I’m sending my friends lovely little Halloween packages with candy and other good times, but there is one thing I’m curious about.
I’ve had a lot of fun baking cupcakes lately and I’d like to ship some with my Halloween stuff, but I’m just not sure if it can be done. I’ve mailed cookies with buttercream frosting all the way to Iraq and had them turn out just fine, so part of me is thinking this may be along those lines.
I’m in California, so I’ll be shipping to Florida, Texas, Illinois, and Arkansas (oh, and potentially Iraq if it’s possible).
One time, I saw Martha Stewart ship a cake on her show. She put it in a plastic container, put bubble wrap around the counter, then stuck it in a snug box. Will this work?
Most things get throughout the States within a few days, but Iraq takes 10 days. The frosting on the cupcakes will either be buttercream or this recipe (which, btw, is heaven in frosting), so I’m not terribly concerned about the lil things drying out. I suppose my biggest concern is the squish/melt factor.
Any ideas?
I was thinking maybe one of those Glad containers that are 2 for $4ish at the store, then bubble wrap a la Martha. I’m totally open to better ideas, though.
Does Glad have those containers like cupcake tins? That’s what I’d do, then bubblewrap the heck out of it. Only problem is, I don’t see a solution to the box itself getting flipped upside down. I don’t think there’s a way to keep the cupcakes firm on their base inside the box. At some point, I think the frosting would meet the lid, despite your best efforts.
Can you ship the frosting in its own container? Yummy Cupcakes sells party tins like that. (Now I’m picturing a platoon of soldiers frosting their own cupcakes. “Sergeant! He got more sprinkles than I did!” “Shut up, Johnson; everyone got the same amount of sprinkles. Don’t make me come over there.”)
Iraq may be a different story but the baked goods I’ve had folks try and send to me here in Afghanistan haven’t made it. I think the Customs dudes took them, which sucks but I really don’t need the extra calories.
I’ve spoken with folks at Saint Cupcake here in Portland about this very issue, and their experience is that shipping fresh-made (i.e., not Hostess) cupcakes is not really feasible.
I swear to God I do not lie; I read the title as “Is there a way to shit cupcakes or are my poor friends SOL?” And then I read it again and it STILL said that. It took the third time through to read what you actually typed. And I thought, wow, there’s a master baker.
There are some cupcake boxes on Martha Stewart Crafts (Dangerous site! Warning! Your checking account may not make it out alive!), but I agree with the other posters: if the box gets turned upside-down, the frosting will smoosh anyway. I have a hard enough time getting my cupcakes across town un-smooshed, so I doubt you’ll have much luck.
That said, I can think of a couple of options for you: 1) Self-frosting cupcakes. Google that term and you’ll come up with a bunch of recipes. Basically, they’re cupcakes with Nutella swirled into the top right before baking, so the Nutella forms a sort of frosting. Yummy! 2) Fondant icing. Fondant will help with the smoosh factor, but it might harden en route. And it’s not very yummy, although some people like it. 3) Cup-a-cake containers. I find them a little small for my regular-sized cupcakes, but YMMV.
I like the idea of letting people frost their own – maybe include some disposable piping bags and cheap piping tips? (Or request that the tips get sent back to you.) And lots of sprinkles and other decorations, of course.
