Cake box with handle maker
Cake box template with handle
A bakery carry box: four walls, a peaked top that closes into a handle, and a window in the front if you want the cake to show. Sized for a slice, a tart or a small cake.
How to fold it
Print at 100% on cardstock; 250 gsm or heavier carries a slice of cake without the handle bending.
Cut the outline, the two handle holes and, for a window, the rounded opening in the front wall.
For a clear window, tape a piece of acetate inside the front, 10 mm bigger than the opening each way.
Crease every dashed line, fold the walls into a tube and glue the grey tab inside the side wall.
Close the bottom first, dust flaps in and the lid's tuck flap behind the back wall, so the floor is solid before the cake goes in.
Slide the cake in from the top, then fold both roof panels in until the handles meet back to back and glue or tie them.
How the template is drawn
Bakery proportions
Wider and lower than a favor box: the starting size, 4.5 × 3.5 × 3 in, holds a slice of layer cake or two pastries lying flat. Choose “Slice”, “Square” or “Tall” and the sheet sets how big.
Window
3.61 in (91.6 mm) by 2.11 in (53.5 mm) at the starting size, set in 11.5 mm (0.45 in) from every edge of the front with rounded corners. The margin goes from 4 to 40 mm under Settings, never past 35% of the front's narrower side.
Nothing behind the window
The bottom lid hinges on the front and tucks in behind the back wall, and the glue tab lands on a side wall, so no flap shows through the opening.
Roof and handle
The roof rises 53.5 mm (2.11 in) (60% of the depth) to a handle 40.1 mm (1.58 in) tall with a matching hole in each half, so a finger or a ribbon goes through both.
A floor that holds
The tuck bottom's flap is 30 mm (1.18 in) deep and its dust flaps reach 44.6 mm (1.75 in) under it; put a square of card on the floor for a heavy cake.
Bake sales, cake slices and pastries
A window lets a slice of cake, a cookie stack or a tart sell itself at a bake sale; a plain front takes a printed pattern and a name. For a party, give each guest a slice to carry home by the handle.
Smaller treats fit the gable box, the same handle in favor proportions. Cupcakes travel upright in the cupcake box, a round cake in the octagon box, and cookies in a window box that stands on a shelf.
Chill the cake until the frosting is firm before you box it, so it does not smear on the walls when the box is lifted. Once it is set, slide it in so the window shows the decoration, which is what people look at first. Carry the box flat by its handle, keeping it level the whole way, and the cake stays where you placed it from the shop to the table.
