Choosing The Right Shipping Method
Obviously, you want your cake to get to your client as fast as possible. A longer shipping time only means a bigger risk of your cake getting damaged.
Though the cake could probably last a one or two day shipping time, you should get same day shipping as often as possible. If you cant do this, your next best bet is overnight shipping.
This will minimize the shipping time and make sure your cake stays in good condition for your client.
Put The Cake In A Styrofoam Cooler
A styrofoam cooler will keep the cake from getting too warm.
First, put the cake in the cooler. Then line the cake with some kind of frozen gel packs to keep the cooler nice and cold.
For the best results, put the cooler in the refrigerator before packaging the cake. This way the cooler will already be the temperature you want, and the gel packs will work better.
If you cant find a styrofoam cooler, you can also
Best For Food Sensitivities: Carolines Cakes
Caroline’s Cakes
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Some options are limited
Among the many reasons Carolines Cakes stands out is its commitment to operating a nut-free bakery. Carolines employs strict measures to ensure no nuts can sneak in to spoil your birthday celebration. The bakery also has gluten-free options.
Carolines website offers a wide variety of cakes and other goodies, including 10 whimsical birthday cakes. Flavors include their famous seven-layer lemon cake, caramel cake, rainbow cake, and four-layer chocolate devils food cake. If you cant decide which flavor you want, check out the “half cakes” option, allowing you to combine two different flavors into one cake. Unfortunately, this option is not available in their signature birthday polka dot flavor.
Each round, nine-inch cake serves between 14 and 20 people and starts at $70, plus shipping. For an extra fee, there’s also an option to add 16 polka dot plates, tableware, and candles that spell out “happy birthday” to your order.
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Think Strategically About How And To When Ship
If you are doing weekend baking, the best time to ship is Monday or earlier in the week. Dont want to wait until late Friday night to drop off your package because there is a chance it will sit in the sorting facility over the weekend. Shipping can be costly, especially when it is expedited, but the best shipping option for perishable goods is overnight-air, next-day-air, or two-day-air. Its recommended that you pack all your goodies in a brand new box thats sealed with packing tape instead of duct tape or masking tape. Even though surprises are always great, its not the worst idea to alert the people you are shipping the baked goodies to, so they can look out for the package.
Use A Styrofoam Container
Not only will the restricted space further limit how much your cake might be jostled about but the Styrofoam material helps limit how much temperature fluctuation occurs inside of the container. You can gain even more control over the interior temperature by slipping in some gel-based cooling packs around the cake.
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What If No One Is Home To Receive The Cake
There is no signature required for delivery of our cakes and packages. Please be aware that it is solely at the UPS driver’s discretion on whether or not a package can be safely left outside the recipient’s address.Locations where the package would be left in which public display and accessibility to the package is apparent are not deemed “safe to leave” by UPS standards. This mainly includes certain offices and apartments in larger cities. For these locations the UPS driver will leave a door notice to communicate a delivery attempt and a second attempt will be made the following business day. The recipient may also schedule a pick-up at their local UPS facility.
First Attempts To Ship A Cake
Shipping cakes is not as hard as you may imagine. It takes a lot of trial and error on your part but it can be done, safely.
This is my third attempt to ship cakes and cupcakes to our domestic customers in the USA. Ohhh yes, my cakes have gone international as far as to Africa to be exact.
The first two attempts were not total failures and I can honestly say I have learned so much from both experience that I cant say they werent a total loss.
1st Birthday in 2009
The first cake was a two-tier small fondant cake that was shipped expressed to Tennessee for a 1st Birthday in 2009. There were minor dents in the cake upon delivery imagine but from a structural standpoint, it was ok.
The second attempt was shipping cupcakes to two different states, Pennsylvania and Maryland in 2015. It was an epic failure, the cupcakes were in shambles and frosting was everywhere, while the presentation was a hot mess due to mishandling of the box in transport.
I a did get great reviews from both clients regarding taste. With cupcakes being so delicate, I am still working on improving the art of shipping cupcakes.
A great alternative might be nice to make it a DIY cupcake package to prevent the frosting from going everywhere, its a nice thought but I would still have to do more research and run more test.
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How To Ship Cake Pops
Cake pops are the latest craze in desserts. These popular treats on sticks are actually made by mixing cake crumbs with frosting, forming them into balls and sticking them into sticks. They are then dipped in a special frosting or coated with fondant and decorated in any number of ways. Because they come in a variety of flavors, shapes, and designs, cake pops are great for parties. Kids adore them while adults like them because they eliminate the need for plates and utensils to enjoy.
The high demand for these fancy treats opted many enterprising individuals to venture into the cake pops making and selling business. However, much new cake pops sellers are apprehensive of shipping their items because of their perishable nature and fragile composition. While not exactly a piece of cake, it is comforting to know that these cute and delectable treats can be shipped safely as long as proper packing techniques are employed. Here are some tips on how to properly pack and ship cake pops to ensure that they arrive looking and tasting good.
Individually wrap the cake pops with clear plastic bags. You can use colorful ribbons to tie the plastic in place. This will prevent the pops from getting contaminated or damaged. The ribbons also make them look presentable. For cake pops with protruding embellishments, wrap them generously with bubble wrap to keep them intact.
How To Mail Your Cake
Your local post office or delivery service location will have all the appropriate packaging supplies you need. After wrapping your cake, put it in a cake box and then place it in either an appropriately sized Styrofoam mailer or bubble-wrap lined mailing box. Fill up any empty spaces inside the container with packing material, such as bubble wrap, newspaper, or kitchen towels. The cake needs to be secure so it can’t move around during transit.
