Please Help

Decorating By Brookegreaves Updated 18 Oct 2013 , 5:46pm by liz at sugar

Brookegreaves Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Brookegreaves Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 10:47am
post #1 of 13

AI need to quote a cake like this. I have a meeting tomorrow and have no idea where to start. I had a lady the other day want cupcakes. Sponge with buttercream 140 of them and I was charging $3 a cake and that was way too much for them. So to price something like this I have no idea. Say they were choc mud ganache and fondant covered ht would you charge. [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3122590/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

12 replies
BatterUpCake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
BatterUpCake Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 10:57am
post #2 of 13

I do not do mini cakes and a lot of bakers wont because of how much work is involved. Those that do them charge around $12 per mini cake....

gscout73 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
gscout73 Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 11:13am
post #3 of 13

Mini cakes are a lot of work. I've read that a lot of first timers usually under estimate their prices on these orders and end up regretting it. What ever you do, don't short yourself as mini-cakes can take more work than cupcakes (depending on the decoration) because you are not just doing the top but all sides, too.

Brookegreaves Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Brookegreaves Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 11:25am
post #4 of 13

AI was thinking around the $10 mark because each cake had piping, flower and ribbon but wasn't too sure.

Godot Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Godot Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 11:58am
post #5 of 13

AAt least 20$ per minicake.

DeliciousDesserts Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
DeliciousDesserts Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 12:08pm
post #6 of 13

In order to set your pricing, you really do have to do your homework.  Sit down & write a list of every single thing your hands touched while making that last cake.  Did you use a hand towel?  Do you have to wash that towel?  Aprons, hand soap, dishwasher, dish soap, oven, water, trash can....EVERY single thing no matter how small it may seem.  Of course, you will also add the cost of ingredients.  If you are a legal business, you will need to add the cost of licensing and insurance.  This should, quite frankly, be a very very long list.  

 

You should also do some research into your competition.  Found someone with comparable skills as yours and check to see how much they charge.  Don't copy this!!  It's possible they are not charging correctly.  It will, however, give you valuable information in comparing.

 

Some people will encourage you that home bakers or Cottage Food Law bakers shouldn't charge the same as a brick & mortar bakery.  Really?  My question is do you have the same costs?  Sure, you don't have the same lease payments.  You also don't get the discounts of purchasing power.  I'm not saying they equal out.  The only way to know is to have an accurate accounting of your true cost.

 

Remember that the goal is to make a profit.  Covering costs does not equate to a successful business.  Sure you want to make people happy, you want them to enjoy your cake.  As a business, you should also make a profit.  We aren't talking price gouging, but you really do deserve to make a profit.  Stop feeling guilty about it!

 

You don't have to have a masters in business, but I do recommend you at least have a business plan.  At the very least, educate yourself about the true costs of producing your cake.

CakeChemistry Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
CakeChemistry Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 1:15pm
post #7 of 13

A

Original message sent by DeliciousDesserts

[COLOR=404040]In order to set your pricing, you really do have to do your homework.  Sit down & write a list of every single thing your hands touched while making that last cake.  Did you use a hand towel?  Do you have to wash that towel?  Aprons, hand soap, dishwasher, dish soap, oven, water, trash can....EVERY single thing no matter how small it may seem.  Of course, you will also add the cost of ingredients.  If you are a legal business, you will need to add the cost of licensing and insurance.  This should, quite frankly, be a very very long list.  [/COLOR]

[COLOR=404040]You should also do some research into your competition.  Found someone with comparable skills as yours and check to see how much they charge.  Don't copy this!!  It's possible they are not charging correctly.  It will, however, give you valuable information in comparing.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=404040]Some people will encourage you that home bakers or Cottage Food Law bakers shouldn't charge the same as a brick & mortar bakery.  Really?  My question is do you have the same costs?  Sure, you don't have the same lease payments.  You also don't get the discounts of purchasing power.  I'm not saying they equal out.  The only way to know is to have an accurate accounting of your true cost.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=404040]Remember that the goal is to make a profit.  Covering costs does not equate to a successful business.  Sure you want to make people happy, you want them to enjoy your cake.  As a business, you should also make a profit.  We aren't talking price gouging, but you really do deserve to make a profit.  Stop feeling guilty about it![/COLOR]

[COLOR=404040]You don't have to have a masters in business, but I do recommend you at least have a business plan.  At the very least, educate yourself about the true costs of producing your cake.[/COLOR]

