What Would You Charge For This Wedding Cake??
Decorating By BakerzJoy Updated 28 Jan 2014 , 7:35pm by Karlay Cakes
Hey all!! Just got a wedding cake order and needed some help on pricing verification. I start at around $4 pp and they wanted this cake in red velvet, Strawberry and Key Lime.
I don't do wedding cakes a whole lot. I think this would be like my 4th. I have almost 500 cakes under my belt and they are all mostly birthday, baby shower etc...
Also, what kind of decorations does this look like on the sides. Is it squiggly done with frosting....and how do you do that?? I'm more of a fondant girl!! LOL
Thanks in advance!!
I think by the time you do all the work for that cake it will end up being closer to $6-7/serving. It's a pricing issue and if you've been on this forum you know that there are many factors to pricing, but definitely charge more than $4/seriving. Plus, do you make a lot of square cakes…they take longer because of the corners.
Pretty cake! The decorations look like corneilli lace. The flowers look like they are either silk or real, or the cake artist is amazing! They are orchids and roses. Not a good idea to put real or fake flowers on a cake unless they don't touch the surface, they can be toxic.
Just looked at your cakes in your profile, you should be able to make this no problem your cakes are great! As I said earlier, no less than $6-$7 per serving!
Good luck!
AWow that's to bad you lost your cake order. I too have made tons of cakes for family and friends. The hardest part is getting people to pay the quoted price. As a home baker, it seems that means cheap to the public. Here is my 1st wedding cake. I charge to little, but I want to start out some where and I need more experience. Bride didn't want anything complex. Cream cheese frosting, lemon and raspberry curd filling and sugar encrusted. $180. This cake went for less than $2.00 per slice. My next cake I will increase the price to $3.00 per slice and work on getting more clients. Any suggestion on the best price for new home bakers in Arizona that I should be aiming for to be more competitive and not have the same thing happen to me as did you. [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3161926/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
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Wow that's to bad you lost your cake order. I too have made tons of cakes for family and friends. The hardest part is getting people to pay the quoted price. As a home baker, it seems that means cheap to the public. Here is my 1st wedding cake. I charge to little, but I want to start out some where and I need more experience. Bride didn't want anything complex. Cream cheese frosting, lemon and raspberry curd filling and sugar encrusted. $180. This cake went for less than $2.00 per slice. My next cake I will increase the price to $3.00 per slice and work on getting more clients. Any suggestion on the best price for new home bakers in Arizona that I should be aiming for to be more competitive and not have the same thing happen to me as did you.
I the snowy texture on that cake is really interesting, what was it done with? If I had to guess, I would say a sea sponge, but they aren't food safe, are they?
AYou don't want to worry about losing clients who want a cheap cake. They are telling you right up front that they don't appreciate your time or skill and will likely find some reason to try and pay you less in the end.
A
Original message sent by kikiandkyle
You don't want to worry about losing clients who want a cheap cake. They are telling you right up front that they don't appreciate your time or skill
TRUE!
AUnless of course you produce cheap.or inadequate cake.
ACosts aside, I don't believe curds are able to be sold from home bakers. Something to consider.
APersonally, I'd like to get rid of this "new baker, lower pricing" mentality. There aren't "new doctor" pricing levels. A new car salesman doesn't take a lower commission. A new realtor, same thing. I swear to God if they all do, then whatever.
Ok here's the deal. How about people take a little more interest in honing their skills and by the time they've gotten just as good as that person down the street, and they've learned enough about dealing with the public, they're confident to command a decent price right out of the gate.
I'm at ten to twelve dollars a serving for my work. I don't refer to it that way, it's just what my smaller cakes work out to when the minimum order or close to it is ordered. Cakes over 50 servings are usually coming out to $5 to $6 a serving. It just depends.
But not once did I consider pricing low because I was new. I stalked this forum like a mutha, and asked question after question after question about pricing, dealing with clients, how to host appointments, how to save money on supplies, etc. etc. etc. I paid attention to the "disaster" posts and took notes on how to handle and avoid situations like that. I learned that not everyone can afford a custom cake, and that in no way meant I should take a hit on my hard work.
And I practiced. And practiced. Dummies, real cakes,you name it. I reached an aacceptable level of quality before I even thought about offering a cake for sale. And on and on and on.
So the day I went live, I didn't project an attitude of being new, or desperate for sales. I already knew the business in theory, it was just now time to put what I knew to the test. I was never cheap, I never made deals, I never gave away anything unless I knew it. would bring me a return on that investment.
Two things. If your cakes lean and are lumpy or uneven, you need to go back and relearn the very basics of cake construction. Like Wilton Class 1 or something. Pretty stuff doesn't hide major mistakes. And, if you struggle with pricing and can't let cheapos slide off your back, you're not ready for the business side of it either.
Slow down people, the more you know before "going live", the better off you'll be. You'll make more money, your work will be cleaner. You'll have more fun. Fun! If this isn't fun, then why do it? Go work at Starbucks or something.
ABakersjoy, get in the habit of treating all cakes the same. If someone asked.for that same cake for a birthday....would you have felt compelled to write your post? Seriously...cake is cake. Right? So they're usually a bit bigger, and there's probably a tasting involved. Eh, big deal. Right?
A*stand....slowly starts to clap....*
Amen
A:mic drop:
Seriously this is so true. If your cake isn't worth what cakes go for in your area don't sell them yet. If you want to make cheap low quality cakes get a job in the Walmart bakery.
