ASorry hon but this is really difficult to answer without knowing depth, width and cake size. Google 'cake portions per inch' or something similar and you will find loads of cake making guides. Cost is driven by basic cost plus time plus overheads. [/U]
AA 12" round 2-layer cake (4" high) serves 40. http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-party-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm
AAre you buying it or selling it?
Your selling price depends on your costs, time spent and market rates in your area. There's no magic number that applies to every cake.
Perhaps you should call around to local bakeries and find out how much they charge.
The cake in the picture could serve 15 people or it could serve 50 people. It could be a 6" round or it could be a 12". You're better off saying "I would like this cake to serve 40 people. What size cake pan do I need?"
Asking CC members what they would charge is not really helpful since we all live in different areas. Our costs are not going to be the same and in some cases could be very far apart. What my ingredients cost here in Ohio are very different than what some one in California or Hawaii or the UK would pay for ingredients. What one decorator charges for labor is going to be very different than what another more or less experienced decorator will charge.
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Perhaps you should call around to local bakeries and find out how much they charge.
The cake in the picture could serve 15 people or it could serve 50 people. It could be a 6" round or it could be a 12". You're better off saying "I would like this cake to serve 40 people. What size cake pan do I need?"
Asking CC members what they would charge is not really helpful since we all live in different areas. Our costs are not going to be the same and in some cases could be very far apart. What my ingredients cost here in Ohio are very different than what some one in California or Hawaii or the UK would pay for ingredients. What one decorator charges for labor is going to be very different than what another more or less experienced decorator will charge.
It's not helpful because so many people don't have a clue what they should be charging for their cakes and because people tend to believe what sounds comfortable to them. And if you can't wrap your brain around spending $250 for a 32 serving birthday cake, the person who says $100 sounds like the sane person.
How much can the price of sugar really vary that much between Ohio and and California to be such a big factor in cake pricing. So what if the price is off by $10, or even $20, because the of the price of flour and eggs?
The other thing usually brought up is cost of living. Since the main cost of making cake is time and labor, then the cost of living in various areas is a factor. However, the cost of living doesn't vary so much that a $300 cake in one place should go for $120 or less elsewhere*, but I see it all the time. In other words, the cost of living factor doesn't mean the price of a cake on Rodeo Drive drops by two thirds as soon as it gets out to poorer neighborhoods or drives out to a small town in Ohio. You may not be able to find a customer for it in those places, but that is evidence those people can't afford it, not of over pricing..
Then there's profit:
1) if your business model is a bakery: You should be making a profit on your product in addition to what you pay [yourself] as an hourly wage. Your profit is the amount over total wages you'd have to pay someone to do the work.
2) If you're bushiness model is a plumber and you are a cake making service, then you should consider working well above minimum wage, shouldn't you? You're a business owner with all the extra work, risks and headaches that go a long with it. What do plumbers make per hour? Anyone know? $50?
*This is not a third world country
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