Cake on airplane

[skeptic7]

A Washington post article about traveling with a cake
https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/07/30/cake-plane-flight-security-tsa/

Due to heat wave and being in my father's house I am not doing any baking. I made pancakes on one relatively cool morning.

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[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks!

Fascinating. I have carried frozen pizzas on planes (large Giordano's stuffed) but never a cake. A pastry chef friend was married to a man who built custom containers for shipping art around the world for art installations so whenever she a cake needed to travel he whipped up a custom container.

Frozen might work better if you have the time. It makes everything more solid and the refrigerator dries out cake and frosting. But she cut this REALLY close arriving a couple hours before the dinner where the cake was needed so thawing the cake might have been an issue.

The "drawbridge" and window are great ideas. Also, if you heat up duct tape with a hair dryer then let it cool, it is NEVER coming off until you cut it. I taught a networking class to a bunch of NASA engineers and they would use this technique to tape things to the outside of rockets and the stuff stayed on according to them.

The traditional English/Aussie wedding cake (according to my Aussie and English friends) used to be an English fruitcake. They go more American style these days. But the booze and the candied fruit kept very well without refrigeration. And the whole things was sealed in marzipan held in place by marmalade. It tastes better than it sounds (when made right). And they would cut up the cake, seal up some of the pieces, and then send them to invited guests who could not attend. That sounded like a nice tradition.

[BakerAunt]

Rose Levy Beranbaum, in a Bon Appetit article wrote about the birthday cake she baked and decorated for her brother's wedding. Her father built a custom case for the cake, which was traveling by airline. A massive blizzard hit New York, with no flights going out. Airport workers ended up eating the cake; I think the reason given was that it would spoil. The custom-made case was never found, so perhaps they ate that too?? Beranbaum had to bake another cake before the wedding.

[skeptic7]

I read that story too. The airline workers ( and me ) didn't realize that a properly frosted cake would stay moist and tasty for a couple of days so ...... I didn't realize the case went missing.
I was surprised when King Arthur had an article on oil based cakes improving after a day or so. I was always trying to make a cake the same day it would be eaten so it would be as fresh as possible.

[BakerAunt]

Skeptic--Yes, I discovered that about oil cakes too. I think that there was an article on it in either Bon Appetit or Epicurious emails, back before they started charging for using their sites. I find it particularly noticeable in cakes with spices.

[aaronatthedoublef]

The cake will stay moist but usually the frosting will start to dry out and flake after a day or so. Some of that may also depend on how much air you whip into it. I was making a cake with Violet from a Duff Goldman recipe and he has you whip the frosting for much longer than I would normally do it. It makes a very nice, light frosting but it's a little drier.

Simple syrup is good if you're worried about dry cake layers. Poke a few holes in each layer then brush it on. It soaks in and helps keep the cake moist. It does add a little sweetness.

The oil cake is interesting. The last coconut cake I made used a yellow cake but subbed some of the butter for coconut oil. It used coconut flour, coconut milk, and coconut oil for coconut flavor and definitely tasted better the second day.

[BakerAunt]

I also find that oil cakes require a different mixing technique. I start by whisking together the sugar and oil, then whisk in the egg and any dairy and vanilla. I mix the other dry ingredients separately, then add them to the egg mixture, using a cake whisk and spatula. An oil cake will be tough if it is overmixed, so while a hand mixer could be used, it needs to be on low and for not too long.

Oil cakes do not rise as much as butter cakes, so the pan can be filled fuller than a baker would do for a butter cake.

One other tip I saw in an oil cake discussion is to add some milk powder to increase tenderness. I usually add 1 Tbs. per cup of flour.

[Mike Nolan]

Deb Wink has talked about the challenges she has taking a batch of sourdough starter to one of the classes she teaches.

[RiversideLen]

I think a frozen cake would travel best, maybe pack some dry ice with it to keep it frozen.

In my area, I have Amazon Fresh, which is fresh groceries delivered. Last week I ordered a layer cake, which they sell frozen. Even though some genius thought it was OK to pack the cake upside down, since it was frozen it actually arrived in real good shape. Even the frosting flowers on the top were mostly undamaged.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks BA. I mixed the coconut oil with the butter (this cake had both). Coconut oil, as you've said, is not particularly healthy like olive or avocado (which is ALL the rage here now) and it is solid at room temp which is why I treated it like butter. But, like your oil cakes it did take a day or so for the flavor to come out.

It's funny - people are so anxious to get baked goods right out of the oven and a lot of stuff really needs time to set. Just because it is done baking doesn't mean it's done.

That would be a good study for the Serious Eats folks. Take some different baked goods and see what the taste is like fresh out, after an hour, two hours, 12 hours, 24, etc...

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