I work at a bakery. I was told for an 8 hour shift i should be doing at least 32 to 64 cakes. That is basic (border, sprinkles, roses,),and Kit cakes (toys designed). This is to include orders from customers. All cakes ranging from 1/8th sheet to full sheets. I think this is impossible for one person..

does anyone know what is a realistic amount.

do you have to frost and decorate? That's about 4 cakes every hour for 32 cakes in 8 hrs...I could do that no prob..........but 64???? That's 2 cakes every 15 minutes, not to mention mixing icing colors, filling bags, and dealing with the public!!

i'm going to guess that it's a large chain retailer that you are working for. I worked at wal-mart for awhile and they wanted a 1/4 sheet cake every 15 mins. So then we'd have a full hour for a full sheet cake. It sounds rediculous to be able to do that, but yeah it's possible. Expecially once you get everything set up and can do them assembly line style. I think my highest number was about 45-50 half and full sheet cakes in one day (gotta love graduation time!)

If you love cake decorating ....... leave that job before you burn out!!!
I see that several decorators don't have a problem with that amount,
but I personally would never enjoy working like that.

How long have you been there? Have they not yet trained you how to keep up with their production schedules or let you watch another decorator that is doing it?

If you are the only decorator and haven't been instructed by the management or previous decorator in their practices, I think it's horrible to not provide you with the proper visual tool to accomplish this.

Hopefully, you aren't expected to take the orders and sell donuts too!

I'm sure they know what realistic is from previous experience, but the cake sizes are what really determines what is a reasonable amount.
If you view each tray or full-sheet pan as one cake and treat it as such, is isn't unreasonable to complete one tray every 15 minutes (or 4 per hour).
So, in an 8-hour day, 32 full sheets, 64 half sheets, or 128 quarter sheets would not be an impossible task. The key is to not handle them all individually (once iced), but to keep them on the tray which is upon your turntable to decorate as one unit (ex. 4 quarter sheets, 2 half sheets, or 1 full sheet at a time).

This is the type of information that should be provided by your employer. I hope it helps. Speed comes with experience. Once you're comfortable and confident with what you can accomplish, it becomes more fun to challenge yourself to complete just a little bit more than before! Have fun!

I work at a grocery store bakery and I think that is unrealistic if you have to ice them and decorate them. If you only have to decorate it is probably doable but I would think they would all be pretty boring and look the same. The deco cakes take longer to do with airbrushing and special colors so I can't see doing them that fast. I did 12 my last 8 hour shift and i was rushed, that is icing and decorating and doing a couple deco cakes in there. there all after all customers to tend to as well.

10-12 an hour (icing, decorating...basic designs....no airbrushing...) is definitely doable. 6-8 an hour for orders...gotta read the order and most times somebody took the order who had no clue or the customer wrote out their own order and left out pertinent information making it necessary to attempt to contact the customer. 16-20 dessert cakes per hour depending on which one was being done. oh, and maybe 6 of those horrid little bistro monsters...I hated those!

4 turntables was key with the decorated ones. Ice half in 1/4 in choc, 3/4 in white of the buttercream and the same for the whipped (that's what the ratio of the sales were in the store I worked. Do all of one type/size/shape at the same time...work all the buttercream then the whipped (or vice versa).

I used to make a personal challenge out of it...I had to prove something to myself, no one else. Did as many as I could before break or lunch.

Still had to wait on customers too. I never got burnt out on decorating...I got burnt out on freakin' management that had no clue just how difficult their demands were. Well, that was until they HAD to do it themselves...haha...told me I wouldn't have help through graduation except for one girl they'd hired the week before who had never iced a cake, much less decorate one (even had her train (answering the phone) at another store for her first week)....the first weekend of graduation held over 100 orders! That's when I gave my notice as I walked out the door for the last time..."I won't be back." They thought I was kidding...LOL. That weekend, they had 5 members of management, 2 cashiers and 2 OUT-OF-STATE decorators help. hmmmmph! and they expected me to do it by myself!

oh yeah...and when decorating them...load up the turntables with the iced cakes. either make 4 sprinkles, then 4 squiggles, 4 kits, 4 roses, 4 gumpaste or edible image....or make 4 with red borders (one with roses, one with sprinkles, one with squiggles, one with a kit), 4 yellow, 4 green, 4 pink.... or 6 if you have 6 turntables.

I don't think I could've done it with just one turntable though.

ETA: There were two of us decorators. Were. The other transferred to another club. She was super fast. She was also shorter than the counter and the customers couldn't see her to ask her for help