Sending a birthday cake to Afghanistan

fb88

I would like to send my boyfriend a cake of some kind for his birthday in May. I am wondering if anyone would have any suggestions on how best to pack/wrap it or which cakes would be best in terms of lasting as long as possible?

Would really appreciate any advice

Thanks

Horace

A fruitcake tends to last the longest. Can you send the cake in a tin? (although I am not sure what you are allowed to send to the troops in Afghan).

fb88

Yes I think a tin would be fine, was just wondering if there is perhaps anything I could wrap it in or something which would make it last longer? I don't think he likes fruit cake, so may have to figure out something else which will last quite a long time

Thanks very much!

HelenYorkshire

Any kind of loaf-y thing? Ginger loaf, tea loaf, banana bread??

You'd want something on the gooey side, not a normal sponge. [STRIKE]Maybe ask on the Oldstyle board?[/STRIKE] (oops, just saw where we are)

Avoid anything boozy - I know you're not supposed to send alcohol to troops in Afghanistan to avoid upsetting locals.


I think it's a fantastic idea. Can you enclose a candle for him to blow out too?

krlyr

I would perhaps suggest a pre-made cake of some sort rather than a homemade one. If he's a chocolate fan then what about a couple of the Galaxy/Mars bar muffins? OH is a fan of them (me too!). Not quite OS but at least they have a fairly good shelf life on them.

ragz_2

Any cake with icing all over will last longer, as heavy as possible (ie not a light sponge) so it will keep. Ginger/treacle loaf cake would work, though not sure if you could ice that.

You could wrap it in greaseproof paper, then in foil.

ghostmadlittlemiss

I second the icing idea for making it last longer but I personally wouldn't send a chocolate cake, I've been told it's a bit on the warm side out there ( ) and it'll probably melt before it's opened if you do.
Kayleigh

raspberry_collins

Hi fb88,

I sent my OH a Christmas (fruit) cake, which was marzipanned and iced, which travelled ok. I wrapped it tightly on a paper plate then sent it in a big Jacob's cracker tub, which is only slightly bigger than a shoebox. Also used tinsel as packing (the fruitcake was pretty heavy so needed something light!) - maybe you could use streamers for a birthday?

I'd definitely steer clear of chocolate or anything delicate - I saw the state of a parcel that got returned once!

Hope that helps

gibson123

But you can Royal Ice a Chocolate Cake. You can do the choc cake, and then cover it with fondant icing, then Royal Icing. Will keep for months. However BCPO is usually quite quick, so the going off bit is less of an issue, if you buy the cake from a good baker, ask them to pack it for you for sending through the post, they have all sorts of packaging options for this type of thing.

notatvstar

Boyf is a squaddie... (not allowed to refer to him like that anymore... something to do with promotion!)

Anyhow.

As long as it's not over 2kg everything should be peachy. Also you have to consider the military personnel who will be chucking it from a truck to a plane, and then off the plane onto another truck... they may not have the most delicate of touches. A brace of cupcakes may end up as crumbs...

Bubble wrap may be a good idea... Gateau not.

An Arctic role may also prove to be sub-optimal.

tessasmum

I'd go with a ginger loaf, then wrap in greaseproof and then tinfoil. They improve with keeping and would be nice and sticky by the time it got there.