Price the Cake! - Page 4

OMG!!!

I am in Central, Canada, and I woud charge base price 1100 assuming all flavors are standard. I still consider myself as an amateur but I KNOW my limits. How does a decorator not know your own limits! So frustrating!!! 2 years ago if someone asked me to do this cake, I would have simply said, "Hey I am not that good I can absolutely do a cake for you, but I cannot do that, would be interested in a cake like this(different, more basic style)"  and believe me, I have said no, many times., or asked them to change the design to something I can do, and something they will be pleased with. f someone were to ask me to do a cake like this now, I would be confident enough to do it.

To me, "said decorator" as an extreme case of foolish pride. If you can't do it, there is NO harm/shame in saying no!  Know your limits, respect them, push yourself and SOMEDAY you will get there. People will respect that, they will NOT respect that cake. People talk, say goodbye to your wedding cake career. My god.

I will be keeping an eye on cakewrecks, this surely is a candidate! lol

forgiving the fact that the customer got a lower priced cake due to the baker having less experience or less skill, there are still errors on that cake which should never have left the kitchen. There is no reason to send out a cake with your "glue" showing, for example. tsk tsk.

Ok I know nobody wants to diss this cake buttttttttt this is what my cakes look like right now and I am just learning with fondant.I am giving these cakes away to family and friends. I would never ever ever charge anybody for that kind of work (which is why i have all family and friends bdays written down..practice practice practice) .. I would never want to be the one thing i would change of somebody's wedding day.

Trying to be constructive - she did a bang-up job on the colors.  Of course the fondant was probably purchased pre-colored but that's besides the point.  

That would be a $2,500-$3,000 for me.

The original cake photo is absolutely beautiful. Is it bad that I would charge $700 for that cake? I live in a small town in Alaska, if that helps anyone with the reason behind my pricing. I have some experience under my belt and consider myself to be a fairly decent cakerator. Just curious what you all think. I charge 3.50 per slice for fondant and minimum decorations.

Seeing a cake like this makes me queasy.  This is exactly why I panic before each cake. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyViola 

 

 

Here is the note I wrote on my cake page: https://www.facebook.com/notes/violas-custom-cakes/cake-pricing-explained/492430020803655

 

 

Feel free to use/copy/modify it. I actually modify it from time to time myself and will probably add more to it. I made it because I got tired of justifying my prices to people. I still think my prices are cheap for what I do. And you wouldn't believe the numbers of customer complain to me that they got a cake from xyz cake shop and were sorely disappointed. You get what you pay for.

Brilliantly put, LadyViola. I may just borrow that and share it on my own page. Non-confrontational, but informative. Thanks for posting it!

Ive heard price for ingredients is a little higher but I dont have anything to come to. My decorating supplies are all ordered online because we do not have any of those craft stores where I live.  

LadyViola , GREAT facebook post. Would you mind if I shared this ? I love the comparison to ordering a generic dessert at a restaurant. I think that may actually hit home with some potential customers.

Kudos!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Annabakescakes 


WOW! You were already my cake hero, but I am impressed! How long do you think that would take you? If you don't mind me asking... I am slow and get lonely out there by myself, so I sort of cheat myself by taking lots of breaks.

Actually, now looking at it I think the serving amount was under-estimated.  All my cake is 2 flavors of cake, 3 different buttercream fillings, then ganached then fondant.  That's a 6 tiered cake, I think it's a 6x9x9x12x14x16 = 310 servings, even though the 9x9 was carved to be 6" in the middle, you still pay for the cake.  Base price @ $8/serving = $2,480

2 hours carving +double stack @ $25/hour = $50

Sugar bow w/ edible broach detail = $125

The monograms look pre-purchased so no charge, but if I were to make them with the amount of glitter in them it's be another $100

Stencil work on 2 tiers = $200 or so

Quilting on a 16" tier with pink candy pearls = $40

30 or so sugarpaste cosmos = $450

I estimate it would take at least 3 weeks prep time making and coloring all those cosmos

Bow would also need to be made in advance, takes less then an hour but I charge in hour increments, putting it on with additional "ribbon" around the tier, 1 hour

Center broach - could be 1/2 hour, could be more depending on how much detail I want to put into it

Baking cake - 4 hours

Tort/fill - another 3 hours

Carving - 2 hours (I'm a perfectionist)

Ganache/fondant - I'd allocate a full 8 hour day, but would probably take 10 with the concave double barrel

Stack & add final decorations, 6 hours

Make the bottom black separator disk for the cosmos - another hour

So for me, if I were to replicate that cake exact, (assuming the client did not want an upcharged flavor or filling) that actually puts me $3,445 plus delivery