AOk I fully understand. I was referring to that fact that some clients want something in their budget they can afford. They don't understand what may be involved in the cake they ask for. I knew when I quoted this bride the under cut myself. This was my fault. Bride read an old handout of mine with budget bride prices on it. This price list was for a simple 2 tier cake iced with buttercream frosting and filling, and ribbon of their choice for $100. Because of this I honored the price and quickly edited my pamphlet which better explained my pricing so there is no confusing. The cake picture is a vanilla cake; lemon curd and raspberry curd is allowed in my state as a home baker. The bride didn't like fondant but liked the idea of encrusting cake. With fondant it is easy to do using piping gel. So for this bride. I used my cream cheese frosting that crust just like butter cream, before frosting crusted I smooth Wilton's sparkling sugar on sides. I fully explained to bride how long a cream cheese cake could stay out without refrigeration to ensure frosting didn't start melting. The snow on the table is artificial and is not on the cake. The babies breaths came from florist and were tucked under cake board tiers to avoid touching cake as well as tule was place around edges to help with that. Thanks for the honesty everyone, as I stated before I knew I charged way less than I should have. I makes great tasting cakes! Not cheap by any means. My technique of course could be better. If you look closely at cake you can see my flaws. Practice makes perfect. I needs to make a wedding cake to work on my skills. I will continue to use dummy cakes as well.
I'm applauding for both the advice... and the response. It is very rare that people come back with grace and a willingness to be humble.
So much good advice from AZCouture... I did the same thing. I wasn't about to dive into the deep end without knowing how to at least tread water.
Quote:
Personally, I'd like to get rid of this "new baker, lower pricing" mentality. There aren't "new doctor" pricing levels. A new car salesman doesn't take a lower commission. A new realtor, same thing. I swear to God if they all do, then whatever.
Ok here's the deal. How about people take a little more interest in honing their skills and by the time they've gotten just as good as that person down the street, and they've learned enough about dealing with the public, they're confident to command a decent price right out of the gate.
I'm at ten to twelve dollars a serving for my work. I don't refer to it that way, it's just what my smaller cakes work out to when the minimum order or close to it is ordered. Cakes over 50 servings are usually coming out to $5 to $6 a serving. It just depends.
But not once did I consider pricing low because I was new. I stalked this forum like a mutha, and asked question after question after question about pricing, dealing with clients, how to host appointments, how to save money on supplies, etc. etc. etc. I paid attention to the "disaster" posts and took notes on how to handle and avoid situations like that. I learned that not everyone can afford a custom cake, and that in no way meant I should take a hit on my hard work.
And I practiced. And practiced. Dummies, real cakes,you name it. I reached an aacceptable level of quality before I even thought about offering a cake for sale. And on and on and on.
So the day I went live, I didn't project an attitude of being new, or desperate for sales. I already knew the business in theory, it was just now time to put what I knew to the test. I was never cheap, I never made deals, I never gave away anything unless I knew it. would bring me a return on that investment.
Two things. If your cakes lean and are lumpy or uneven, you need to go back and relearn the very basics of cake construction. Like Wilton Class 1 or something. Pretty stuff doesn't hide major mistakes. And, if you struggle with pricing and can't let cheapos slide off your back, you're not ready for the business side of it either.
Slow down people, the more you know before "going live", the better off you'll be. You'll make more money, your work will be cleaner. You'll have more fun. Fun! If this isn't fun, then why do it? Go work at Starbucks or something.
brilliant post 
best practice -- bam!
ASo, I'm confused. Everything I've read says not to undercut my competitors. Don't sell low, don't sell too high. So how the heck is a new home baker suppose to to price a cake to satisfy the bakers out there who have been doing this for years. $3.00 a serving is average for my area. It was a buttercream frosted cake with sugar. How other new bakers feel about being berated by the more mature bakers. I didn't know asking for advice was thus complex. I'll just keep my baking to myself and use other resources for future cake orders. I've seen worse cakes than mine in here and some amazing cakes as well. I guess this site is not for me. Disappointed. But not beaten!
A
Original message sent by Annabakescakes
That just came out of left field.
Maybe she posted in the wrong place?
Quote:
Personally, I'd like to get rid of this "new baker, lower pricing" mentality. There aren't "new doctor" pricing levels. A new car salesman doesn't take a lower commission. A new realtor, same thing. I swear to God if they all do, then whatever.
Ok here's the deal. How about people take a little more interest in honing their skills and by the time they've gotten just as good as that person down the street, and they've learned enough about dealing with the public, they're confident to command a decent price right out of the gate.
I'm at ten to twelve dollars a serving for my work. I don't refer to it that way, it's just what my smaller cakes work out to when the minimum order or close to it is ordered. Cakes over 50 servings are usually coming out to $5 to $6 a serving. It just depends.
But not once did I consider pricing low because I was new. I stalked this forum like a mutha, and asked question after question after question about pricing, dealing with clients, how to host appointments, how to save money on supplies, etc. etc. etc. I paid attention to the "disaster" posts and took notes on how to handle and avoid situations like that. I learned that not everyone can afford a custom cake, and that in no way meant I should take a hit on my hard work.
And I practiced. And practiced. Dummies, real cakes,you name it. I reached an aacceptable level of quality before I even thought about offering a cake for sale. And on and on and on.
So the day I went live, I didn't project an attitude of being new, or desperate for sales. I already knew the business in theory, it was just now time to put what I knew to the test. I was never cheap, I never made deals, I never gave away anything unless I knew it. would bring me a return on that investment.
Two things. If your cakes lean and are lumpy or uneven, you need to go back and relearn the very basics of cake construction. Like Wilton Class 1 or something. Pretty stuff doesn't hide major mistakes. And, if you struggle with pricing and can't let cheapos slide off your back, you're not ready for the business side of it either.
Slow down people, the more you know before "going live", the better off you'll be. You'll make more money, your work will be cleaner. You'll have more fun. Fun! If this isn't fun, then why do it? Go work at Starbucks or something.
THAT!!!!!!!
ASo sorry I posted in wrong place. Disregard my rant.
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