Traveling with Baked Goods: Tips and Tricks
I am always thinking about traveling with baked goods—it’s why I created PieBox! Transporting your precious treats, whether across the street or across the state, can be tricky if you are not prepared. Whether for a picnic or BBQ in the summer, a fall potluck or Thanksgiving dinner, or even a cookie exchange or holiday party, here are tips that will help get baked goods safely to your final destination.
Decisions, decisions: When deciding what to bake, think about the length of the trip and the temperature outside. Does your pie need to be cold? Will your buttercream melt? Are you going to a park or someone’s home where there is refrigeration (At Thanksgiving, the host's refrigerator may be too full for your dessert.) Choose what you bake based on the answers to these questions.
In the summer stick to fully baked fruit pies that are usually served warm or at room temperature. They can generally survive hot days—even if that means they'll be sitting on a picnic table for several hours.
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Meringue pies are not suited to hot, humid weather but can travel in cooler, drier weather. (There is nothing worse than a deflated meringue, and humidity is a meringue pie’s worst enemy.)
If transporting a cake or cupcakes on a long trip (especially during the hot summer months), try putting them in the freezer for a half hour before you leave, and only take them out right before you set off. This will help keep your icing from melting.
Yep, you can carry-on and fly with your baked goods—I often do! Just be sure they are in a carrier. According to the TSA website, a passenger can carry pies and cakes through the security checkpoint, but they are subject to additional screening.