Someone emailed me about making a first birthday cake. They wanted a cupcake (larger cake) and then a smash cake and 24 crown cookies all personalized with the girl's name. She doesn't like the look of fondant so she wanted it to be buttercream. I figured I would need to make 2 8" cakes for the base and then 2 10" cakes for the top (frosting part) and carve those out. I told her $90 for the cake (that's at $2 a serving) and $1.50 per cookie for the crowns (she wants them all in plastic bags with ribbons as well). I said the smash cake would be free... too much? I just don't want to waste my time if it's not worth it to me.

Ok, 8 views and no one can say yes or no?

sounds reasonable if not even on the low side, considering the sculpting involved.

relax and let us answer.

pricing sounds off for my area, but your location might have different serving prices (lower) than mine...i do have one question though...what is your reasoning for giving her the smash cake? would the bakery around the corner give her the smash cake? same argument, would walmart even give her the cake for free...

we can not consider ourselves better than big box stores in one breath and then do unsound business practices that the big box stores would think is insane.

i'm not trying to be harsh, i promise...jsut want you to get what is due to you for the amount of work you put into it!!!

Whenever this question is in the subject line......

I know without even reading the post that the answer is a resounding ......

NO!

And I was right.

No, that was not too much.

(And I hate the concept of "smash" cakes anyway, so I dont' even make them, let alone give them away for free. I even hate the word "smash" when used to describe ANY food! I don't eat "smashed" food. I eat prepared and cooked foods, not "smashed up and demolished" foods.)

actually, we might all be right.

no it's not too much because if you're having to ask, you haven't developed your business backbone enough to believe in yourself and your skills, therefore your work is not valued as highly.

yes , because we are trying to teach you to value yourself and your work.

Way too low... I mean the cookies ALONE should probably be that much (or more). I charge roughly $1 per inch of cookie (a 3" cookie would be $3, for example) and bags and ribbons and all that are extra. Nevermind the cakes

I agree with indydebi. I knew just from the subject that the answer would be no. And I totally agree with mixinvixen that you would be doing yourself a great favor to develop a strong sense of what your work is worth (which is a lot more than you think it is right now). Don't ever let a customer tell you what your cakes, cookies and whatever else you offer are worth. You're the only one who knows that. If they don't want to pay that much, they can go to Wal-Mart. You might not get as many orders at first, but once people see your work, you'll build a client base and things will be different.

No... it's not too much. It's too low. Two 8" cakes is 40 servings... I'd charge at least $150 (for basic non-torted cake with vanilla buttercream) and upwards of $200 if they want gourmet flavors for the cake alone. The cookies would be $1 per inch, so 3" cookies start at $3.00 each, you want them bagged you add $1 per cookie. So at a minimum, I would be charging $246.00.

I do give a baby cake for children under 3. It's a 3" round cake iced in BC with a rope of fondant for a border. It takes no time to make and it is my gift to the customer. People like it and it doesn't take much for me to make it at all. If they want it to coordinate with the main cake there is an extra charge.

I just went to look at your cake photos, mommabuda. I reiterate everything that I said in my other post. But I'd like to add that your cakes are spectacular, and you obviously have a lot more experience than I do. How come you're doubting yourself?

did she say how many she needed that cake to feed?? I make a cupcake like the wilton one with 2 6inchers and a half ball pan... as for price, even i (and Im cheap) think you under charged... your making an 8 inch cake and a 10 inch cake that would for me serve 64 people... it doesnt matter that you have to crave some away and it serves less... you still using the same amount or materials.... as for the cookies that may be fine, but i never do them...

lol, thanks everyone! I appreciate the compliments and yes, you are correct, I undercharge by OUR standards for sure! The cake needs to serve 20 but I just couldn't justify making a 6" cake and then 8" on the top and carving... it would look so tiny! I'm always for bigger and better so I try to talk the customer into it. To me, it would be worth doing it for that price and I guess that's why I asked here. I haven't heard back from her yet so I guess we'll see. She is a friend of a friend who I made a cake for and only charged $30 (it was a castle cake but she bought the parts for it...) anyways, I was being too nice on that one since it was my first cake in almost 6 months (after having my baby). I'm just getting back into the swing of things now. Thank you for the advice and I will definitely stick to the price (and up it next time around!)