Cakes are heavier, softer, and more top-heavy than they look. The good news is that the failure modes are predictable, which means they're avoidable.
Getting it home
- Put it on the floor, not the seat. This is the single most important one. Car seats are sloped and springy; footwells are flat and low. The passenger-side footwell, or a flat trunk floor, is the safest place in the car.
- Run the air conditioning. A closed car in summer gets far hotter than the day outside, and buttercream softens fast. Cool the car before the cake goes in.
- Drive like the cake is a passenger. Gentle starts, early braking, slow corners. Most damage happens in one sudden stop.
- Keep the box flat and level the entire time, including when you carry it. Two hands underneath, never by the sides.
- Don't stack anything on the box, even something light.
Tiered cakes are a different animal. A stacked, assembled tiered cake really wants a flat cargo area and a short trip. If you have a long drive to a venue, delivery is genuinely the safer choice — that's most of what you're paying for.
Refrigerate or not?
It depends on what's in it.
Room temperature is fine, and better for taste, for a standard buttercream cake being served within a day. Cold cake tastes muted and the crumb firms up. Keep it boxed, out of sun, away from the stove.
Refrigerate anything with cream cheese frosting, fresh fruit filling, or whipped elements — and anything sitting more than about a day. Keep it in the closed box; an uncovered cake absorbs refrigerator smells surprisingly fast.
If you do refrigerate, take it out 1 to 2 hours before serving. A cake served straight from the fridge is dense and cold, and everyone will assume that's how it was made.
How early to pick up
The day before is comfortable for most orders and takes the pressure off your event morning. Same-day pickup is great when the schedule allows it. Beyond a day ahead, ask — the right answer depends on the frosting and filling in your particular cake.
Cupcakes and other treats
Cupcakes travel much better than cake and are far more forgiving of a rough ride, though tall frosting swirls can smudge against a box lid. Keep the box flat and level and they arrive fine. Cookies and brownies are effectively indestructible by comparison.
Leftovers
Press plastic wrap directly against the cut faces — that's where cake dries out — and cover the whole thing. At room temperature, a buttercream cake stays good for two or three days. Refrigerated, closer to five, though it loses a little each day. Cake also freezes well: wrap individual slices tightly and they'll keep for a couple of months.
Ordering soon?
Tell Kelsey your date and whether you'd like pickup or delivery, and she'll confirm the details within 24 hours.
Request an OrderRelated: how delivery works by town and how far in advance to order.