I am a cake decorator out of my home, my business is growning and i am doing a lot more wedding cakes.  For at home cake decorators, how do you do cake tasting/testing for brides/grooms clients.  I have been baking mini cakes but i always end up with so much extra cake/batter, which is a waste of money.  I dont have every cake and filling combonation ready all the time so i obviously have to bake each one.  does anyone have any ideas how to best do this "cost effectively"?  tia

tons of different ways to do this

and consider doing a search on this topic too

but personally i try to avoid this like the plague

i give my brides two 4-5" cakes already boxed and ready for

• the honeymoon

• the freezer for the first anniversary

i deliver it with the cake so i don't have to think about it again

i say it's my gift to them so they can use all their servings in the cake for their guests--this really registers with a budget conscious bride and they all are pretty much aware of the money thing by this time

to me for a home baker or an occasional baker it's just not worth the time

everybody knows what chocolate and vanilla and strawberry taste like

i try to sell them on the idea that they get their 'tasting' at the end

10,000 brides told me they never got to taste their cake past the little bite for the pictures before i thought of this

i only have to use a little leftover batter to make a one layer 4 or 5 inch cake and i just torte it and decorate it as much or as little as i want--and i use scraps from leveling--easy to carve out a couple little bitty layers

that's how i like to not do it 

AAwsome ideas, i ws trying to look into this as well. I have heard of some bakers offering cupcakes that have been frozen then thawed. I like the idea of a 4 inch cake.

At a major famous wedding cake bakery in los angeles, they hand out samples on a tray that are Individually wrapped pieces of frosting filled cakes that about 1 1/2 inch square. They give them to everyone who walks in. My kids loved it there:grin:

AHave you tried cutting samples like petit fours? With simple decor on top of icing, they always look elegant and easy to freeze, unless of course your client wants a bigger sample, give them two!

I offer a "consultation day" and book all my consultations for a Sunday after a busy cake weekend. I just make a little extra batter and make an extra 5 or 6 inch cake of each flavour and cut them up for however many appointments I have booked. I never give them the option of them picking the flavour, they get what I have made. If they want a particular one I reccomend they book me for a birthday or celebration cake.