Shipping a cake overnight

[honey pot]

Hey all-
I've got a couple questions -

Due to time constraints, I'm planning on making a coffee cake batter the night before and baking it in the morning. How will this effect the cake? How long should I let the batter stand in the morning before pouring into the pans?

What tips or suggestions do you have for sending it Fed Ex?

Hopefully the mom and mom-in-law will appreciate this!

Thanks-

[Suzanne]

Make sure it's completely cooled before you wrap. Otherwise the moisture gets trapped -- yuck. Wrap really well, and cushion in the box with popcorn (preferably the real thing; more environmentally-friendly than the plastic kind);

[momoreg]

Batters usually do well when made in advance and chilled. An exception is a batter that contains a lot of melted butter, which would set up and change the consistency of the batter when chilled. Also, any batter that contains warmed liquids relies on that liquid to sort of jump start the baking powder, so if there are warm liquids in your batter, you might try using rm. temp liquid instead.

[mudbug]

When mailing cakes and cookies pack in sealed plastic bags or plastic food storage containers. The biggest concerns are freshness and mold growth. Low moisture and non-frosted cakes, such as fruit cake or pound cake, are best for mailing. Sticky and gooey candy or fudge is not recommended for mailing.

For mailing perishable foods prepared at home, pack with a cold source, such as a gel pack or dry ice. Perishable foods should be kept at or below 40¡F. Do no touch dry ice or let it come into contact with food. Label the outside of the package so the recipient is aware it contains dry ice. Wrap boxes in two layers of brown paper for added insulation. Alert the recipient of its expected arrival date.


Check here for a thread on mailing cakes.