Cakes and cupcakes are cottage foods in every state here, as long as the frosting and fillings keep at room temperature. California's approved list covers baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings; Michigan covers baked goods that don't need temperature control; Minnesota covers food that isn't potentially hazardous; and North Dakota allows almost anything sold straight to the customer. The line is drawn at the toppings: buttercream made with butter and powdered sugar is fine, but cream cheese frosting, whipped cream, custard and fresh-fruit fillings need the fridge. Those cakes are out in Michigan, Minnesota and California, and in North Dakota they have to be kept and delivered frozen with safe handling instructions.
The short version
- Cakes and cupcakes with buttercream fit cottage food laws.
- Cream cheese frosting, whipped cream and custard need refrigeration.
- Those are out in Michigan, Minnesota and California.
- North Dakota: refrigerated cakes only kept and delivered frozen.
- California's list: baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings.
- Sell straight to the customer; California's Class B also allows shops.
- TaroStack keeps each order and each bake's lot. More below.
Cakes, state by state
| Product | Michigan | Minnesota | North Dakota | California |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanilla cake, buttercream | Yes | Yes, registered | Yes | Yes, on the list |
| Chocolate cupcakes, buttercream | Yes | Yes, registered | Yes | Yes, on the list |
| Carrot cake, cream cheese frosting | No: needs temperature control | No: potentially hazardous | Frozen, with labels | No: not on the list |
| Strawberry shortcake, whipped cream | No: needs temperature control | No: potentially hazardous | Frozen, with labels | No: not on the list |
Pricing a cake is in how to price cakes, and which foods need temperature control in TCS foods list.
The rules
| State | Rule |
|---|---|
| Michigan | Food that isn't time/temperature control for safety, including jams, candy, dried fruit, granola, dry mixes, vinegar, dried herbs and baked goods; not meat or poultry, milk products, beverages, salsa, or canned foods other than standardized jams (MCL 289.1105(k)); prepackaged, labeled with the home kitchen statement, sold straight to the consumer (MCL 289.4102) |
| Minnesota | Food that isn't potentially hazardous, and home-canned pickles, vegetables or fruits at pH 4.6 or lower or water activity 0.85 or less; registration every year and approved food safety training (Minn. Stat. 28A.152) |
| North Dakota | No state license for cottage food sold directly to an informed end consumer; foods that need refrigeration labeled with safe handling instructions and as transported and maintained frozen; no uninspected meat, poultry only from the seller's own birds (N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-02) |
| California | Cottage foods are nonpotentially hazardous foods on the approved list, among them baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings, candy, chocolate-covered nonperishables, dried fruit, dried pasta, granola, herb blends, honey, standardized jams, nut butters, popcorn, vinegar and mustard, roasted coffee and dried tea (HSC 114365.5); Class A sells directly, Class B also through shops and restaurants (HSC 113758) |
This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: a North Dakota birthday cake baker
Prairie Rose Cakes, a made-up home baker in Fargo, North Dakota, takes birthday orders. Buttercream cakes and cupcakes go out at room temperature with the home kitchen sign at pickup. A customer wanted carrot cake with cream cheese frosting: under North Dakota's law it can be sold, but kept and delivered frozen, with safe handling instructions and a statement that it was kept frozen, so the baker freezes it the night before and the label says "Keep frozen. Thaw in the refrigerator." A customer from Moorhead, Minnesota, across the river, asked for the same cake; Minnesota's law wouldn't cover it from a Minnesota kitchen either. The business year is in cake business plan.
Get the checker
Download the home cake checker. Two sheets: your products, whether each needs refrigeration, is meat or poultry, a milk product, a canned food other than jam, or a drink, and whether it's on California's list; how Michigan's, Minnesota's, North Dakota's and California's cottage food laws treat it fill in; and each state's rules as read for this article. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Twelve birthday cakes a week, each with its own flavor, frosting and pickup time, is a fridge of boxes and a page of notes. A missed pickup time is a cake on the counter at the wrong temperature.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each customer's order and each batch's lot, and what each cake costs.
Orders. Each customer's order goes in for its pickup or market day, with a picking list.
Each batch a lot. A batch of cakes is a batch from its recipe, with its date and lot, and the lot goes on each order it fills.
True cost. Each cake is costed from its recipe and the batch, at what the ingredients actually cost.
| The job | Paper | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets what on market day | Order sheets | Orders by day |
| Which batch went to which customer | Not recorded | Lots on each order |
| What a cake costs | A guess | True cost from the recipe and batch |
Orders, recipes and batches are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.