Like cake prices, cupcake prices also vary depending on where you live. I charge $1.75 each for standard unfilled cupcakes with a 1M swirl of buttercream and sprinkles. I charge $2.00 each for standard filled cupcakes with a 1M swirl of buttercream and sprinkles. Other more intricate decorations or fondant are extra.
So far in my kitchen adventures, I've only made regular cakes. My cousin recently asked me how much for some custom cupcakes for her housewarming party. She wanted marble cakes with hand-painted houses on the frosting. I told her $2.50 each, which I thought was pretty reasonable given the work involved (I'm a 100% from-scratcher).
I even offered a price break for over 2 dozen (we have a big family). She hasn't responded to my email. I'm sure when I get to her house on Saturday evening, there will be Wal-Mart cupcakes of some sort. *snort*
My cousin finally replied about her housewarming cupcake request. I actually laughed out loud.
We are going to pass. If you think about it... 2.50 a cupcake for a dozen is $30. If I got 2 dozen, which is probably what I will get the price would be 54.00. For cupcakes!! There is no way John and I would pay 50+ dollars for cupcakes. I understand you will be using 2 kinds of cake batter, but we can't afford 2.25 a cupcake. We have looked into (a local grocery store) and we can get 24 for 12.50. I have had their cupcakes and they are pretty good, I mean for just what we wanted them for, snack foods. I really wanted cupcakes so I didn't have to cut cake at the party. We just wanted people to graze and drink.
Thanks anyways. Hope you understand. We just can't pay 50+ for a single dessert at the party.
Seriously...does she think that $.50 each is going to get her GOOD cupcakes? From a GROCERY STORE?
Ugh.
Wow I guess I'm expensive! I charge like $3/cupcake for icing and a little extra something on it...but I figure my base price for cake servings is $3/serving so I don't really know why 12 individually iced cupcakes should be any cheaper than a 12 serving cake...?
I think your relative's email is hilarious. I don't charge a lot at all (I am very, very new), but someone asked why cake decorators charge so much when cake mix only costs $1-$2 at stores and store bought cakes are so cheap. Grrrrr
I guess they forget that it's not JUST cake mix - it's cake mix, oil, eggs, icing (and all ITS ingredients), piping bag, piping tips, color for the icing, cupcake liners, cleanup, baking time, gas and time to go get the ingredients, etc., etc., etc. Why not serve them a cupcake liner of cake mix and see what they say? When I price something and people (usually the guys) say, "It's just cake!" I have a severe hearing problem after that.
evasmama.....will the store bought cupcakes have the hand painted houses your cousin was requesting? I'm sure they will NOT. That's the funny thing about people asking about prices for cake and cupcakes. They are getting custom cakes from a decorator not store bought cakes from a store that is in no way a reflection of an person. I have a co-worker that is getting married and I am doing the cake. She asked for some extra cupcakes I told her $1 a piece and then she decided she didn't want them after all...just the cake. UGH!!
I charge around $2 per cupcake unfilled. $2.25 filled.
I have to show you this though. This person has posted on craigslist in my area and if she is a CC'r I apologize now if I offend you but "you can charge more...stop cheating yourself and stop making it harder for others to make a living off baking". I DO NOT see how she makes any money at these prices and make sure to look at the fondant figure pricing at bottom.
Here is her ad:
*Flavors*
*Plain (butter cream only)
*Vanilla with vanilla butter cream
*Double chocolate with chocolate fudge or vanilla butter cream
*Lemon with lemon coconut butter cream
*Banana Split (banana cupcake, whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, cherry on top)
*Birthday Cake (white cupcake, butter cream, sprinkles)
*Apple Pie (Cinnamon apple cupcake, apple-cream cheese frosting)
*PB&J (white cupcake, jellymousse filling, peanut butter cream frosting)
*Cookies & Cream (chocolate cupcake with Oreo frosting)
*Ordering Info*
*Cupcakes are $8 per dozen or per 2 dozen minis
*There is a one dozen minimum to order, any orders over 2 dozen can be mixed flavors
*Extra decorations (fondant, figurines, etc) start at $5 per dozen
$8 per dozen??? 
