Mini Cake Prices ~ Help!

Business By simpleandsweet Updated 23 Jan 2010 , 4:32am by catlharper

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simpleandsweet Posted 1 Dec 2008 , 3:52am
post #1 of 30

I have a bride that wants 13 individual mini-cakes for her Valentine wedding.
What do you all charge for your mini cakes and what size do you make?

Have you done multi tier mini cakes?

Thanks in advance!
Cheryl icon_smile.gif

29 replies
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indydebi Posted 1 Dec 2008 , 5:42am
post #2 of 30

When you say "mini-cakes", do you mean a centerpiece cake ... one cake in the middle of the table that will feed all 8 or 10 people sitting there? Or one cake per person?

Assuming you mean a centerpiece cake, since you only need 13 ......

I address this on my FAQ page and I run the numbers for the bride. http://cateritsimple.com/_wsn/page13.html

The problem arises in pricing when the bride doesn't understand that she'll probably end up with way more cake than she needs ... and she's going to pay for that.

A table will usually seat 8 people. Even a small 8" round cake will serve 24 wilton wedding cake servings. I dont' care if she cuts it into 8 wedged pieces ... the cake is designed for 24 and she's paying for 24 servings.

let's say the cost is $3/serving. Bride expects to pay 8 servings x $3 = $24 per cake x 13 tables = $312.

But the cake serves 24 servings x $3/serving = $72 per cake x 13 tables = $936.

She's paying 3 times as much because she's getting 3 times as much cake.

I also don't see a problem adding a "Design Fee" to cover the extra space needed for transport (if I'm also doing the catering for 100 people, having these extra cakes would cost me the rental of a second vehicle due to space); the extra time it takes to set up (I can carry a 3-tier cake from van to facility in one trip, but it will take multiple trips (i.e. more time) to unload multiple cakes); 13 boxes instead of 2; 13 cardboards instead of just 3.

So.... if you mean individual cakes per person, then you can skip this whole litany! icon_redface.gif

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JessDesserts Posted 1 Dec 2008 , 5:53am
post #3 of 30

i think I saw Ace of cakes making 70+ individual cakes for each guest. I was curious how much they would charge per cake.
They were 2 layers, filling in the middle, covered in fondant, designs and a bow and each in an individual clear box for each guest to take home.
If this is what you're inquiring about, im soooooooooooo curious to know the price as well.

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Deb_ Posted 1 Dec 2008 , 1:17pm
post #4 of 30

Indydebi right on as expected..........

Jessdesserts to answer your inquiry about individual mini cakes, I'd have to say you can't charge ENOUGH in my opinion. I did about 100 for a relatives wedding a while back. I made them in the mini tiered cake mold pan. I covered them with a "poured icing" first and than decorated each one.

By the mid way point I was ready to be committed. It was my least favorite cake project ever.

I've had non family people request them and I quoted high so they wouldn't order them........$15 -$20 each depending on extent of design, flavor, etc. One bride said "that much for what amounts to a cupcake?" I told her if she wanted cupcakes I would do those for a third of that quote.

They are small, but they are sooooooo much work.

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Eisskween Posted 1 Dec 2008 , 1:49pm
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Jess Desserts, I went to the "Ace of Cakes" website and their cakes start at $1,000. So with that as a base fee, figure in the extras and the work involved, way more than I can charge. icon_biggrin.gif

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simpleandsweet Posted 1 Dec 2008 , 2:01pm
post #6 of 30

Sorry, yes I meant individual cakes. 13 individual cakes, each in their own little box.

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muddpuppy Posted 1 Dec 2008 , 4:14pm
post #7 of 30

I recently did a bunch of mini's and they were way more time consuming than I thought they'd be. (in my photo's if you want to peek) I WAY undercharged the bride and will never make that mistake again. I definately wouldn't charge less than $8 or $9 a cake, plus packaging and I would have started WAY earlier than I did. icon_smile.gif Good luck!!

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simpleandsweet Posted 2 Dec 2008 , 3:27pm
post #8 of 30

anymore info on this?

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leah_s Posted 2 Dec 2008 , 4:45pm
post #9 of 30

with their own box, I'd say in the $18-$22 each range. Once you do these you'll understand.

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SpoonfulofSugar Posted 2 Dec 2008 , 5:02pm
post #10 of 30

I agree with leahs....these little cakes take forever to do

and start looking now for the boxes....you will probably have to order them online....I had an order for mini cakes but didn't have any cute boxes for them

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mkolmar Posted 3 Dec 2008 , 3:18am
post #11 of 30

With box around $15- 23. They are a PITA to do so charge accordingly. I made a mistake of underpricing once mini-cakes.

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littlecake Posted 3 Dec 2008 , 5:11am
post #12 of 30

i'd rather take a whoopin than do a bunch of mini cakes

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costumeczar Posted 3 Dec 2008 , 3:21pm
post #13 of 30

Littlecake...I have to agree with you on the whoopin' sentiment! That pretty much put into words the feeling that I get whenever someone starts talking about those little monsters! Too funny...

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ladyonzlake Posted 3 Dec 2008 , 3:41pm
post #14 of 30

I just did 100 mini sand castle cakes (they're on my website). I charged the bride $8.00 per cake...not enough. I now have $12.00 per cake posted on my website.

They were placed on 1/2" foamcore that I cut out myself. I also cut out all of the cake boards (3" rounds). You can't purchase these sizes anywhere.

I had my daughter and friend help me decorate these and without their help I would still be decorating these babies. They are single layer but they are torted and filled.

