I'm just wondering how many people box their cakes for delivery? So far I've only done a few cakes for clients other than friends and family and I have just delivered most of them unboxed. Most of my cakes don't fit in the conventional cake boxes and I'm thinking I should do the method I've read about here, which is using a cardboard box and cutting the side open , themn wrapping in plastic. Opinions?

So far I've used cake boxes from Michaels or Walmart for the cakes that will fit and have used the regular smaller packing boxes you can buy in the office supplies section at walmart for my two-tier cakes. I tape the top and bottom closed really well with packing tape and then cut one side and tape it well after I put the cake in.

Yes. Most of my cakes are round or square so they fit into the average size boxes. I just tent the lids and wrap in cling wrap before they go out. Wedding cakes go in a tall moving box (I get mine from Walmart for not that much) and put cling wrap over the top when we are delivering. The boxes just make it easy for both us and the client and risk less damage/exposure to the cake.

I generally don't. For one thing, I don't have a source of strange-sized boxes, but I do make a lot of strange-sized cakes. For another, I'm usually putting the finishing touches on right as they go out the door, and, so far, I haven't had any deliveries that take me more than a couple of miles from where I make the cakes. If situations like that came up, I'd probably rethink things.

if it's one tier (4" tall cake) then i do, otherwise i don't.

I box all of my cakes. Alot of them are too tall for the box and either I will do the method that you were talking about or I will put saran wrap around the box. I personally think that it's more professional and helps to keep the elements from it.

I'm just about to order one of these with the extender lid..
http://www.packagingplace.com.au/_product_48264/CBHD458-458-305_Tiered_Cake_Box
I think it would be much more professional of me to deliver using one of these so as I'm not exposing it to the weather and dust etc.. also I like the way this box has the side flap for smooth access. I think I may buy a couple more for customers who want to transport their own.. they can pay a bond to cover the cost if they don't return it.

Have you noticed that Duff Goldman and Buddy Valastro hardly ever box their cakes? Not that I am or ever will be at that level, but I thought it was worth a comment!

I never used to box my cakes for the same reason as many.....they just don't fit. Until the day that I had to meet a customer in a parking lot to drop off the cake (long story) I had told him my usual tips for transporting. However when I went put the cake in his car....it was trashed. Literally the dirtiest car I have ever seen. I was so nervous to just sit an unboxed cake in his car.

Now all my cakes get boxed. Most of them don't fit in a box with the lid closed, so I tent them but at least the cake is protected and I feel safer about the transportation of them. It honestly also makes it easier to handle them while transporting, which is a nice bonus as well.

Yes. Every cakee, every time. I get cube boxes from the UPS store in any size.I need for tiered cakes and 10" cubes for small cakes that don't fit in regular cake boxes.

I buy the Lowe's moving boxes (if a bakery box will not suffice, which is most of the time) and box up any cake that is going to be transported by the customer, leaving the top open and taping the bottom super good, as well as cutting off the top flaps and using those to reinforce the bottom of the box. The only cakes I do not box up for the customer are the ones that do not even fit in a Lowe's box (maybe its a very large base, for a 3D scene of some sort) and then I will warn the customer ahead of time that it cannot be boxed and they need a cleared back of an SUV or something for transport. I'm almost always the one who carries the cake to their vehicle and makes sure to put it in a safe, level place.

When I deliver, I rarely box cakes unless they are cupcakes or smaller individual tiers. I just line the back of my minivan with clean towels and set the cake in the back for delivery.

i rarely box my cakes, unless transporting the 45 minutes from my college town to home town to take a cake to someone over there. i do the whole cut the side off a box and tape it back up after the cake is in the box. but i have made a discovery! i'm a shoe fanatic (i seriously own over 100 pairs of name brand heels, almost half i've never worn more than once, if at all! its a crazy obsession but i love it lol, my best friends use my closet as their own personal boutique! anywho...) so i've found a lot of my shoe boxes are the perfect size for an 8"/10" (singe tier) cake. i don't put shoes back in their box after they are worn, so i don't see a sanitary problem. it also helps clear my closet of excess clutter!

I am a hobby baker for friends and family but always box my cakes, I found a site that lets me buy 5 sample boxes for $10 so I have done that and keep them. I am hoping to be able to sell later this year after finishing the business plan, insurance etc.. and can not imagine not using a box if people are paying me for the cake. As a customer I would be a little put off if I went to pick up a cake or had it delvered and it was not in a box.. seems really unsanitary to me. brpboxshop . com... is where I get them.. they have the larger taller boxes for two tier as well or I cut and tape the sides of a box to another to make it taller.

I can't imagine not using a box for delivery! Cake Boss doesn't use boxes, but he also has a box truck and usually someone to hold the cake in the back. I just have a small hatchback car, and usually nobody to help me with the delivery, so I feel much safer with the boxes! I do have to say, though, that it has to be the hardest part of coming up with cake designs! I have to figure out what size boxes are available to me, then I have to size the cake board to make sure it will fit in the box, and then I have to decide on a pan based on how large I can make the board. It gets very frustrating!

I was originally taught to deliver unboxed. I still do after all these years. We've had damage on three cakes during delivery over 12 years and those three were in boxes.

If a customer is picking up the cake, then it gets boxed. If it's poured rain, it would get boxed. Otherwise, nope.

I always delivered cakes boxed, even if they are to be assembled at the venue.

I box them. I was told you have to per the HD, but even if that's not 100% true think about it. You are walking with a cake into the venue and a bird flies over and *plop*... or some bug flies by and *splat*... or it's raining... or something blows up dirt... any number of things could happen. And ditto to the nasty cars that people pull up in.

I usually cut up a moving box to suit the cake, but that tiered cake box is very cool... I'm going to order some.

at the dollar store i found tons of super cheap, clear (i want them to see the cake) cellophane with subtle designs on it. i staple this to each corner of the box and then wrap some curly ribbon, coloured to match the cake, over the excess so it looks pretty.

i've gotten compliments on it.

That's an excellent option too!

The people who work in the warehouse where I work full time have gotten so used to me needing boxes that they save them for me! New employees think I'm moving all the time...

I do have a suggestion....and I have to give my hubby credit for the idea. I had a rather tall cake and the box I had planned to use was about 3 inches too short. I was going to cut another box and make an extender when my DH comes walking in the room. He said "just turn the box on it's end and use the flaps as a door". That was when I had one of those "why didn't I think of that moments"!

Works like a charm and I can tape the "doors" open and cover with saran wrap just like a window box if I need that extra space. Customers love it because they can see in but dust/bugs/ect can't get in.

I box all of my cakes. I worry about something getting on them and ruining the cake.

I bought boxes and boards at Sam's Club for 1/2 sheet cakes. Domed plastic containers and boards for round cakes - fits anything under 12 inches.

For odd shaped cakes or those too heavy for the flimsy boxes, I put the cake in a large plastic crate for delivery then take it home with me when I leave.