Delivery Information

Ensuring Safe Cake Delivery

One of the most common questions we are asked is: “How will my cake arrive safely?”

At New Cakes, we have delivered over 60,000 cakes nationwide, from Scotland to the Isle of Wight and across the UK. Over the years, we have developed a careful packing and delivery process designed to help protect our cakes during national courier delivery.

Our cakes are handmade, carefully packed, and dispatched using trusted third-party courier services, including DHL.

While cakes are delicate and perishable items, we take every reasonable step to package them securely and give them the best possible chance of arriving safely.

Please Read Before Choosing Your Delivery Date

Our cakes are made fresh and covered in sugarpaste fondant, which helps create a protective seal.

When stored correctly at room temperature, our fondant-covered cakes are designed to stay fresh for several days after delivery.

For this reason, we strongly recommend choosing a delivery date at least 1–2 working days before your event, especially for birthdays, weddings, corporate events, school celebrations and other time-sensitive occasions.

During very busy periods, including Christmas, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we strongly recommend arranging delivery at least two full working days before your event.

This allows extra time in case of courier delays, adverse weather, depot disruption or other events outside our control.

How Your Cake Is Packed

The safe transit of your cake starts with the way it is packed.

Depending on the size, shape and design of your cake, we may use:

protective cake boxes;
internal supports;
cake collars;
protective wrapping;
air bags or protective packaging;
made-to-measure outer boxes;
fragile labelling;
separate wrapping for delicate decorations.

Where a cake includes delicate sugarcraft decorations, such as flowers, figures, toppers or character pieces, these may be wrapped separately and included with your order. You may need to place these onto the cake yourself once it arrives.

This does not require cake decorating experience and helps protect fragile decorations during transit.

Our Courier Delivery Service

We use DHL and other trusted third-party courier services for national cake delivery.

DHL will usually send tracking information and, where available, a one-hour delivery window on the day of delivery.

Please make sure you provide a correct mobile number and email address when placing your order so that courier notifications can reach you.

Once your cake has been dispatched, delivery is managed by the courier. Courier delivery may be affected by traffic, weather, depot disruption, scanning delays, route changes or other issues outside our control.

Leave-Safe Delivery

As cakes are perishable food items, national deliveries are sent using a leave-safe delivery service.

This means the courier may leave the parcel at the delivery address or in a safe place if required. This may include a porch, garage, reception area, concierge, neighbour, mail room or another location considered suitable by the courier.

Please monitor your courier tracking and make sure the cake is brought indoors as soon as it arrives.

Once the courier tracking shows that the parcel has been delivered to the delivery address or safe place, the customer is responsible for bringing the cake indoors and storing it correctly.

We do not recommend redirecting cakes to a DHL pick-up shop where possible, as this can sometimes add an additional delay before the parcel is available for collection.

How to Store Your Cake After Delivery

Your cake should be brought indoors immediately after delivery and stored at room temperature in a cool, dry place.

Please do not store your cake in the fridge unless we specifically advise you to do so.

Refrigeration can cause condensation, which may make colours run, decorations soften, edible images blur, or the finish of the cake deteriorate.

Please keep your cake away from:

direct sunlight;
heat;
radiators;
ovens;
warm rooms;
vehicles;
moisture;
pets;
children;
strong odours;
damp or humid environments.

Correct storage after delivery is the customer’s responsibility.

Collecting Your Cake

You are welcome to collect your cake from our Berkshire workshop by prior arrangement.

We are based on the Slough Trading Estate.

Please contact our customer service team or send us an email to arrange a collection date and time. Collection may be available during the week or at weekends by prior arrangement.

Our online cakes can be delivered nationwide, but if you would like a larger, more intricate or tiered cake, collection or local hand delivery may be the safer option.

Once a cake has been collected, responsibility for safe transport and storage passes to the customer.

Cakes should be transported flat, ideally in the boot or footwell of a clean, cool vehicle. Cakes should not be placed on a seat, held on a lap, left in a warm car, or exposed to direct sunlight.

Problems With Your Order

In the rare event that something does not go to plan, please contact us as soon as possible so we can help.

Because cakes are perishable, any delivery issue, damage, missing item or order concern must be reported within 12 hours of delivery or collection.

Please include:

your order number;
photographs of the outer box;
photographs of the internal packaging;
clear photographs of the cake from several angles;
a description of the issue.

We will review the information provided and advise on the most appropriate solution.

Damaged Cake

It is rare for a cake to become damaged in transit, but cakes are handmade, fragile items and can occasionally be affected by courier handling, movement, delay or temperature changes.

If your cake arrives damaged, please contact us within 12 hours of delivery with clear photographs of the cake and packaging.

Depending on the circumstances and the evidence provided, we may offer repair advice, partial store credit, a partial refund, replacement where reasonably possible, or another fair solution.

Please do not dispose of the cake or packaging until we have reviewed the issue.

Late Delivery

If your delivery is delayed, please check your DHL tracking information first.

DHL customer services can be contacted on 02476 937770. You will usually need your shipment number and delivery postcode.

You can also contact New Cakes during our working hours and we will do our best to assist.

Standard delivery services are not guaranteed timed services. While most deliveries arrive on time, courier delays can occasionally occur due to traffic, weather, depot disruption, scanning issues, driver delays or other circumstances outside our control.

This is why we strongly recommend selecting a delivery date at least 1–2 working days before your event.

If you have paid for a guaranteed or timed delivery upgrade and the courier delivers outside the paid-for time slot, we may refund the delivery upgrade charge where appropriate. This does not automatically entitle the customer to a refund of the cake itself.

Incorrect Address or Missed Delivery

Please check your delivery address carefully before placing your order.

New Cakes cannot be responsible for failed, delayed or spoiled deliveries where the customer provides:

an incorrect postcode;
an incomplete address;
the wrong house number;
a missing flat number;
missing business or department details;
incorrect recipient details;
inaccessible delivery instructions;
an unavailable recipient.

Because cakes are perishable, we cannot guarantee that a cake will remain suitable after a failed delivery attempt, redirection, depot hold or delayed collection.

Need Help?

If you have any questions about delivery, storage, collection or choosing the safest delivery date for your cake, please contact our customer service team before placing your order.

We understand how important your occasion is and we will always do our best to help you choose the most suitable delivery option.