This is the biggest wedding cake I have done...I ended up doing the flowers too (not too bad for my first time ever working with flowers...I've actually never even arranged my own flowers in a vase before!)
It is a 5 tier carrot cake with pecan praline filling and a cream cheese buttercream frosting. Bottom tier is 14 inches, then we have 12, 10, 8, 6.
Thank you so much!
WOW, this is beautiful, you did a fantastic job. As far as pricing I know carrot cake from scratch is costly, but I am not that good at pricing. I know usually wedding cakes are priced by the slice, hopefully someone else can answer this one
They paid me!!! I am a poor just starting out baker--and full time law student (so I'm double poor!).
I charged $500 total. But that was sort of a nice round number...when I actually priced it out, that cake should have fed 250 people.
The couple wanted to feed 80 people, but they also wanted a really tall cake. So--I charged them $5/person for the cake, and then I made 3 dummy tiers--and I only charged $100 total for that.
But I was thinking that I really should have done something like $5/person for the actual cake, and the equivalent of $2 or $3/person for the dummy cake--since I still used real frosting (to make sure the color matched) and I still spent hours decorating...
SO I was thinking the grand total--for an all cake cake that size would have been closer to $1,250 and for an 80 person cake plus some dummy cakes, somwhere between $800 and $1,000.
I feel crazy charging that much--but I live near DC, and I happen to be planning my own wedding, so I know that isnt really a ridiculous number...
But I wanted to get some other input!
I agree--somewhere between $700 to $800. Alot of work goes into the dummy cakes. I have made carrot cakes and that is also alot of work--not to mention the pecan praline filling.
I, too, under-charge and am in the process of increasing my prices. It's like "Field of Dreams"--Build and they will come. If you are good, they will come. Don't short yourself--that was beautiful work!!!
Great job on the cake. I think you should have priced more in the range of $800's+. That's why in 20 years or so when my daugher gets married or my son I hope to have the skill and the time to help make their cakes. I figure in that amount of time I should be really good and be able to save alot on their weddings. Although the kids do now enjoy the cakes that I make.
What is your recipe for Pecan Praline Filling? That sounds yummy!
Beautiful job and no way I would have done it for less than about $600-$700 .. with the icing and type cake you did and the praline filling, $700 for sure!!
Wow, your cake is absolutely STUNNING! I'm not a cake expert/decorator yet, but I'm planning to in near future. May I ask where did you learn how to decorate that cake? You must be very proud of yourself!
Well, its kind of a funny story I guess...my mom is an INCREDIBLE baker, and people have been telling her for years that she should quit her job and go into baking full time.
I started lawschool 2 1/2 years ago...and as a stress reliever I would come home and bake. Well, I didn't want to have to keep buying bigger pants...so I started taking my stuff in to school--and then people started making requests--so I started having more opportunities to try new things...and I guess its just been alot of trial and error.
I use all family recipes--and thankfully, my mother, in addition to being a baker, is a very talented painter--so I get alot of advice from her.
Thank you so much for your kindness...its really hard to put this stuff up because I put so much time and heart into it, and its scary to be criticized!
True, baking is a great stress reliever. I'm now a "stay at home" mom full-time after being let go from the big health insurance company. I'm fed up working for other people and decided to go back to community college, where they're offering culinary classes. This Monday, I'm taking Baking, Food Production I, Sanitation/Safety, Intro to Hospitality, and Catering/Buffet Management classes. I'm glad that financial aid is helping me out. I'm looking forward to it. I will graduate with a culinary AAS degree this Fall and hopefully to work in any bakery to gain experiences before I can open up my own bakery/cake business. Maybe you'll be following your Mom's step? You're lucky to know someone with a skill to help you.
Mikaza, where in the DC area are you? I am in NOVA, in Loudoun County, VA.
The cake is absolutely beautiful! You did a wonderful job. In the Dallas area that cake could easily sell for $800. Always remember not to cut yourself short. Its your time, supplies, etc. You should get paid for that. I own a seasonal floral business in Dallas and I always have to remind myself that what we do is hard tedious work. Congrats you should take a bow!
A very beautiful cake! You do very pretty work.
If that isn't a $1000 cake I'll eat my hat, LOL.
Beautiful job! It really is stunning. : )
Just because it's part dummies doesn't mean you charge that much less.
It always tick's me off when people say it's just cake.... well it's not the cake, its the decorating you are paying for, LOL!
Did you get the dummies back? -just wondering. : )
Congratulations, it really is impressive! : )
Yeah--I have come to realize that people really have NO idea what goes into making a cake. The groom actually showed up at 9am the morning of the wedding (keep in mind, I was scheduled to begin set up at 4pm--30 minutes from my house) with the flowers...and he said to me then "I hope you can tint the frosting to match the flowers"
I thought if I opened my mouth to say anything, I might have to also punch him, so instead I just smiled for a minute.
Apparently it didnt occur to him that I had spent about 16 hours the day before making, frosting, and decorating the cake.
Great Job mikaza
You really got great talent
I have a excel spreadsheet matrix that will help you in pricing your work all you do is punch in some numbers and it does the work for you.
A decorator on another site sent it to me and if you would like a copy just e-mail me
[email protected]
Keep up the awesome work
Bob
I lucked out and did ge the dummies back--I actually got everything back except the mirror I had place the cake on--which 'mysteriously' disappeared the second the caterer took the cake off the display table.
As far as recipes...I made a pact with my mom that if I used the family recipes, I would promise to keep them in my family, and only share them with my future children...
Thank you guys so much for all of your comments. It just makes me more and more excited to keep trying...and learning from you!
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