Maybe I will buy some from her and resell them at a more reasonable price. lol
$8 per dozen???
Maybe I will buy some from her and resell them at a more reasonable price. lol
LOL Didn't think of that....save me a lot of time and trouble! LOL
Update:
My cousin's party was last night. No cupcakes in sight...just some grocery store cookies (I had one- blech) and a selection of what looked like assorted brownies (from a store), which remained untouched by the time I went home.
If you add what she spent PLUS add what she threw in the trash because no one ate, did she REALLY save any money? 
Always amazing to me that they want the Tiffany lamp until they find out it will cost more than five dollars, then suddenly 2 flashlights and a candle will work just fine.
It is irritating when people don't realize the labor that goes into baked goods. You were going to hand paint houses. Will she get that from the grocery store? I had a family member publicly bash my prices on Facebook. I was miffed, but, try to bite my tongue to put forward a good business image. My son, on the other hand, wanted to throttle her.
If you look at bakeries websites, they sell their cupcakes for about $2.25 or $2.50 each. I think $2.00-$2.50 is a reasonable price because they are homemade and not from the box
Wow, cupcake seem to be so much cheaper in the US! Yet another reason for me to come and visit ;-) You'd probably pay £2 for 2 semi-decent (as in boxed with buttercream topping and some sprinkles) cupcakes from a supermarket and detailed cupcakes made by a professional baker in my area with fondant decorations can come in at £3-5 each. Head into London and it would probably be more.
A friend of mine asked if I would help her decorate a baby shower cake last week and every evening (she was here every night for 4 evenings!) she would say 'I had no idea how much time and work was involved in this'. Oh how I wish I could record those words and put them on repeat every time someone never wrote back after sending them the prices… 
Quote:
It is irritating when people don't realize the labor that goes into baked goods. You were going to hand paint houses. Will she get that from the grocery store? I had a family member publicly bash my prices on Facebook. I was miffed, but, try to bite my tongue to put forward a good business image. My son, on the other hand, wanted to throttle her.
Couldn't agree more! People think you're just going to work for free.
I charge 2,50$ for basic cupcakes with icing on them.
Quote:
And many, many people do work for free. We regularly see posts on CC about this. So why should it surprise us when the public expects it? We teach them that bakery items should be cheap, cheap, cheap.
Ya, well I post the base prices of my cupcakes and cakes, and sometimes they still dont seem to understand.
Posting your prices is excellent. Unfortunately, many consumers don't understand (and worse, don't care) why your prices are so "high" when xx and yy and zz are so cheap. I feel that we're losing the battle.
I was just going to ask the Cup cake price thingy. I made Cup cakes in ice cream cones for a party at work....I got asked...after the oooohhhh, ahhhh's...at how good they were and I'd never would think of this idea!!!! but they are great...so how much would you charge to make these??
I was like, I'm not sure, it's the first time I've done them...let me think about it....everyone at work...I work in an ER...where we eat quick and running sometimes or we dont eat...ppl ask me to "bring a pretty cake" ....JUST TO EAT!!! Never thinking of all that goes into it. Time, money, use of my oven, colors to tint, etc...
So going price would be 1.75 on up???
Quote:
My cousin finally replied about her housewarming cupcake request. I actually laughed out loud.
Seriously...does she think that $.50 each is going to get her GOOD cupcakes? From a GROCERY STORE?
Ugh.
What I read in that is that she has a budget and she didn't want to go over that budget for a dessert. You said it's a housewarming party; that means she's just spent a lot of money on a house.
As for not having cupcakes in the end, maybe she spent that money on something else.
Honestly, there's almost no inoffensive way to tell someone you can't afford something. You either come across as saying you think they charge too much for their work, or, you're so sorry to not be able to get it that you're trying to guilt them into doing it for free. It's really a lose-lose situation.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%