They did not have to be in individual boxes. I placed them in a large sheet box for transporting.

For tiered mini's I would start at $15 per cake and increase the price depending on design and if they were BC or fondant.

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ladyonzlake Posted 3 Dec 2008 , 3:43pm
post #15 of 30

I take that back. The 3" cake circles can be purchased at intotheoven.com and I highly recommend purchasing them than cutting them yourself. The foamcore bases only come in 6" sizes.

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Cakechick123 Posted 3 Dec 2008 , 4:13pm
post #16 of 30

take whatever you think is a fair price and multiply it by 3!! They can be a real pain in the butt icon_smile.gif

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FromScratch Posted 4 Dec 2008 , 4:44am
post #17 of 30

I start mini's (3" round single tier) at $20 each with a minimum order of 10 cakes. They are a pain in the ass. They are more work and the decos are all teeny and more tedious to make than their larger counter parts. A lot of the pro sites I looked at start them at $35 each.. they are a lot more work than you think they will be.

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sweetreasures Posted 14 Jan 2010 , 5:23am
post #18 of 30
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkelly

I did about 100 for a relatives wedding a while back. I made them in the mini tiered cake mold pan. I covered them with a "poured icing" first and than decorated each one.

By the mid way point I was ready to be committed. It was my least favorite cake project ever.





In spite of being ready to be committed, how do the mini tiered cake pans work out?

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howsweet Posted 18 Jan 2010 , 4:15am
post #19 of 30

I decide how much it's worth it to me to do them depending on what the customer wants. If they don't want to pay it, that's fine. They are lots of work.

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Renaejrk Posted 18 Jan 2010 , 4:55am
post #20 of 30

At least there are 13 instead of 130!! lol - Do a test one for yourself so you can see how much it takes for you, then you will have an idea what it is worth to you above and beyond what you would normally charge. I haven't made small tiered ones, just little square/castle ones for my daughter.

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Mensch Posted 18 Jan 2010 , 7:07am
post #21 of 30

icon_evil.gif



Considering that they are so small they shouldn't cost more than a couple of dollars apiece.

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catlharper Posted 18 Jan 2010 , 7:56am
post #22 of 30

IndyDeby is totally right...$3 per serving X 8 servings = $24. I just did my first one tonight and the amount of work that goes into these tiny beauties is SO worth charging that. I would charge more for fondant covered but then I charge more for my fondant cakes to begin with. So I'm thinking charge by the serving and you can't go wrong. If you'd normally charge $3 per serving for a buttercream, standard wedding piping, cake then you should charge the same for these. A lot of measurements in these posts seem to be 3 inches...my mini cakes for the "tables" are 6-4-2's not 3 inches. A 3 inch cake, or two servings, would be $6 per.

Hope this helps!

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Deb_ Posted 18 Jan 2010 , 3:55pm
post #23 of 30
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetreasures

Quote:
Originally Posted by dkelly

I did about 100 for a relatives wedding a while back. I made them in the mini tiered cake mold pan. I covered them with a "poured icing" first and than decorated each one.

By the mid way point I was ready to be committed. It was my least favorite cake project ever.





In spite of being ready to be committed, how do the mini tiered cake pans work out?




Well, after this order I did take on another order for mini's and decided to just bake sheets and cut out the circles I needed for each mini.

That worked out much better because I could get a lot more mini's out of the sheet cakes then I could out of the mini pans. That saved me a lot of time in the baking.

I would have to say that it was easier to work with the individual circles instead of trying to cover the mini mold cakes.

They're still a big pain though. icon_rolleyes.gif

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artscallion Posted 18 Jan 2010 , 4:16pm
post #24 of 30
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkelly

...and decided to just bake sheets and cut out the circles I needed for each mini...




I have circle cutters that have thin, but stable, 6" wire posts soldered to each side. (you can have someone make this for you.) This allows me to bake two sheets, fill and stack the whole thing before I use the cutter. Much better than filling all those little circles.

But yes, no matter how many tricks you come up with, these things are still a pain, and a huge amount of work.

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Deb_ Posted 18 Jan 2010 , 9:51pm
post #25 of 30

That's a great idea artscallion, I wish I had that when I made them.

IF I'm ever delusional enough to commit to making these again I'll have to come up with one of these.

Thanks!

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mad-house-mum Posted 18 Jan 2010 , 10:13pm
post #26 of 30

Hi i have made these and made them from 2 sheet cakes that had been filled 1st then i used an empty tin can as the cutter , so each one was cut in no time at all, x

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ginger6361 Posted 18 Jan 2010 , 10:57pm
post #27 of 30

Do you fill the mini cakes?

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catlharper Posted 18 Jan 2010 , 11:26pm
post #28 of 30

The type I think she is talking about...to feed 8 people per table...is the type I fill each tier. If you are talking about the single serving type of mini cake, then, no I don't fill those.

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Katiebelle74 Posted 23 Jan 2010 , 3:41am
post #29 of 30

I HATE these little evil cakes. You have no idea what a PITA they are until you make them. They go flying away from you when you put enough pressure to smooth out the icing and the tiny tiny decor will drive you nuts! I would not do them for under 25.00 each.

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catlharper Posted 23 Jan 2010 , 4:32am
post #30 of 30

KatieBell...you are totally right..they are PITA's! I have to say that even tho' my base price would be $24 per, that is with almost NO decoration...fully decorated, like the ones in my album here...would be $40 each. They are just too much of an ordeal to let them go for less.

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