My Mother-in-Law’s Pistachio Cake Is Legendary, and This Is the Container She Uses to Keep It Fresh for Days

In my family, when there’s a birthday coming up everyone knows what to expect for dessert: My mother-in-law Kathy’s famous pistachio cake. The frosting is made from pistachio-flavored pudding mix and the cake itself comes from a box, but for reasons that are both mysterious and magical, it tastes better than most of the handmade gourmet pastries I’ve consumed in my life. 

Kathy stores her cake in this plastic Sterilite container (fittingly, her version has a green base and handles). Thanks to this container, once the birthday or other celebration has passed, we keep eating the cake throughout the week. 

To buy: Sterilite Cake Server, $21 at amazon.com

The container keeps her cakes from drying out by creating an air-tight seal so we can enjoy them about three days longer than if she had simply stored it uncovered in the refrigerator. If you’re one of the lucky few to have experienced her pistachio cake first hand, you know how important it is to make it stretch as long as possible. 

Beyond keeping it fresh, Kathy says that the Sterilite cake server, which she’s owned for at least seven years, has a handle on top that makes it easy to transport the cake from the refrigerator in her garage and the kitchen inside the house. This way, she doesn’t have to worry about the cake sliding off an unsteady plate, and since it's covered with a lid, it won’t be destroyed if she drops it.

Speaking of the lid, it’s about eight inches tall, so while this cake container isn’t going to fit a multi-tier wedding cake, it will accommodate simpler two and three-tier cakes. I’ve never seen Kathy store any baked goods other than cakes in it, but it could easily be used to transport pies or a batch of brownies.

Snaps on the sides of the container lock the dome-shaped lid firmly in place, which is tall and wide enough that it doesn’t touch the top or sides of the cake. This is a huge benefit, because it protects the cake from getting damaged after it's been frosted. There is nothing more demoralizing, in the realm of the kitchen at least, than when you’ve painstakingly decorated a cake, only to have a sneaky kid jab a finger into the side or a clumsy relative bump into you as you’re maneuvering it into the refrigerator. 

There are a few more benefits to this cake container: It’s dishwasher-safe, so if it does happen to get smudged with frosting (hey, accidents happen!) it's easy to clean. And you can store it in the freezer, too, which is helpful for people who like to make their cakes ahead of time. 

If you’ve been looking for a way to protect your cakes and keep them fresh, this Sterilite cake server is up the task. And at just $21, it’s a great value for how often you’ll use it and how long it will last. Just ask Kathy: She swears by this thing. 

At the time of publishing, the price was $21.