Cake Central › Cake Forums › Cake Talk › Cake Decorating Business › what would you charge?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

what would you charge? - Page 2

post #16 of 32
1/7/13 at 10:11pm
8" cakes normally don't cost that much, $50 is very high for ingredient costs for a single 8" tier and 4 hours is a long time to spend on a single tier cake unless there are elaborate decorations or sculpting involved.
.
My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
.
Reply
.
My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
.
Reply
post #17 of 32
1/7/13 at 10:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason_kraft View Post

8" cakes normally don't cost that much, $50 is very high for ingredient costs for a single 8" tier and 4 hours is a long time to spend on a single tier cake unless there are elaborate decorations or sculpting involved.

well i didn't make my own fondant- tried that in the past didn't work out so well-- so i just grabbed some pre made fondant, that was the most expensive ingredient. the 4 hours includes clean up, prepping etc like you asked and the stars took the longest time as i used a mold and it only had 3 stars on it & each star was dusted in edible glitter-- not to mention the photo wasn't of a complete cake i also made a banner with more stars in the center...

like i said im barely starting this whole cake decorating so naturally its gonna take me a little bit longer then others ..
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 32
1/8/13 at 6:38am

You may want to purchase the program Cake Boss.  I have found it so helpful in my business for pricing cakes and keeping track of orders.

"who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?"
Reply
"who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?"
Reply
post #19 of 32
1/8/13 at 7:03am

to me there are two main 'camps' for determining the serving size of a cake

 

there's the very helpful chart from wilton and one from earlene moore

 

you can google

 

wilton Wedding Cake Data Chart (note all the great info including how many cups of batter per pan)

 

and go to

 

www.earlenescakes.com and you'll enjoy her site very much dig around take in the beauty of her work and you'll find her chart eventually

 

wilton gives the traditional serving size --earlene's are a little more generous sized--every decorator just decides for them self

 

a splash is a term i learned from margaret braun--it's a flavored simple syrup that you brush or squirt onto baked cake as you assemble the layers into a tier--adds moisture and any flavor you want to subtly accent the cake

 
 

 

 

Reply
 
 

 

 

Reply
post #20 of 32
1/8/13 at 9:04am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by -K8memphis View Post

to me there are two main 'camps' for determining the serving size of a cake

there's the very helpful chart from wilton and one from earlene moore

you can google

wilton Wedding Cake Data Chart (note all the great info including how many cups of batter per pan)

and go to

www.earlenescakes.com and you'll enjoy her site very much dig around take in the beauty of her work and you'll find her chart eventually

wilton gives the traditional serving size --earlene's are a little more generous sized--every decorator just decides for them self

a splash is a term i learned from margaret braun--it's a flavored simple syrup that you brush or squirt onto baked cake as you assemble the layers into a tier--adds moisture and any flavor you want to subtly accent the cake

thank you for your kind response and information. much appreciated!!
Reply
Reply
post #21 of 32
1/8/13 at 1:36pm

It took me a couple of hours to bake the cake and to make the buttercream to crumb coat and fill it. Then about another 11 hours to decorate with the fondant and make the balls of wool and buttons ect as it was my first attempt.  It was alot of work but well worth it.
 

Reply
Reply
post #22 of 32
1/8/13 at 1:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lilly200 View Post

It took me a couple of hours to bake the cake and to make the buttercream to crumb coat and fill it. Then about another 11 hours to decorate with the fondant and make the balls of wool and buttons ect as it was my first attempt.  It was alot of work but well worth it.

At a price of £65, assuming £20 in ingredients and £10 in overhead, and a 20% markup for profit, you have £24 left for labor costs. This works out to a wage of about £1.8/hour.
.
My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
.
Reply
.
My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
.
Reply
post #23 of 32
1/8/13 at 3:29pm
OI
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason_kraft View Post

At a price of £65, assuming £20 in ingredients and £10 in overhead, and a 20% markup for profit, you have £24 left for labor costs. This works out to a wage of about £1.8/hour.
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 32
1/8/13 at 3:33pm
Thanks for your help. I actually worked it out and for the cake ingredients, fondant, cake drum and box about £28. May have to up the price a little! Any suggestions?
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 32
1/8/13 at 3:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lilly200 View Post

Thanks for your help. I actually worked it out and for the cake ingredients, fondant, cake drum and box about £28. May have to up the price a little! Any suggestions?
If you wanted to make just above minimum wage with a decent profit margin for a cake requiring that much labor, you are looking at a price around £28 + £10 + (13 * £7) + 20% = £155. Whether your market can support that price is another question, you will need to analyze existing businesses to see what other people are charging as a point of comparison.
.
My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
.
Reply
.
My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
.
Reply
post #26 of 32
1/8/13 at 11:41pm
Wow! that seems alot, not sure if people would pay that much. Thank you very much for your help, at least now I know how to work out prices : )
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 32
1/9/13 at 10:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lilly200 View Post

Wow! that seems alot, not sure if people would pay that much. Thank you very much for your help, at least now I know how to work out prices : )

 

Something to consider is finding a way to reduce your costs. That's where a baker who buys in bulk, or wholesale will have an edge on you. $28 for ingredients is fine for a one-off cake for yourself, but not so much for multiples. I'm guessing you had some of the ingredients left over when you were finished, as well, so your cake cost will be divided by the amount you used and not the total purchase for supplies. 

Reply
Reply
post #28 of 32
1/9/13 at 11:13am
For anything but the simplest custom cakes, labor will be your most expensive cost component, usually by a significant margin. Finding ways to be more efficient, outsourcing when others can do parts of the job better for cheaper, and selling the customer on less labor-intensive designs are among the fastest ways to reduce costs.
.
My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
.
Reply
.
My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
.
Reply
post #29 of 32
1/9/13 at 11:20am

Jason is right. What I should have said was reducing the cost of your supplies. 

Reply
Reply
post #30 of 32
1/9/13 at 1:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lilly200 View Post

I charge £65 for this cake is that too much or too little? What do you all think? I would love to hear what others think.
400


it is an 8" madeira cake with rasberry preserve and vanilla buttercream.
[/quote

I live in the uk, I would have charged about £85 for that cake design:)
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Cake Decorating Business
Cake Central › Cake Forums › Cake Talk › Cake Decorating Business › what would you charge?