Hello,

 

One of my customer asked me for the quote for the Princess Castle cake (fake structure).  I live in Canada. I'm new to this business. Did anyone done this cake before? How much do you guys think I can charge for this cake? Also, Do you guys know which store I can get these stuffs. I know some stores sells castle cones. But this one has hexagon towers. 

 

 

 

Thank you guys. 

ACheck out the Pricing Formula link in my signature below, you'll need to estimate how much labor will be required. Also note that if this is an exact replica of Disney's castle you will need to get permission from Disney, if you cannot obtain permission you can use a generic castle design.

The design looks a little ambitious, if you are not sure you can pull it off I would advise against quoting this design at all to a paying customer.

rough count on that is like 18 tiers--how many servings does this lady want? the rest are most likely foam--

Thanks Jason. I will check it out your link.

 

K8memphis, She doesn't want any cake. she wants all the tiers fake. Thats why its really hard to predict for me.

When fake tiers are used most of the time people charge the same (or almost) as if it were real cake.   It takes as much or *more* work/talent to make a fake cake as it does a real one.  They are not only paying for actual cake but for the talent it takes to make such a beautiful creation.  Fake cakes are so light they are a pain to ice smoothly :(  Keep that in mind when you come up with your pricing.

Same as what you might charge for a regular cake, if not more, it's the skill involved here that constitutes the charge.  Looking at that cake, at least $1000 American dollars…it's huge.

Thank you all for the reply. Your replies are very useful for me to quote this cake. 

AMaybe it's just me, but the entire castle looks like foam pieces (look at 'Steeple 2') in attachment, with lights (maybe LEDs) inside and porcelain characters.

http://bargainbridalshop.com/

As others have stated, the main cost is based on your time and complexity of the design (at least my prices are). I know bridal mags suggest faux tiers to cut costs, obviously they don't decorate cakes.

It's difficult to see, but the designs on the cakes don't look very complex but you seemed to be more concerned about castle pieces. There is definitely some added decoration to the castle, you can paint them-your pic has glitter and fantasy decorative elements. I've also seen a castle from Dallas Foam. These pieces can be expensive! Plus shipping, etc. Keep that in mind.

AI got a closer look at your picture.

It's the 'Celebration' castle ($155.99), 'Steeple 2' x2 ($34.99x2), 'Steeple 1' ($36.99)-apparently they come with lights-and the additional towers seem to be included with the 'Celebration' model, maybe more, but those are spread out.

AI don't understand the idea of fake cakes being as hard, let alone harder than than real ones. No mess or baking tome, no filling, no leveling, etc. I do fake tiers all the time, they take a fraction of the time. These appear to be plain covered tiers on my phone. If they have piping details I can't see on my small screen, then that changes things, otherwise its less than 15 minutes total per tier, including sanding down the sharp edge a bit. I have a lazy Susan with 3 small spikes for styro tiers, I just got a wooden one from the hardware store, and nailed the spikes through. It works perfect for 4" tiers and up.

AFascinating.

Are there really real people who actually WANT cakes like that?

AHaha, here... have a tissue for that nose :p

AI need two - one for each nostril.

For this cake, they want it in Green color replacing white and the roof is in magenta. So I have to cover all the tiers with fondant. 

AIf you're wanting someone to quote a price, it might help to let them know what size dummies you plan to use.

I agree. Charging the same as for regular cake seems strange to me. And I don't have a standard rule of thumb for them, either. It depends on what I'm going to do to the dummy. If i cover an 8 in cake in fondant with basic fondant trim, that is $120 which no other decorations. I cant see charging the same price to slap some fondant on a piece of foam.

AThanks BatterUp, love the pipe!

It's not the same price as baking a regular cake, I've added a faux tier to a cake for a customer to give them extra height. But if someone wanted to order a faux cake with sheet cakes for serving the prices would most likely be comparable.

This design specifically requires expensive pieces before she even does any work, that's the main thing I wanted to emphasize.

plus the decorating costs should be the same. You save labor on baking, torting, icing...

AAnd that is significant. If i didn't have to bake, stack, ice and make icings and fillings that would be a whole day off for me.