I've had a friend request that I make her wedding cake in August. I have over the past year or so been making cakes for family and friends and have done a few weddings. However, this is the first time I've ever been asked if I do tastings.

I hesitate to say no, but I just don't see how I can financially afford to put together a tasting due to the fact that I don't do volume cakes. As it stands already I don't make a profit on my cakes because in the state of Illinois I'm not allowed sell my cakes for a profit.

Anyone have any good ideas?

Beth

You can make cupcakes for the family and save a couple from each batch to be used for tastings. Wrap them well in several layers of plastic wrap/cling, then store in a zippered fzr bag. They will last in the fzr for up to a year
You mentioned this is a friend.....has she already had any of you r caks? Why does she need a tasting?
If you bake from scratch can you make a plain white/vanilla batter, divide it up, then add additional flavors so you get 3 or 4 flavors from one batter? Bake them as cupcakes OR in small bread loaf pans. Store as mentioned above.^^ One should be able to do basically the same when using box mixes too. To a vanilla/white cake you could add UNsweetened cocoa for chocolate cake (OR ice cream topping such as Hershey/s syrup for a lighter chocolate); strawberry jam swirled through batter for a strawberry cake; finely chopped pecans & some extra butter flavoring for butteer pecan cake.
&/or divide one dry cake mix into 3 and proceed from there. That way for the strawberry cake you can use strawberry soda pop for the liquid along w/the jam OR make lemon using lemon KoolAid and dry lemon jello or pudding for flavoring - etc. You would use one egg, 1/3 Cup liquid etc for each batch. there are LOTS of flavor change options working from dry mix

My suggestion would be to cut your recipe(s) in half; make 1 or 2 flavors of cupcakes and give them to the bride when she comes to talk about her cake design. She can eat them right then, or take them home.

Your family or co-workers can eat the rest!

I don't provide tastings just because of my set up and cost, what I do is suggest that the bride place a cupcake order. She can mix and match frostings and fillings and I place a mininum order of one dozen per cupcake flavour to avoid waste. This has worked successfully for me without any complaints. Might be worth a try for you.

Has your friend never had your cakes before?

I have a cake tasting with 4 cake flavors luckily only 1 frosting!! I charged her 30$ paid in advance for a tasting. I told her I dont have cakes just laying around so I had to charge for the materials and time. She wants a vanilla, chocolate, marble and red velvet tasting. I am doing them as cupcakes but does anyone know how I can divide this up so i dont have to make 4 seperate batches. I like the idea of making a vanilla cake and adding choc however how can I do this with red velvet any suggestions?

The cost of tastings doesn't have to be high. I limit them to 2 selections (and frequently I add 1 more that I think they might like) and they get 1 cupcake of each. I usually bake a few cupcakes when I am making a cake & put them in the freezer. If I have to bake a specific flavor I don't already have I make the smallest batch possible (break the recipe down to 1 egg) and I freeze the extras or just let my family enjoy them. Add a disposable fork, plate and nappkin and thats it, nothing fancy, minimal cost.

Thanks for all the advice. She has had my cakes before, I'm not sure why she wants a tasting.

I will do the Cupcake idea and limit it to a 3. If she's interested she'll let me know

A tasting doesn't have to be a full menu of baskin robbins 33 flavors. When I first started doing tastings, I offered white cake with white icing. Period. That was it. The idea is to show them an example of my baking skill, not for them to eat thru the whole menu.

You dont' have to bake full size cakes. bake a 6" square of each of 3 flavors and cut them in 4 or 6 pieces. Serve them one each and put the others in a zip lock bag in the freezer.

I used to bake one 8" square of each flavor; cut the cakes into 9 squares; serve one square each with white, chocolate and dreamsicle icing, plus a variety of my sleeved fillings. The icings/fillings were about a tablespoon of each laid out so they could do a mix-n-match.

I probably spent less than ten bucks and it covered 9 tasting appts. Even if I used ingredients that were twice as expensive .... 20 bucks spread over 9 appts isn't all that much.