Seal the box with high-quality shipping tape. Tape the seams and smooth down the tape. Mark the outside of your box with the words “fragile” and “perishable,” and draw arrows indicating the top of the box. Normally your courier will ask if your package contains perishable goods and place a sticker on it if it does.
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Make sure your shipping label is securely fastened to the outside of the box and arrange for shipment. Keep in mind what you are shipping and where it is going items that should remain cold should probably be shipped overnight.
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How Much Does It Cost To Ship Baked Goods
If people are going to mail a home-baked good as a gift, theyre doing it because they love doing it, and they know that the person will appreciate it theyre not doing this to save money, says Hedeman. He recommends budgeting $10-$20 per package Vitak estimates that her packages cost $8-$15 each with USPS.
Can I Send Cookies Through The Mail
Yes, you can mail cookies! You can mail them via USPS, Fedex and UPS and, depending on how fast you want them to arrive, you can choose expedited shipping. You want your cookies to arrive fresh so I recommend using, at a maximum, three to four-day shipping depending on the kind of cookie youre sending.
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Be Prepared To Spend A Pretty Penny
Theres no sugarcoating it: mailing cookies is not a cheap hobby. If people are going to mail a home-baked good as a gift, theyre doing it because they love doing it, and they know that the person will appreciate it theyre not doing this to save money, says Hedeman.
He recommends budgeting $10-$20 per package Vitak estimates that her packages cost $8-$15 each with USPS. The costs of packaging material can also add up, but its often more economical if you purchase in bulk. Split the materials and the costs with a friend, or save the remaining materials to use again next year.
Consider Freezing Before Shipping
Hedeman is a big proponent of freezing, both as a way to protect the baked good by making it harder and more solid, and to help it stay fresh en route. He recommends enfolding the treat tightly in plastic wrap or a ziploc bag before freezing. For cookies, he says, you could even wrap them on a plate with plastic, and then freeze them in the arrangement youd like them to present in.
If going the frozen route, you dont need an insulated shipping container, says Hedeman just keep the cookies or baked goods in their plastic packaging and let them defrost as they travel. There might be some moisture due to the defrosting, but not so much that the package leaks, which would go against USPS rules. Still, just to be safe, Hedeman advises against using water-soluble packaging materials like biodegradable packing peanuts.
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How To Post A Cake
Thereâs plenty of reasons why you might want to send a cake via courier. Maybe youâve baked the most scrumptious desert known to humanity, but the person youâve made it for doesnât live locally. Perhaps youâve started your own local baking business and want to know the easiest way to send your cakes to your customers. Posting cakes can be tricky, as thereâs no way to ensure theyâll remain upright, which can lead to some sticky situations. Weâve put together this guide to explain all this and more!
PREPARING A CAKE FOR POSTING
PICK THE RIGHT PACKAGING FOR SENDING A CAKE
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO POST A CAKE?
Now that your delicious cake is safe and sound inside the box, itâs time to whip out the old tape measure and weighing scales. When you have this info to hand, simply enter the details into the My Parcel Delivery quote form and youâll get a list of courier delivery costs for posting your cake. Itâs worth booking a Next Day delivery service for something like a cake and we recommend Parcelforce. Prices start at £13.74 and they also offer delivery on Saturday. Perfect for when youâre posting a cake as a gift.
MPD can cater for a wide range of parcel delivery services.
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Is My Shipment Guaranteed To Arrive On Time
If you place your order on our website or by phone before 3:00pm EST, we can guarantee to have your package shipped out that same day .Although shipping errors are rare, UPS may delay shipment due to inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances. We do our best to alert our customers affected with by any UPS delays or shipment errors. Please review UPS’ shipping policy as well as our shipping policy. We recommend allowing a “grace day” and scheduling your shipment to be received at least 1 day before your big event, birthday, special occasion or holiday just in case there are any unforeseen errors or delays.
Insert Cupcakes Into Cupcake Shipping Boxes
There are many options for cupcake boxes depending on how many cupcakes youd like to send. You can get single cupcake boxes if youre sending a few loved ones a sweet treat, or you can grab a larger box to send someone an arrangement of cupcake options. While the cupcake box you choose will vary on what youre actually sending, making sure the box is sturdy and durable will prevent the cupcakes from being bumped and is the key to guaranteeing these treats arrive safely.
If you do decide to send an arrangement of cupcakes, Its highly suggested to also get cupcake inserts for your cupcake box. This allows each cupcake to have its own space, and helps protect them from other elements of the packing process.
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How To Prepare A Cake For Mailing
Depending on the size and shape of your cake, you will take a different approach when preparing for shipping. Here are some rules of thumb for the most popular types of cake:
Layer cakes: Freeze your layer cake prior to shipping. Be careful shipping cakes with frosting soft frostings or too much frosting may not travel well, and you want to avoid the cake smushing in transit. Stiffer icing is preferable where possible. For best practices, wrap a protective cake collar around the cake to protect the sides, then wrap the cake carefully in plastic. Place small sticks in several places on the top and sides of the cake, putting a little distance between the wrap and the icing.
Bundt and pound cakes:Freeze and then carefully place plastic wrap around these cakes prior to shipping. The sturdy shape and texture of Bundt and pound cakes make them easier to wrap in plastic without peeling off the outer layer of the cake when the wrap is removed. Securely wrap in plastic wrap, then again in aluminum foil.If you ca’
Cheesecakes: Follow the guidelines above and be careful to protect the sides of the cake for shipping. You may also want to consider freezing individual slices and placing them in separate freezer bags for extra protection.