Mother of groom called thinking of ordering a 3 tier styrofoam cake for display and serving sheet cakes from the kitchen. I have never done a cake dummy...although i have been meaning to for my portfolio. So I have no idea what I would even charge for something like that...any ideas?? Also, I'm stil not really sure what I should be charging for sheet cakes. My normal buttercream prices are $3.00 p/serving and $3.50 for fondant, so if you have any advise/opinions I would really appreciate them!
Also, from what I have read about using cake dummies instead of real cake-there isnt a real significant price difference since most of the time spent on a cake lies in the icing/decoratiing. So I told her that she might not find it to be much of a difference, but I would also ask around and see what prices i come up with that are fair.
Thanks for any imput!
It sounds like she thinks she is going to get a cheaper deal on the dummy cake and sheet cakes. Sorry woman, that is the same amount of work, if not more.
I'd give her the price of a three tiered cake as well the price for a dummy cake and sheet cakes, which the dummy cake wouldn't be that much less than the regular cake, because while the inside is fake, the rest of it is still real icing/fondant and still takes times to put it on. Then you have the added servings for the kitchen cakes (I wouldn't do offer sheet cakes, I'd do a two layer kitchen cake, so that when served they aren't getting a 2x2x2 slice but instead a 1x2x4 slice of cake.
Make her see that kitchen cakes are only an added benefit if you need more servings that your cake will yeild, not a cheaper alturnative.
send her to my blog, where I "do the math" for her:
http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/fake%20cake
She's basically asking you to bake the same amount of cake servings as the tiered cake would be (not a savings in cost), then decorate the tiered dummies the way the real cake would be decorated (not a savings on cost, plus the cost of the styrofoam), PLUS ice the sheets (extra work and cost of ingredients).
This is someone who has read too many wedding magazines and believes the stupid articles written by someone who has never made a cake in their lives.
What if you said sure, but....
1) I get to choose the design, colors, sizes, etc
2) I get the cake back afterwards
3) There is a fee for the rental and a security deposit incase it needs to be repaired when returned
This way you could make the dummy you wanted...with an investor to cover some of its cost. There are companies that make good money doing retal dummies.
Just a thought...
What if you said sure, but....
1) I get to choose the design, colors, sizes, etc
2) I get the cake back afterwards
3) There is a fee for the rental and a security deposit incase it needs to be repaired when returned
This way you could make the dummy you wanted...with an investor to cover some of its cost. There are companies that make good money doing retal dummies.
Just a thought...
I bet that the bride would want to dictate what the cake would look like, though. Unless you got another client who was willing to use the exact same cake design, and who also wanted it in dummy form, it would just end up being something that you have to store and would likely never use again. You could always use it for a bridal show, but I don't think it would be worth the trouble negotiating with her about it.
What if you said sure, but....
1) I get to choose the design, colors, sizes, etc
2) I get the cake back afterwards
3) There is a fee for the rental and a security deposit incase it needs to be repaired when returned
This way you could make the dummy you wanted...with an investor to cover some of its cost. There are companies that make good money doing retal dummies.
Just a thought...
I bet that the bride would want to dictate what the cake would look like, though. Unless you got another client who was willing to use the exact same cake design, and who also wanted it in dummy form, it would just end up being something that you have to store and would likely never use again. You could always use it for a bridal show, but I don't think it would be worth the trouble negotiating with her about it.
I completely agree with you! I was just suggesting it because OP had mentioned that she had wanted to make a dummy cake for her portfolio. If the bride really wants to take this route, maybe she would be game.
I'm making a dummy for a Luau party I'm throwing this summer just so that I can do it up ahead of time as a centerpiece without having one more thing to do the week of the party. I will likely throw it out afterwards instead of trying to store it...so I certainly understand your point!
Just a question but what will they do when they want to cut the cake and feed it to each other? You can't do that with a dummy!
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