Tips for Transporting and Storing Your Cake
Properly transporting a cake and storing it until party time can be challenging for our customers.
Once your cake leaves the bakery's care, we are no longer responsible for any damages that occur; during transportation or at your home/venue. If you have specific questions about the care of your cake, please ask.
The following guidelines will help to ensure a perfect presentation for your event.
- Before leaving, please look it over carefully to make sure all details and spelling are correct. Minor corrections can usually be made before you leave.
- Place both hands under the board of your cake to distribute the weight evenly when carrying. The corrugated cake boards can flex and bend if not fully supported, causing the cake to torque and leaving cracks in buttercream or fondant.
- The cake boxes are not extremely sturdy…please be careful not to grab the sides of the box as you are likely to damage the sides of your cake.
- Prepare your vehicle.
• Please arrive in a vehicle with space large enough to carry your custom cake. Place cakes in the flattest part of your vehicle: floorboard or SUV flat bed space is best. Your seats are not a good location. Most have some slope to them, and all it takes is a few degrees of slope combined with PA roads, curves, and hills to cause damages.
• Some shaped and tiered cakes are not able to be completely boxed. Large custom cakes may not include a box for transport or may be in an open box without a lid.
• Be sure items are not stacked around your cake that can fall or slide into your box.
• Pets and children should be kept away from the cake during transportation. - Take the cake DIRECTLY to its final destination. Your decorations are made with creamed butter! Bumps, curves, stop and go’s all affect the solidity of your cake. Warm buttercream can and will slide down the sides of your cake, especially if they have heavy decorations or thick buttercream designs. Reduce the risk by going straight to the final destination with your cake.
- We do not recommend traveling long distances with tiered and shaped cakes.
- Be sure your cake is not near a heater or in direct sunlight. Cakes need to stay below 72 degrees. 65 degrees is even better. Never leave them in an un-air-conditioned car. Direct sun through glass is bad.
- When determining the placement of your cake at the event venue, keep it out of direct sunlight and avoid increased temperatures near windows. It is best not to place your cake on the westerly side of a windowed building or pavilion where the setting sun might hit it later in the day or warm up that side of the building. Not being mindful of these details could cause the buttercream decorations on your cake to melt while no one is watching. The cake needs to stay below 72 degrees.
- Fluorescent Lights and Daylight can fade the color of your decorations, especially items colored in pinks and purples. The fading doesn't happen over a matter of days...it can happen in just a few hours.
- Some elements of your cake should not be refrigerated or frozen for long periods of time, such as chocolate, fondant, and gumpaste. They draw moisture in the cool conditions of the refrigerator, causing condensation when you pull them out into humidity.
- Cakes that have been hand painted or airbrushed have the potential for the food colorings to drip and run if stored in a refrigerator that is not humidity controlled. Our recommendation is that you do not order fillings or icings that require refrigeration with an airbrushed or painted design. If you decide to order this type of cake, please keep the cake in a box in the refrigerator.
- We recommend that any round layer cakes be refrigerated if being held overnight.
- Sculptural elements and figurines may contain wire supports or toothpicks or wooden skewers for support. Please ask about placement of these items before serving
If you would prefer to have your cake delivered, Oakmont Bakery does offer delivery services. Delivery fee is based on mileage. Call 412-826-1606 ext 3 for more information.