Any ideas? The cake can be any flavor, any type, as long as it has broad appeal.

Oh, and it has to be superb (or at the very least, very, very good). I have a reputation to uphold.

Thanks!

RASPBERRY FRANGIPANE CAKE (Serves 12)
This is good made the day before and covered with plastic wrap.

7 oz. almond paste
7 oz. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 eggs
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups whole raspberries

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan. (I like to
use a springform pan.)
Use a food processor or a mixer w/ a paddle attachment to cream the almond
paste, butter, and sugar until smooth and light. (Some almond pastes stay
chunky for a while.) Add the vanilla and eggs, beating well and scraping
down the sides of the bowl after each addition. By hand, gently fold in the
flour until the batter is just barely combined. Fold in the raspberries.
Avoid overmixing, or the cake will be tough. Pour the batter into the
prepared pan and bake until the top is nicely brown and a toothpick comes out
clean, about 50-55 minutes. Cool completely before removing from the pan.
Serve this moist cake plain, or in a pool of raspberry sauce, or with whipped
cream topped with a few raspberries.

(Raspberry sauce: Press 2 c. raspberries through a fine strainer to puree
them and remove seeds. Make a simple syrup by stirring together 3 tbsp.
water and 1/4 c. sugar in a small saucepan and bringing to a boil. Cool.
Stir the puree and simple syrup together. Keeps in the refrigerator for a
week, or freeze.)

Deanna

Of course, most cakes, even frosted, will be fine for the trip if you put them in a cooler with ice. Freeze ice in plastic bottles with tight-fitting lids, put the ice in the bottom of the cooler, place a cookie sheet on top of that, and your cake on that. Alternatively, if you have one of those fantastic coolers that plugs into your cigarette lighter, you won't need to fuss with ice. Better yet, if you have an outlet in your car (I do) just take the kids' college fridge along.

Deanna, I love angel food cake, but I'm not sure it would hold up as well to the extreme humidity we'll be getting. (Heat yes, humidity no.) At least, that's been my experience. Too bad, because I like lighter desserts when the weather's hot. And nothing can top an angel food cake made from scratch.

Thanks for the suggestions, Azzalea. Anything with fruit is good in my book. I'm going to go with Linda's cake this time because I love to try new recipes and it's a bit more exotic (at least, in my circle) than traditional layer cakes. Plus, I don't have the gear to keep a traditional cake cool in transit. I don't own a cooler large enough for a cake carrier, and I most certainly do not want to brave the heat, humidity and the crowds (the 3 things I hate most) tomorrow to buy one. (Tomorrow and Sunday are tax-free days in MA, and people go CRAZY just to save 6.25%.)

Thanks, all!

Teresa

Oh, and I made the simple syrup for the raspberry sauce in a glass measuring cup in my microwave - no saucepan to wash.

Thank you so much for the recipe!