My friend picked up her daughter's birthday cake today. She was thrilled with it, and that made me incredibly pleased, as I'm still pretty much a beginner. (THANK YOU to all the CCers who offered advice, encouragement and kind words!) But then I was asked what a cake like the one I did is "really worth"...I assume meaning if it was done by a bakery and a "real" cake artist. I'm just a hobbyist, I bake for family and friends. So now I'm curious.....what is a cake like this worth?

Details:
10x15 sheet cake, 1/2 yellow, 1/2 chocolate
Iced in buttercream, picture done in layered MMF

The picture was created specifically to match the napkins at the party. I spent HOURS mixing exact color matches in fondant and making a pieced pattern to cut them. In total, there are about 8 hours of labor in this cake.

What would this cake be worth as I did it?
What would it be worth if a "real" cake artist did it?

(I'll post a picture of the cake and the napkin too, so you can judge my (non-existent!) ability as an artist)

I don't know what it's worth -- I just wanted to tell you that you did a great job!

That is a GREAT cake - the colors are impeccable!! Sorry I don't know what it's worth either!

wow...you did a really great job recreating the napkin!

i've never heard of a 10 x 15?

a cake like this depends on the size and how many servings it yields. then, you would times that by how much you charge per serving, and how much you charge for fondant details.

a cake like that for me would run about $100-$125.

it's an old Wilton pan, it's 10x15 pan, with "real" square corners. It was my grandmother's pan back when she did cakes and since she can no longer do them, it was passed to me. I had never heard of that size either, but it makes nice sized cake, I think! It's not listed on any serving chart I've ever seen so maybe that size was discontinued?

That is a cute cake. You did a good job. I am not sure what it would go for where you live, and I dont really care what it would go for here because I charge what I think my talents are worth not what the competition charges. I did have a guide to go by from another decorator with the same skill level. But that being said, I do not do cakes for less than $100. BUT all that being said, you could say at 2.50 per serving and then add $20 for the decoration.

I would charge 125 for this cake and you did an awesome job!

That cake rocks! You did an awesome job!!
Leslie

Wow....$125 for that cake? Really? I was hoping ppl would think it was worth at least $50! I do feel like it's worth more than $50, but that's b/c I know each and every ounce of effort and planning (and agony!) that went into it....I figured others wouldn't feel the same.

$150. Easy.

I will go even further and say $150 - IF you could get a real bakery to agree to do that cake in the same technique/level of detail. Bakeries can't afford to have an employee spend half a day or a whole day on one sheet cake. This kind of cake you only get from a custom cake artist.

Awesome!!!

Its an awesome cake i would get $75 for it.

Don't know pricing, but that is one amazing cake. Beautiful work matching the napkin.

10x15 is also a standard "jelly roll" size pan.

I bake thin cake layers in them to stack. Say a 10" square cake, I can get three 1" layers from two pans. No torting! I'm very bad at it.

That cake should serve 75, fondant starts at $4, but with that type of work, it bumps it up to at least $4.25, so I get $318.75

I would say that YOU are a "real" cake artist!! Beautiful job!!

First off, I don't do a sheet cakes with 1 layer. It would be a filled cake with layers, as in 1x2x4 servings. If someone wants that cake and it serves 75, then thats the price. And yeah, I do know people who have paid that much for a sheet cake. Why? Cause its what they wanted. Someone wants to pay less, I totally understand, go to Wal-Mart. You come to me, your asking for a scratch cake, custom made for you, and thats my price. And yes, I have paid my own prices before for cake. I see the value in them. Everybody values things differently.

i've done tons of sheetcakes and nobody would pay that much for a sheetcake unless it was a full size. but, if there are people who want to spend that much on a cake...then more power to them.

Thanks for your kind words and pricing opinions! I am surprised to find that folks think my work is worth that much! I asked a couple family members, but they honestly have no clue and offered up "oh, $20 or so!" as a price. But to them "it's just a cake!"

I am attempting my first completely fondant-covered cake for a get together next week with some of my girlfriends, so hopefully it will turn out well. I may be on seeking some help though, I've never done this before!

Sweetcakes, I'll take that challenge. I did this 12 x 18 torted half-sheet for $325.00. Scratch chocolate cake with raspberry SMBC filing. Vanilla SMBC icing with fondant accents.

I'll grant that I'm in Silicon Valley where everything is expensive and I do kosher, which is a bit more expensive besides, but the point is that if you look for the right clients, you can charge what you need to to make it worthwhile.

Percussiongrrl, I would have charged at least $ 150.00 - $200.00 for your cake. It is smaller than mine and not torted, but your fondant work has a lot of detail and your time is worth a lot.

Like I said, people will pay for what they want. I was born and raised in Silicon Valley (San Jose), so I know the pricing. 10 years ago I paid $175 for a full sheet cake from a regualr bakery, for a mix and fake buttercream cake, BUT at the time they were the only ones that could put the image I wanted on the cake.

If I were selling cakes (which I don't) I would probably sell this for about $4 per serving (depending on your area of course). It's bc with lots of fondant detail. I don't know if this is a single layer (2" cake) or a double layer. So if it was a single layer you would get 37 servings but if was a double layer it would be 75.

You did an amazing job on the cake, the likeness to the napkin is amazing.