I know you probably all get tired of these questions, but I could use some advice? I was asked to make a cake for a rehearsal dinner, 30-35 people. This is for the son of a friend. I was told chocolate, but do whatever I want.....no specifics at all.
So, this is what I made. It's a two tier (9 and 6 inch) chocolate fudge cake, filled with strawberry mousse, iced with Toba Garrett's buttercream (which is amazing!). I wrote "congratulations" with the fondant hearts and made the name plaque, and topped with chocolate covered strawberries.

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&meta=allby&uname=JodieF&cat=0&pos=1

Now I'm lost as to what to charge. He didn't ask me to do all the extras! So, I'm thinking $75. Do you think that's too much?
Thanks!

Jodie

Moderator edited to put correct link to cake.

...looks like a hundred dollar cake to me....nice work!!!

It seems kind of high to me, but I guess it depends on the relationship with the friend, the prices of cakes where you are etc..... Of course this is coming from someone who had Pizza for the rehersal dinner and cheesecake for dessert (probably cost us $100 for the whole deal)..LOL

Nope..it's a catered dinner at a nice restaurant.

then probably $75 is not out of line at all....

I charge 45.00 for that size without filling or fondant decorations. I am thinking 60.00 sounds about right.

Beautiful cake and looks very tasty too!

I'd have charged around $80 - so you were pretty much on the money.

I agree with traci....$60 or so would be reasonable....but tell him that you would normally charge $XX.xx, but since it was his first cake from you......that way, you don't get stuck doing it for $60 for more people.

well since you all didn't talk about pricing beforehand, i would say $75 is a bit high.

Thanks for the responses. This is by far the hardest thing about making cakes to me. Now that folks are ordering cakes (other than the cheesecakes I've been selling for 23 years), I have NO idea what to charge for them. I don't want to get a reputation for being "cheap" and there's no point if I don't make a little money.

yeah that is my problem.......sometimes I LOSE money on cakes....but since they are for family....and I dont really want to branch out.......oh well!

I've lost more money on cakes than I'd made.... Not a great business plan!

What was his budget? Did you talk to him about how much he wanted to spend? It doesn't matter what we think if you didn't talk to him about it before hand $75 will be a big shocker to him if he only wanted to spend $30.

I don't mean to sound harsh. And your cake is totally worth $75 at least! But just because you wanted to go all fancy doesn't mean he asked you to.


I only say this because I learned it the hard way. I did something similiar.

Always ask what their budget is so there aren't any nasty surprises, hurt feelings or lost friends. : )

Nice cake btw, : )

I always discuss price before accepting a cake order. This is when you can ask "Do you have an idea about how much you want to spend?". I charge more than the local bakeries, but not by an enourmous amount. Check around town to see what the market will bear.

You're absolutely right. I put myself in this position by not talking price up front. I'm learning as I'm going....mostly what NOT to do! I need to do some serious thinking about making up a price list.

Greg bought two cakes from me for a Christmas party and make me take $30 more than I told him I wanted because he said I didn't charge enough.
I've told him $75 for this cake. Even without the decorations it cost over $35 to make. I think it's reasonable.

Great cake!

Since a budget was not discussed beforehand, perhaps you should charge around $60 THOUGH, your cake is worth $75.

Also, did you use Toba's Swiss Merinque Buttercream recipe?

Well, he was happy to pay $75 and asked me about making a wedding cake next. So, all's well......
Thanks again for all your advise and suggestions.

This is the recipe I used:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/109248

It's unbelievably wonderful....the perfect chocolate icing!

The cake is wonderful.

I printed the recipes but is this icing easy to make decorations with also or just to cover the cake?

Nikki

I made the full recipe since it was a two tier cake. I was VERY generous when I frosted it, with a crumb coat and another layer. I used it for borders and to anchor the strawberries and fondant accents. There's about 2 cups left.
It was easy to make!

Sounds yummy!

He sounds like a great customer too! : )

Glad it worked out.

Yep....I wish everyone had customers just like him! The horror stories I read on here scare me!

Hi everyone. I could not see the cake to properly give my opinion but I am very surprised by everyones views that $75 might be too expensive for a cake thats ingrediants cost half of that! maybe its different here in australia. but unless you want to by a cheap and nasty cake from a supermarket you aren't going to get a personaly decaorated cake anywhere for under $100 AUS not even the cheesecake shop would give you a two tier for under $150! a basic price in Aus for a 10" cake in fondant with basic decoration is between $100 to $250 depending on who you speak to and where you are located. I am actually surprised as I just assumend the US would be more expensive? you learn something new everyday!

wow...that's strange....a moderator changed the link to the photo and that link is bad.
Well, here's the cake:
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=131903

I just donated a 10" round choc cake with choc-raspberry filling, iced in chocolate fudge, topped with 12 chocolate covered strawberries, then drizzled in white chocolate .... the fundraiser listed the value at my actual selling price of $125.

The 12 berries alone would be $30.

So I think your price was very generous.