Baked, non-refrigerated · food 3 of 42
Can I sell cake with buttercream from home?
cake with buttercream is a straightforward yes in all 51 US jurisdictions we track — every state's cottage food law covers this category outright.
Top 3 cottage food nationally
Free. No email required. 5-page national report with all 51 US jurisdictions.
National picture
Allowed outright51
Conditional0
Prohibited0
Out of 51 US jurisdictions
Why it's treated this way
The food-safety reasoning
Baked goods reach ≥190°F internal temperature during baking, which destroys vegetative pathogens (Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria). Once cooled, water activity (aw) sits below 0.85 for cookies/breads, which prevents bacterial growth without refrigeration. This is the safest food class for a home kitchen because there's no cold-chain risk and no acidification step to get wrong.
What can go wrong
Real risks in a home kitchen
Cross-contamination from raw eggs used in dough (wash hands, use pasteurized eggs for anything not fully cooked), and allergen labeling (wheat, egg, milk, tree nut, soy).
All 51 US jurisdictions
Cake with buttercream — state-by-state verdicts
| State | Verdict | Notes | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Okay | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | AS 17.20.332 |
| Alabama Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Ala. Code §22-20-5.1 |
| Arkansas Freedom | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | A.C.A. §20-57-201 (Act 1040 of 2021) |
| Arizona Great | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | A.R.S. §36-931 / §36-932 |
| California Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Cal. Health & Safety Code §113758 |
| Colorado Great | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | C.R.S. §25-4-1614 |
| Connecticut Okay | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Conn. Gen. Stat. §21a-62a |
| District of Columbia Okay | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | D.C. Code §7-742.02 |
| Delaware Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | 16 Del. Admin. Code 4458A |
| Florida Great | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Fla. Stat. §500.80 |
| Georgia Okay | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | O.C.G.A. §26-2-470 et seq. (eff. July 2025); prior: GA R&R 40-7-19 |
| Hawaii Poor | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | HAR §11-50-3 |
| Iowa Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Iowa Code §137F.1 / §137F.20 |
| Idaho Great | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | IDAPA 16.02.19 (Idaho Food Code, cottage food provisions) |
| Illinois Great | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | 410 ILCS 625/4 (Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act, §4) |
| Indiana Great | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Ind. Code §16-42-5.2 |
| Kansas Great | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | K.S.A. §65-657 |
| Kentucky Okay | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | KRS §217.137 |
| Louisiana Okay | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | La. R.S. §40:4.13 |
| Massachusetts Okay | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | 105 CMR 590.009(D) |
| Maryland Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | MD COMAR 10.15.03.27 |
| Maine Freedom | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | 7 M.R.S.A. §282 (Food Sovereignty Act) |
| Michigan Great | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | MCL §289.4102 |
| Minnesota Great | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Minn. Stat. §28A.152 |
| Missouri Great | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Mo. Rev. Stat. §196.298 |
| Mississippi Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Miss. Code Ann. §75-29-951 |
| Montana Freedom | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Mont. Code §50-50-116 and §50-50-117 (cottage food); Mont. Code §§50-49-201 et seq. (Local Food Choice Act) |
| North Carolina Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | 02 NCAC 9C.0307 |
| North Dakota Freedom | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | N.D. Cent. Code §23-09.5-01 through §23-09.5-02 |
| Nebraska Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Neb. Rev. Stat. §81-2,280 (producer of food at private home); §81-2,239 et seq. (Nebraska Pure Food Act) |
| New Hampshire Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | RSA §143-A:12 |
| New Jersey Poor | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 et seq. |
| New Mexico Great | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | NMSA §25-12-3 (Homemade Food Act) |
| Nevada Okay | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | NRS §446.866 (repealed 2025; superseded by AB352/chapter 420 & 512, Statutes of Nevada 2025) |
| New York Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | N.Y. Agric. & Mkts. Law §251-z-4; 1 CRR-NY 276.4 |
| Ohio Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | O.R.C. §3715.023; §3715.025; Ohio Admin. Code Ch. 901:3-20 |
| Oklahoma Freedom | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | 2 O.S. §5-4.1 through §5-4.6 (Homemade Food Freedom Act) |
| Oregon Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | ORS §616.723 |
| Pennsylvania Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | 3 Pa.C.S. §§5721–5737 |
| Rhode Island Poor | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | R.I. Gen. Laws §21-27-6.2 |
| South Carolina Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | S.C. Code §44-1-145 |
| South Dakota Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | SDCL §34-18-35 |
| Tennessee Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Tenn. Code §53-1-125 (Food Freedom Act) |
| Texas Great | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Tex. Health & Safety §437.001 et seq. |
| Utah Freedom | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Utah Code §4-5-501 |
| Virginia Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Va. Code §3.2-5130 |
| Vermont Okay | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | 18 V.S.A. §4351; Act 42 (2025) cottage food operator exemption |
| Washington Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | RCW §69.22.010–.040 |
| Wisconsin Freedom | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Wis. Stat. §97.29 |
| West Virginia Good | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | W. Va. Code §19-40-1 through §19-40-6 (Article 40, Cottage Foods, enacted 2026); §19-35-6 (Nonpotentially hazardous foods at farmers markets) |
| Wyoming Freedom | Yes | Baked, non-refrigerated goods are the core of every state cottage food law. | Wyo. Stat. §11-49-101 through §11-49-104 (Wyoming Food Freedom Act) |
Take it with you
Get the cake with buttercream report as a PDF
5-page national report — verdict tiles, food-safety reasoning, and the complete 51-jurisdiction table with statute citations.
Download the PDFOr read the deeper writeup on the blog post.
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Want all 42 foods in one PDF?
Can I Sell This? The Cottage Food Rulebook
A single 100+ page reference — every food, every state, every verdict, with the sanitation reasoning behind each yes, no, and conditional. Same data as this page, plus 41 other foods.
Fine print
This is a summary of state cottage food statutes as of July 2026, not legal advice. Statutes change; municipal zoning codes update quarterly. Verify with your state's department of agriculture, your local health department, and your city or county's planning office before selling. Crosodo is a clothing brand for cottage bakers, not a law firm.