Obviously this is all really important, however I sympathise with you as I tOo find this is really difficult to price. I have priced one of these in the past and the customer recoiled in horror. I trial ran using a couple of mini pans I had. In reality to complete the full order I would have needed to buy many more mini pans or a divider pan which is pricey. Alternatively I could have cut then from sheet, but they have to be absolutely identical as this is the beauty of them. I would also be reticent to torte a sheet then cut as it may go bulgy and you end up messing around with it which is loads of time. Then, I would need to crumb coat and fondant (I personally find it trickier to fondant smaller stuff than bigger stuff), ribbon, pipe, etc. they also all need to be on mini boards otherwise you have to cover the whole thing and have hygiene issues in handling and also they need a sturdy base. Throw into the mix that these are all different colours and there is another 6/8 inch on tOp and you got yourself a big job on your hands. I personally think a lot of effort for not much of a wow factor. Agree with Godot, you need at least £20 per cake plus your cost for the top tier. I'd be inclined to add a little overhead faff time as well! Also think about transporting them! They can't touch each other and won't go in cupcake boxes and you will probably have to set it up to stop fingers being stuck in them!

soldiernurse Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
soldiernurse Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 2:01pm
post #8 of 13

As the Pros have all said, mini cakes are extremely time-consuming and a LOT MORE detailed work than regular sized cakes...initially, to a lay person, they may seem less difficult, but they are not. Your pricing is much too low...I'm a newbie and have done a number cakes so far [no where close to the Pros though!],

fondant/buttercream/ganache, but still know enough to know that. They're cute but labor intensive. I agree with Godot's pricing.

MimiFix Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
MimiFix Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 3:16pm
post #9 of 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeliciousDesserts 
 

In order to set your pricing, you really do have to do your homework.  Sit down & write a list of every single thing your hands touched while making that last cake.  Did you use a hand towel?  Do you have to wash that towel?  Aprons, hand soap, dishwasher, dish soap, oven, water, trash can....EVERY single thing no matter how small it may seem.  Of course, you will also add the cost of ingredients.  If you are a legal business, you will need to add the cost of licensing and insurance.  This should, quite frankly, be a very very long list.  

 

You should also do some research into your competition.  Found someone with comparable skills as yours and check to see how much they charge.  Don't copy this!!  It's possible they are not charging correctly.  It will, however, give you valuable information in comparing.

 

Some people will encourage you that home bakers or Cottage Food Law bakers shouldn't charge the same as a brick & mortar bakery.  Really?  My question is do you have the same costs?  Sure, you don't have the same lease payments.  You also don't get the discounts of purchasing power.  I'm not saying they equal out.  The only way to know is to have an accurate accounting of your true cost.

 

Remember that the goal is to make a profit.  Covering costs does not equate to a successful business.  Sure you want to make people happy, you want them to enjoy your cake.  As a business, you should also make a profit.  We aren't talking price gouging, but you really do deserve to make a profit.  Stop feeling guilty about it!

 

You don't have to have a masters in business, but I do recommend you at least have a business plan.  At the very least, educate yourself about the true costs of producing your cake.

 

Love this! I'm so glad you posted this valuable information again. It can never be repeated too many times. It can never be repeated too many times. It can never be repeated too many times. It can never...

Stitches Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Stitches Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 3:55pm
post #10 of 13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brookegreaves 

I need to quote a cake like this. I have a meeting tomorrow and have no idea where to start. I had a lady the other day want cupcakes. Sponge with buttercream 140 of them and I was charging $3 a cake and that was way too much for them. So to price something like this I have no idea. Say they were choc mud ganache and fondant covered ht would you charge.

If you made those as petite fours (which they look very similar to) with poured frosting you could greatly reduce your efforts, time and pricing. It's not a complex fondant covered mini cake like most of us think of for individual wedding cakes. But when I say reduce your pricing I don't mean less than $3.00 per cake at all. I could do those for $5.00 a piece ...........not including a separate price for the top cake which is additional. That brings this to around $800.00 for me.

liz at sugar Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
liz at sugar Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 4:13pm
post #11 of 13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stitches 
 

If you made those as petite fours (which they look very similar to) with poured frosting you could greatly reduce your efforts, time and pricing. It's not a complex fondant covered mini cake like most of us think of for individual wedding cakes. But when I say reduce your pricing I don't mean less than $3.00 per cake at all. I could do those for $5.00 a piece ...........not including a separate price for the top cake which is additional. That brings this to around $800.00 for me.

Yes.  Petit fours all the way.  Make a combo white choc ganache/poured fondant to coat with if you want the coating thicker.

 

Liz

shanter Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
shanter Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 5:25pm
post #12 of 13

http://cakecentral.com/t/754420/price-the-cake-professional

 

They look like minicakes to me. If you make petit fours, make sure you have enough servings.

liz at sugar Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
liz at sugar Posted 18 Oct 2013 , 5:46pm
post #13 of 13

Yes, the cakes in the photo are probably mini cakes, but to save time I was suggesting to make them as a decent sized petit four.  They will be expensive either way, but more labor intensive if she has to cover each with fondant.

 

Liz

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%