i want to ask wht is fondant cake with fill going for in the los angeles area... every one tells me am selling myself short... i never add up the amount am spending ... which is wrong , i jst think of it as my hobbie n i love doin it . Money is not the issue but for my fam is... its time consuming  i did a minnie mouse 10 ",  4" inch high square with  gourment flavor n filling dazzeld it up with bling and charged 50 dollars.... i no theres alot to it... but am looking for a base price per slice... is 2 dollars cheap? please help ... i love doin this but am tired of my fam tell me this... 

 

 

*Mod note:  title edited to be actual searchable words.

Yes, 2 dollars is practically Walmart pricing.  Fondant cakes start for me at $4 per servings and I'm in KY.

 

PS your post is quite difficult to read.  We're kind of old fashioned here and tend to type whole words rather that text-speak.

AAdd up your ingredient cost, labor cost, and overhead cost, then add a markup to reach market price in your area (you'll need to do some research to find this out).

If you are selling cakes made at home you'll need a cottage food license if you don't have one already, contact your county health dept for more info.

If you made your own Minnie Mouse picture or figure instead of buying a licensed figure you will also need to get Disney's written permission, otherwise that's copyright infringement.

I thought it was dilemna. Damm.

AThnk u so much for the good advise....n sorry abt my typos n grammar thts jst the way I type. Mainly bcuz I'm on a cell phone n its much faster....thought its cake tlk not grammar school ...note not being rude at all, jst sayn...its jst like on this site there's a lot of a abbreviations on cake tht I dnt get. ...thnk u ..

AWhat are all those consonants all stuck together?

ABy the way, I wouldn't pay $50 for a cake from anyway who can't express themselves in written form properly. I certainly wouldn't allow them to do a wedding cake or anything I was depending on. I get about $137 for a 10" square.

AIf you are going to present yourself as a business (even if you are just selling to family and friends) you need to make an effort to write in a professional manner, or at the very least avoid shorthand and spelling/grammar errors.

That's awesome , ur making good money. I do it for fun and not planning to make a business out of it. I respect everyone,s opinion but this is my person n i dont plan to change my typing jst to please others. People that would want me to make a cake ,wud be because they know me and not total strangers. Nothing wrong with making words a bit short, didn't think cake central bakers where so picky abt this. But good to know . 

A@ jason thank you, its good advise. I will consider.

I guess it needs said again. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all".
 

If it is truly a hobby and you have no desire to make money then just ask family and friends to purchase the ingredients/supplies for you and then make them the cake. That way (I think) you aren't breaking any cottage food/health department laws and your family should be satisfied the money isn't coming out of your pocket.

A

You are still required to be compliant with local food safety laws if you receive any form of compensation for your cake. The good news is California just passed a cottage food law, so OP can apply for a cottage food license from her county health dept and legally sell food made from home.

If this is truly a hobby then she should not accept any money for the cakes, as soon as you start accepting money it becomes a business.

I agree with pieceofcaketx. Ask for the items to be purchased for you if its only a hobby.

 

You are selling cakes since you have charged for a cake already and are looking to sell more. I know California passed a Cottage Food law, but I don't know their specifics. I'm only familiar with Texas' CFL. 

 

People are asking you about business related questions since your post asked what the prices were for fondant cakes in Los Angeles. It just sounded like you were trying to match your prices to bakeries in LA. If you are planning on selling cakes then you should look into the cottage food laws in your state. 

Thank you so much for all that great advised. But at the beginning of this yr. My fam went thru all the trying that is required and we have our license and or permits to sell food n bake goods from home, so thank you for the suggestion its been done. Before you go on in how my fam and not me have permits let me jst say i live in that home with the permits which allows me to sell aswell with my parents... Now the only reason why i ask for a price was because she insisted in paying me something. I  don't sell in a regular basis, it was just a ?  in thee event i would have another request to make a cake and not lose money, since my fam was giving me a hard time . If it was a business am sure i wouldn't be asking anyone how much to sell my cakes for.  As much i dont mind all the negative comments i really appreciate the good ones, cake central in a community of bakers to help one another not to attack them and be rude abt grammar and call me unprofessional, you dont no me and do not know how i present myself with any one .... its called texting or shorthand typing ect.... With that said thank you .

AThe best way to set your price is to add up your costs (including ingredients, labor, and allocated overhead) then add an additional markup to bring your price in line with market prices. Since your family is already running a food business from your home they should be able to help you with the details, including market research and a business plan, as well as putting together the required labels for the products you sell.

I will thank you Jason.

A

Technically yes, but in reality since there is no paper trail the risk of getting caught is virtually nonexistent, especially if you aren't acting as a business (no advertising, no business cards, no business web site, no invoices) and offer this service only to friends and family. If I had any baking skills I wouldn't hesitate to do this for friends and family without a license.

To me, I dont see it as being any different than going to a friend's house and raiding their kitchen to make them a cake.  The only difference is that I am now using their materials in my own home.  

Some states have personal chef exemptions, where you are allowed to charge whatever you want and do not require an inspection as long as you make the food product from start to finish at the customer's site.

technically and legalistically i guess yes it is some kind of 'payment'

 

but i srsly doubt that anyone in authority would give it the time of day or a fraction thereof

 

if done on a random basis --say two or three times a year or something even up to once a month sometimes

 

for close friends & family (not friends of friends)

 

if someone wanted to bust you for the suspected marijuana farm in your house and needed cause--maybe

 

but just to set you straight and mess with you--who would do that

 

if there are complaints--sure you're toast

 

but that would be a cease and desist order/letter--maybe a fine

 

done

 

if your mom pays you for cutting her hair do you declare that on your taxes?

There have now been a few threads dealing with this type of thing (spelling, grammar etc).  I changed the title so this thread will populate in a Google search and that was my only intent.

 

Many of you ganging up in this thread have had warnings sent in the past 24 hours for the same thing but different thread.  This is your final warning:  I have my finger in the "ban" button and will not hesitate to use it.  And BTW, this new system has IP tracking so you will NOT be able to just re-join like you used to.

 

Knock it off.