Holy Cow! I followed a link for Jane Asher cakes: http://www.jane-asher.co.uk/index.php. The cakes ARE beautiful, but the prices are (what I consider) pretty outrageous. Especially the section marked "Bespoke" cakes- I looked through several of the children's cakes- there was a stunning but clean, simple little carriage cake with little fondant mice on it that says it renders 40-45 'small' servings(I think they would be very small servings)...It was 415 POUNDS!!! That's like $800, right? 
I mean, it was very nice, but whoa!
It seems like Europeans are more willing to take their beautiful cakes seriously, but is that the norm? I can't imagine even Ace of Cakes charging that much for that cake. Maybe I need to go to pastry school and move to England!
Good Grief--an 8"x4" sponge cake covered in fondant (and not that well, either) with a single red gumpaste rose for GBP 125 ($US250.00)--that's NUTS!!!! 
Sounds like someone who doesn't actually want to be bothered with small cakes so they overprice them to chase off customers????
No doubt some nice things on the site, but the prices really are outrageous. I'd have guilt pangs (or should I say "gilt" pangs) charging that kind of money for anything that wasn't made with pure gold. 
Rae
She's a bit of a tv personality in the UK which is why she can ask those crazy prices. I dont think she even makes the cakes herself.
I think her cakes are good but nowhere near worth those prices, in fact there are lots of cc members who do much better work.
I have one of her book and some of the ideas are good but some of the cakes are pretty lame!
Things, especially specialty items, DO cost more here. When I first moved to the UK four years ago my husband explained to me that I shouldn't convert from GBP to US dollars because it would make me crazy (and I would never buy anything. )
In fact, I've found that a pretty good rule of thumb is if it costs (insert price) in dollars, it will cost about the same in pounds. For example, if I paid $20.00 for something in the US, the same or comparable thing will be about 20.00 gbp here (about $40.00). So many things are double the price. Of course, this isn't true all of the time (oddly enough, milk is cheaper here), but it works more often than not.
BTW, did you look at what the Jane Asher shop is charging for Wilton stuff? Even with import charges they are making a hefty profit!
Yes! I saw one of her "beginner kits" for 50 pounds that I would be reluctant to pay $30 for! I was in London last year and found that generally, things were the same in pounds as in dollars- it was crazy! But I guess there are some things that are different there- like I heard the minimum wage was pretty high so I guess if people are making more money they have it to spend! Still, as a tourist, it's horrible!
Oh Kitty, please don't judge all the cakes on this side of the world against those of Ms Asher's. I'm in Scotland, not England, but I still don't charge NEARLY as much as these prices. Maybe that's why people keep coming back to me! I don't make a fortune, and doubt if I ever will. I chat too much and give so much of my time, but I think I would rather have it that way than any other. 
I can relate - we have a lady in dallas (wont name names) 
but she does a good job on some of her cakes and the min price starts at $500 - We price around alot to see where we stand and my husband sent her a pic of a really simple cake and when he got that email back - he laughed and wondered how she was staying in business, because some of her cakes are not that well done to be charging min $500.
Wow All I have to say....that if she gets that for her cakes they better have gold in them somewhere! ALso her Dora cakes looks horrible....I have seen 100times better Dora cakes on CC....Okay I just have to say maybe it is me but Dora looks pregnant on the cake by Ms. Jane Asher.
That is just my opinion.....
Just seems that she is well known and that is what you are paying for is her name on the cake.
I totally agree and I can't believe anybody would pay those prices...and to think she probably hasn't even seen the cake never mind made it!
To, grudgingly, give her a bit of credit though I seem to remember way back that she was doing these novelty cakes before they were really popular. Nowadays you can buy them in every supermarket but 20 years ago when she started everything in the UK was covered in royal icing.
I just looked at her website, and I think most of her cakes are very well done. They look neat, clean and straight. Her fondant work looks very nice. Her prices do sound high, but if she can ask that and get it, good for her!!! I see Duff's website quotes a $500.00 min. !
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