Hi there. I just got a request for a three tiered cake each tier containing different flavored cake. It's a square cake, fondant covered and simple in design. It's to serve 60 people. How much should I charge? Is there a "general" rule as to how much to charge so I know for future orders?
Thanks for any help.
Also, how hard is it to cover a square cake in fondant. I've only even done round cakes. is it harder to cover a square cake?
Can't help much with the pricing, but I don't find it that much harder to cover square cakes. You just have to make sure to get the corners. Check youtube and watch some demos, there are some good ones out there. Good luck! 
First off, you cannot make a 3 tier square cake to only serve 60. Even if you do a 4" top tier (which would be a pain, anything under 6" is a pain in the patootee), 7" middle tier, and 10" bottom tier, you have 80 servings (the 10" square alone serves 50). A 6" top tier would be easier to work with, and a 6-8-10 cake will serve 100.
Anyway, assuming the 3 different cake flavors are all basic flavors (i.e. not carrot or fruit cake which cost more to cake and therefore I charge more for!) and all filled and iced under the fondant w/ BC and had very minimal/basic decorations, the 4-7-10 cake would be $248 and the 6-8-10 would be $300. That's at *my* price of 25 cents per cubic inch of cake + 50% surcharge for fondant.
As for a "rule" for price, cakes are generally priced per serving (I break that by pricing per cubic inch, but it really comes out to the same thing). To determine your per serving price, you have to figure out what you have going into the cake (ingredients, electricity, water, gas, etc) PLUS what you want to be paid for your time (how much do you want to make an hour, including the time it takes you to purchase ingredients: nothing, less than minimum wage, or an amount that reflects the work/talent it takes to create edible art?).
First off, you cannot make a 3 tier square cake to only serve 60. Even if you do a 4" top tier (which would be a pain, anything under 6" is a pain in the patootee), 7" middle tier, and 10" bottom tier, you have 80 servings (the 10" square alone serves 50). A 6" top tier would be easier to work with, and a 6-8-10 cake will serve 100.
Anyway, assuming the 3 different cake flavors are all basic flavors (i.e. not carrot or fruit cake which cost more to cake and therefore I charge more for!) and all filled and iced under the fondant w/ BC and had very minimal/basic decorations, the 4-7-10 cake would be $248 and the 6-8-10 would be $300. That's at *my* price of 25 cents per cubic inch of cake + 50% surcharge for fondant.
As for a "rule" for price, cakes are generally priced per serving (I break that by pricing per cubic inch, but it really comes out to the same thing). To determine your per serving price, you have to figure out what you have going into the cake (ingredients, electricity, water, gas, etc) PLUS what you want to be paid for your time (how much do you want to make an hour, including the time it takes you to purchase ingredients: nothing, less than minimum wage, or an amount that reflects the work/talent it takes to create edible art?).
Would a 4-6-8 get her closer to 60 servings?
1. What size cakes are you doing? Yes servings is important, but your price should be based off how many servings or cake they are actually getting, not based off the number they want.
If someone wants only 20 servings but the smallest cake you will do to get close to that is 32 servings then they pay for teh amount of cake you have to bake. Of course you need to be upfront about the cake size and servings.
2. How much does it cost you to make the cakes? I am a firm believer in the fact that you have to know how much money you are spending when making a cake before you can even begin to figure out how much you need to make. You also need to consider how much time goes into the cake, as well as many other factors.
3. In my opinion a square is easier to cover than a round in fondant. I know people disagree with that, but that is how I feel. Of course the first cake I covered was square and that may have something to do with it.
Before you take on any more cake orders please take some time to get all your ducks in a row. You really need to sit down and figure out how much you are putting into the cake. You also want to look into the laws in your area, and see what you can legally do.
Check on the legalities of selling cake in California, too. From reading other threads I'm under the impression that you can't be a licensed home bakery in that state. I could be wrong, but you should check. If you're not legal, the selling price should be $0 so you don't run the risk of getting in trouble.
No you are right... in CA you can't bake from your home kitchen for the public and in most cases you can't even have a separate kitchen on your property and bake for the public... it has to be a commercial space, and from what I hear they are strict.
That being said, you have recieved some good advice as far as pricing your product goes. Find out what it costs you to make your cakes... figure out what you want to make for a profit... and see what the per serving price would have to be to get there.
Oh and I think that squares are easier too... unless they are small. Anything small and tall will be a pain though, no matter what the shape.
Mike, I'm considering erecting a statue in your honour. You rock.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%