. So before you head out, chill it for a while in the fridge. Even if it should be served at room temperature, that process will begin as you travel. Chances are, it will be ready (or close to ready) to serve when you get there.
2. Adhere the cake to a cake board.
If you put a disposable cake board under your cake, you can carry it and transfer it from the carrier to a display stand more easily. Do what professionals do and just stack and decorate the cake right on the cake board from the start. Before you add the first layer of cake, put a dollop of frosting, filling, or jam on the cake board before adding the first layer. It helps keep the cake stable and even as you decorate, too.
Don’t feel like you have to buy anything special, by the way. Cake boards are just a layer of cardboard, which you probably have around the house. (Just make sure it’s clean!) Use your cake pan to trace the cake's shape with a non-toxic pencil or permanent marker, then cut it out with scissors. (You can flip it over if you’re worried about pencil/pen marks touching your cake.)
If you’re thinking that you can just carry and transfer it on a plate from your kitchen, remember that most plates aren’t entirely flat and could create a crooked cake. Bonus: If you use a disposable cardboard cake round, you don’t have to worry about leaving your plate or stand behind if there are leftovers.
3. Invest in a cake carrier.
You can actually buy disposable cake boxes pretty easily online these days, but you can also buy a reusable cake carrier for pretty cheap. Most will be tall enough for layered cakes with two to three cake layers and wide enough for eight- to ten-inch cakes, which is standard for most home recipes. That includes Bundt cakes! If your cake is bigger, you can also buy a cardboard box from an office supply store.
If you don’t have a carrier or a box, or if the cake is oddly shaped, you can insert toothpicks around the cake and tent the whole thing with plastic wrap. It’s a little more precarious to transport, but you’ll have a better chance to keep it fresh with the frosting intact that way. (The toothpick method also helps with sheet cakes if the frosting is too high.)
4. Tape the cake board to the carrier.
Whether you use a disposable or reusable cake box, put a small piece of tape on the bottom of the cake board to secure it to the box. This adds another layer of protection to prevent it from sliding around. Once you get to the venue, slip a knife or an offset spatula between the cake board and box to release it. A small piece of tape is all you need, so you don’t struggle to get it unstuck. And then guess what? That offset spatula will then help you transfer the cake to the stand.
5. Lay the carrier on a flat surface.
Sorry to tell you, but car seats aren’t actually flat. The flattest and most secure spot is usually the floor on the passenger side. If no one is sitting there, slide the passenger seat forward or back to help keep the cake carrier snug so it won’t move around. Or, if you have a trusted passenger, they can hold it securely on their lap.
Unless the cake is huge, trunks are not ideal because you can’t keep your eye on what’s happening. But if that’s the only spot you have, make sure your trunk space is flat and packed tightly enough that the cake won’t jostle around. And if all else fails, remember this: It really only matters that the cake tastes good! You can slice it away from the prying eyes of the guests, and they’ll never know that some of the frosting ended up askew in the car. 🤷♀️
