Struggling with Birthday Cake vs. Wedding Cake Pricing

It's OK to do the calculations for the two different serving sizes.

But you MUST ask the customer how much cake they want to buy before you tell them a price. Some people really expect a full restaurant sized serving. If there will be no other food, they will need that much. You can't assume--you really have to ask politely, what other sweet food is planned (you don't need any details).

The way to look at this is that if they have no plans, you might also be able to sell them cookies or brownies or ice cream cake or whatever...it helps YOU to ask.

Lowest minimum price runs about $50 unless you want to accept last minute orders for very small cakes. This would work better for a bakery that has baked layers already there, and they would just ice and decorate on a half hour's notice.

I came up with my number based on the shortest time it takes to bake and ice a cake from a cold start.

Another difference in price may be because to me a party cake is only two layers while a wedding cake is 3-4 thin layers and over four inches tall.
So, yeah that's going to to cost you more than Auntie Ellen's birthday cake.


mommachris

I use the wilton wedding chart for both wedding and birthday cakes. I am using cake mixes now but this week im trying out scratch recipes as I want to do all scratch. I do Birthday cakes in two 1.75 inch thick layers with filling inside and wedding cakes with four .75 inch layers with filling inbetween. They come out to be exactly 4 inches in height, I use the SPS system for stacking so my layers need to be exactly 4 inches. Since it is more work and filling for the wedding cake my prices are greater.

I use the same serving size for every cake. If they want more cake they can buy more servings. I also charge the same for birthdays as weddings, because most of the birthday cakes I get requests for are way more complicated with modelled figures etc than wedding cakes are, and the clients want more attention and are crazier than brides are.

I personally think the wilton wedding cake servings are very small

I too am a home baker, I had to start doing a minimum order because I dont want to do this every weekend, and take away from family time for a 20.00 cake, or a dozen cupcakes and make ditto. I know I undercharge on birthday cakes ( but I am doing them mostly for friends or friends of friends ) and I like to do some bigger cakes to get kids a bigger awe factor. ** however if the same customer keeps requesting the bigger awe cakes I let them know I like to do that for my friends kids but at the lower price I give the child one awe cake for the underprice, and if they want that awe cake every year, then the prices will be higher. These birthday cakes sometimes are as big as wedding cakes, at a fraction of the cost. I have started to charge more because the cost of supplies & my time. I want to stay smaller and not do too many , to still enjoy what I do and to do it more as a hobby. Wedding and special occasion cakes should cost more do to all the planning, delivery, set up and stress factors . That is where the customer is willing to spend more on a cake. ***my favorite is to deliver a special cake to a ICING SMILES kid, or my goal of doing cakes for the special needs kids in my son's daycare. They are my favorite to do, and the reward is bigger then any check ***

First, let me say Welcome to Alabama! I'm a transplant here too from Mo. Your in a great area and your going to love Huntsville. It's a great place to live. Love your cakes, you do a great job with the fondant accents. Since your not from here you may not know that we are required to be licensed and inspected to run a food business. Selling cakes whether as a hobby or advertising as a hobby/business is not permited from home kitchens. Advertising of anykind, including Facebook, is a priviledge associated with our business license.

You can find information at http://adph.org/foodsafety/Default.asp?id=1139 or type in ST of AL restaurant codes. Rules for Food Establishment Sanitation to guide you through the process. You'll need a licensed and inspected commerical approved kitchen to work out of. My inspector comes from our counties Health dept, Environmental Health division. They are very nice and very knowledgable and will be happy to answer your questions. Sweet Blessings in setting up your business.

I use to struggle, but not anymore. Example: yesterday I started working on a two tier birthday cake that requires gumpaste in fourteen colors. At 10:00 my mind suddenly flipped from-wow, that's a lot for cake, to it is worth every penny!
I charge per serving and then add on for accents, special flavors, and individual pieces that will need to be modeled. I enjoy doing cakes, but I am not doing them for fun!

I use wedding chart for all. Not at any point since I began selling has anyone ever said they didn't have enough cake/slices were too small. But I don't base what a slice of cake should look like based on the Betty Crocker box either. What is that, like 3 servings worth of cake??

lol! I also think 12 pieces out a 6'' really isn't possible. It may sounds a bit to crazy, but I always put the ammounds of the wilton servings in half. like a 6'' is good for 6'' portions and a 10'' for 15 etc

Taarten, have you ever actually sold a cake at wedding servings to see if you got a complaint or if people think they're too small, or are you just going by your own opinion or what other like minded people think as well? Not trying to be rude, I don't know how else to say that.

Actually, my chart's a bit more generous, before I go on about Wilton being "the authority". For example, I call a 6" 10 servings, and a 10" 35 servings....so, a bit more generous, but I'm certainly not giving out huge honking servings.

I haven't read all the replies but here's my 2 cents on this:
If you make a 2-layer/4" tall cake *no matter what the occasion* the amount of servings is decided by using the Wilton chart for wedding cakes. PERIOD!

Letting a customer tell you have many servings they think they can get from a certain sized cake is like you telling a restaurant that their hamburger is not big enough for one serving.
Look at any canned food item and you see their 'servings' #. They decide how many servings any particular item yields NOT you - the customer.
The Wilton charts have long been used as the industry standard by thousands of bakers.
If a customer doesn't think a certain size yhou suggest is big enough, then offer the next size and let them *pay* for a bigger cake.

One side note: I agree that a 6" round does not serve 12
I suggest you get a piece of wood or styro and cut it into the sizes (1x2"x4" and 2"x2"x2") so customers can actually see what the sizes are.
If you really study those sizes you will see they are **EXACTLY** the *same* amount of cake! (cut a 1x2x4 in 1/2 (so it is 1x2x2) and put the 2 halves together - it now is 2x2x2).

Taartenmaker said: I always put the amounds of the wilton servings in half. like a 6'' is good for 6'' portions and a 10'' for 15 etc......
You are cheating yourself! Not only are you are giving away your talent and knowledge but you are *hurting* other decorators when you do things like this