I have a friend who keeps asking me to do cakes and I have been really undercharging her- for one, cause I have no idea how much I should charge as a beginner. She would like me to make another cake for the end of this month that is like the one I made my son....It was an 11 by 15 by 2in pan. How much do you think I should charge her?[/img]

BTW, It is a laservest.

I'm sitting here laughing becasue I was turning my head around saying "what is that thing" and trying to figure it out, then I scrolled down and saw your next post! My son would have known what it was right away, but I've never seen one before...

Anyway, how much have you been charging her? I'd charge at least $3 a serving for a cake decorated in buttercream, and that's the "friend" price. The 11x15 will serve about 35, right? Did you cut out a lot of cake and throw it out, or is it all rearranged for the vest shape? If you've cut out a lot and you've got fewer servings you'll have to figure that out, but I'd charge her for it if she wants you to do the work. If she doesn't want to pay you to do the work then let her get a walmart cake...

If you think that you should be charging less since you're a beginner you could go ahead and just charge her $2 a serving or something, but I'd let her know that you'll be raising your prices in the future when you think that you're past the beginner stage!!! And don't wait too long to decide that, since she obviously thinks that your cakes are good enough to buy already!

Call the local bakeries in your area. Ask them for pricing on the size of cake your friend wants. Your friend has seen your work and wants a cake from you. If you want to charge a little less then the bakeries that is fine. But know the market before you decide your price. I agree that you should let your friend know that your prices will be going up as you learn more.

This is what I charge for my cakes
9x13 $25.00
11x15 $30.00
12x18 $35.00
$2.00 per serving for wedding cakes buttercream or fondant
$50.00 for a 3D on a one layer cake
$40.00 for my baby carriage cake you can see it in my photos
After the first of the year I am going to raise my prices.

Jibbies

Thank you all for your replies! I charged her last time $30 for a 11 by 15 sheet cake( My wizard of Oz cake).
As far as the other pieces of the sheet cake on the laser vest, They were mostly used for the rest of the cake. This cake was used for a party of 30 and I had a lot left over.
Also, Wilton's chart says that a n 11 by 15 serves 60 people, is that wrong?
Also, when I charge, do I add in my supplies I had to buy to the per serving price?

Thanks!!!!

I always start off with I'm going to take $50 and then I add in the amount of my supplies. Since I am just starting out I figure and extra $50 will be nice. But as I advance and my skills develope I'll be charging more...maybe in another 3-6 months I'll say okay I want to walk away with $75 and then add in my supplies on top of that.

If you charge per serving, your supplies should be included in the price. Unless there are special extra pieces involved, like figures or gumpaste bows.

The wilton states 60 servings based on a two layer cake, 4 inches tall. So a single layer would be 30 servings.

Well that helps, but how much do you harge for gumpast bows and figures and how about if you coverthe cake in fondant?

I charge an extra dollar per serving for fondant covered cakes. For bows, I charge $10. I know a lot of people charge more. But I find them quick and easy, and most of the time they are on a "present" type cake, so there's no other decoration.

It might help you to figure out how long it takes you to make the extra decorations, and charge per hour. Because really,a bow doesn't take a lot of ingredients to make, it's the time involved.

So, say I charge $3 per serving and she needs a cake for 30 people,that's $90. That seems a lot to me. Is it?

$90.00 is not a lot. I start carved cakes at $245.00. Even a single layer 11x15 torted sheetcake (if I made them) would cost my BC serving rate of $4.50/serving. Cake is cake no matter the shape.. unless it's carved since that takes some skill and time.

for my simple fondant bow and the ribbon I charge $15, for a 2 or even 3 layer cake the bow/ribbon/and border ribbon with luster dust is $25.00.
My wedding prices standard flavor w/buttercrm $2.25, premium with b/c $2.50. standard with fondant $3/premium with fondant $3.25. Add .25 to each serving when adding filling.
I would do $50 for this cake.
My sheet cakes are 9x13 $30, 11x15 $40, 12x18 $50, add $5 if a premium flavor.
Serving size is 9x13 24, 11x15 35, 12x18 54.
hope this helps a little.

if you charge per serving, what do you do when a cake is a range of servings? like my 6" cake, i say it serves 6-10 (from wilton's site), so... do i charge $9 or $30 or somewhere in between? thanks!

Well, for pricing purposes I would stick to one chart that has exact serving amounts. I like the wilton party chart, it says a 6" is 12 servings. So you might give your customers a range, but for pricing there's no room for interpretation.