Ajust curious what all of you would charge for this cake?
just a plain white cake with strawberry buttercream filling/frosting with fondant and fondant accents..its an 8" 2 layer cake
i am still verry new to this ...
[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/2889129/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
AHow much did this cake cost you to make including ingredients, labor, and share of overhead?
A
Original message sent by jason_kraft
How much did this cake cost you to make including ingredients, labor, and share of overhead?
bout 50.00 all together
Original message sent by -K8memphis
$112.50 plus tax
really??
$4.50 a serving times 25 servings
i might construct it different make it look like 4 layers inside
and use a strawberry filling with wipped cream and a splash but yes.
and i'm sure my prices are behind the times--
haven't raised them to today's higher costs
I would charge $75 + $10 for the strawberry filling (depending on market prices). I don't fully enrobe cakes in fondant, so I might even charge more for that.
For the knitting cake--WOW! My hourly rate would have to be high on that one.
A
Original message sent by -K8memphis
$4.50 a serving times 25 servings
i might construct it different make it look like 4 layers inside
and use a strawberry filling with wipped cream and a splash but yes.
i though about doing 4 layers but for some reason the last time i did that it fell apart on me :( 25 servings? what size slices? im only asking cuz i am new to all this - i didnt think you could get 25 slices at most i thought 20 .. and whats a splash?
Original message sent by Lilly200
I charge £65 for this cake is that too much or too little? What do you all think? I would love to hear what others think. [URL=http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/2889245/] [/URL]
it is an 8" madeira cake with rasberry preserve and vanilla buttercream.
i think you undercharged im my opinion.. thats a lot of work-- my cake took me a decent amount of time i could imagine that..
Original message sent by jason_kraft
Does that include labor? How many hours did you spend making this cake, including prep, baking, decorating, and cleanup?
no that does not include labor.. it took me about 4 hrs total..
A
Original message sent by mamas07
no that does not include labor.. it took me about 4 hrs total..
At
Original message sent by jason_kraft
$50 in ingredients plus 4 hours at $15/hour = $110. Add $10 for overhead (this is an estimate assuming $1000 in annual overhead costs like advertising, insurance, licensing, etc. and two orders per week on average) and you're at $120, which is your cost, and the absolute minimum price at which you should sell this cake (and that's still low considering you would earn zero profit). The best selling price for your area is dependent on the market price, if your cost is higher than the market price then you either need to get more efficient or target a different market.
thanks soo much.. i didnt think a little 8" cake would cost that much..like i said im just starting..
A8" cakes normally don't cost that much, $50 is very high for ingredient costs for a single 8" tier and 4 hours is a long time to spend on a single tier cake unless there are elaborate decorations or sculpting involved.
A
Original message sent by jason_kraft
8" cakes normally don't cost that much, $50 is very high for ingredient costs for a single 8" tier and 4 hours is a long time to spend on a single tier cake unless there are elaborate decorations or sculpting involved.
well i didn't make my own fondant- tried that in the past didn't work out so well-- so i just grabbed some pre made fondant, that was the most expensive ingredient. the 4 hours includes clean up, prepping etc like you asked and the stars took the longest time as i used a mold and it only had 3 stars on it & each star was dusted in edible glitter-- not to mention the photo wasn't of a complete cake i also made a banner with more stars in the center...
like i said im barely starting this whole cake decorating so naturally its gonna take me a little bit longer then others ..
You may want to purchase the program Cake Boss. I have found it so helpful in my business for pricing cakes and keeping track of orders.
to me there are two main 'camps' for determining the serving size of a cake
there's the very helpful chart from wilton and one from earlene moore
you can google
wilton Wedding Cake Data Chart (note all the great info including how many cups of batter per pan)
and go to
www.earlenescakes.com and you'll enjoy her site very much dig around take in the beauty of her work and you'll find her chart eventually
wilton gives the traditional serving size --earlene's are a little more generous sized--every decorator just decides for them self
a splash is a term i learned from margaret braun--it's a flavored simple syrup that you brush or squirt onto baked cake as you assemble the layers into a tier--adds moisture and any flavor you want to subtly accent the cake
A
Original message sent by -K8memphis
to me there are two main 'camps' for determining the serving size of a cake
there's the very helpful chart from wilton and one from earlene moore
you can google
wilton Wedding Cake Data Chart (note all the great info including how many cups of batter per pan)
and go to
[URL=http://www.earlenescakes.com]www.earlenescakes.com[/URL] and you'll enjoy her site very much dig around take in the beauty of her work and you'll find her chart eventually
wilton gives the traditional serving size --earlene's are a little more generous sized--every decorator just decides for them self
a splash is a term i learned from margaret braun--it's a flavored simple syrup that you brush or squirt onto baked cake as you assemble the layers into a tier--adds moisture and any flavor you want to subtly accent the cake
thank you for your kind response and information. much appreciated!!
It took me a couple of hours to bake the cake and to make the buttercream to crumb coat and fill it. Then about another 11 hours to decorate with the fondant and make the balls of wool and buttons ect as it was my first attempt. It was alot of work but well worth it.
A
Original message sent by Lilly200
It took me a couple of hours to bake the cake and to make the buttercream to crumb coat and fill it. Then about another 11 hours to decorate with the fondant and make the balls of wool and buttons ect as it was my first attempt. It was alot of work but well worth it.
At a price of £65, assuming £20 in ingredients and £10 in overhead, and a 20% markup for profit, you have £24 left for labor costs. This works out to a wage of about £1.8/hour.
AOI
Original message sent by jason_kraft
At a price of £65, assuming £20 in ingredients and £10 in overhead, and a 20% markup for profit, you have £24 left for labor costs. This works out to a wage of about £1.8/hour.
AThanks for your help. I actually worked it out and for the cake ingredients, fondant, cake drum and box about £28. May have to up the price a little! Any suggestions?
A
Original message sent by Lilly200
Thanks for your help. I actually worked it out and for the cake ingredients, fondant, cake drum and box about £28. May have to up the price a little! Any suggestions?
AWow! that seems alot, not sure if people would pay that much. Thank you very much for your help, at least now I know how to work out prices : )
Wow! that seems alot, not sure if people would pay that much. Thank you very much for your help, at least now I know how to work out prices : )
Something to consider is finding a way to reduce your costs. That's where a baker who buys in bulk, or wholesale will have an edge on you. $28 for ingredients is fine for a one-off cake for yourself, but not so much for multiples. I'm guessing you had some of the ingredients left over when you were finished, as well, so your cake cost will be divided by the amount you used and not the total purchase for supplies.
AFor anything but the simplest custom cakes, labor will be your most expensive cost component, usually by a significant margin. Finding ways to be more efficient, outsourcing when others can do parts of the job better for cheaper, and selling the customer on less labor-intensive designs are among the fastest ways to reduce costs.
A[quote name="Lilly200" url="/t/752595/what-would-you-charge#post_7346578"]I charge £65 for this cake is that too much or too little? What do you all think? I would love to hear what others think. [URL=http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/2889245/] [/URL]
it is an 8" madeira cake with rasberry preserve and vanilla buttercream. [/quote
I live in the uk, I would have charged about £85 for that cake design:)
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