Britain has gone baking crazy. Never has there been more interest in cakes and the right way to bake them. With shows like The Great British Bake Off to inspire them, the nation has gone scurrying into the kitchen to try out new recipes. This, along with the back to basics austerity feel of the times, has made homemade baked goods a more popular gift than ever. Professional companies bake and ship beautifully designed cupcakes as a business. Why not try to do the same?
But just what is the best way to pack your cakes for transport? Here are a few tips:
1. However short a distance your baking has to travel, it`s essential that it`s placed in a protective container of some sort. Banish ideas of balancing your cakes on the seat of the car beside you. Not only will the icing sweat in the warm car interior, but the sponge itself will suffer.
2. Choose cardboard cake boxes if you are travelling to a party with a special cake or contributions to a party spread. The extra protection that a box affords will pay dividends.
3. Simple white cake boxes are ideal as they can be dressed up with any colour decoration if the contents are a gift. Why not tie the box up with a satin ribbon and attach a little charm or pretty gift tag your present immediately becomes an extra delight to receive.
4. If you have a number of cakes to transport, such as a choice of cupcakes, make sure they are well protected inside your cake box. It`s now possible to buy cupcake holder inserts for your cake boxes, but they are easy to make yourself. Alternatively, you can cushion the cupcakes with simple tissue paper, nesting each one in carefully so that it doesn`t touch its neighbour.
5. If you are packing baking in quantity, do make sure you put layers of greaseproof paper in between your baked goods. This is really important when transporting anything sticky, iced, or chocolate coated. Food can be adversely affected by the warmth of the environment. You don`t want to arrive and find your hard work has stuck together into one unappetising mass!
6. If you want to send cakes through the post, you will have to be a little more careful. You must choose a box which is big enough to fit the cake and allow for some packaging around the outside. But it should not be so big that the cake has the chance to move around in transit. Un-iced cakes are best for mailing and it`s a sensible idea to freeze the cake the night before you send it to help it stay in one piece. Wrap your cake in grease-proof paper and then a ziplock bag. If you want to use wrapping paper on top of this, it will still look beautiful when it`s opened. Pack round the outside of the cake to stop the cake getting battered, then wrap the whole parcel in an extra box and brown wrapping paper. Make sure the box is sealed with plenty of brown tape. You don`t want the postman getting wind of the delicious parcel he`s delivering, or it may never arrive. Finally, write `THIS WAY UP` in large print on the top side of your box.
With these tips to hand, it`s time you got back to your Rangemaster and get cooking. There must be a birthday coming up soon!
