I just completed Course III last night and took my final cake to DH's office today. Everyone oohed and aahed over it and I think I'll have some orders coming in but people kept asking me what the charge would be for that type of cake and I had no clue! I haven't uploaded the picture yet but it's a 10in and l6in tiered cake with 2 layers each, filled and iced with buttercream and covered in MMF and 38 fondant roses (and leaves). How many would that feed and approx. how much would I charge?
Oh, and btw, someone in his office wants me to make an anniversary cake for her parents' party and it needs to feed 400!!!! More on that later!
I'm not sure what area you're in, but the range for bakeries here is $1.90-$3.00/serving...so I'm charging $2.50 a serving for basic buttercream cakes, going up to $3.00 per serving for fondant cakes, and anything with lattice/basketweave/cornelli/stringwork, etc. will be more like $3.50 a serving, and if they want tons of gumpaste stuff, well...it will go up from there...and my prices seem like they go up every time I make another cake and realize the time it takes.
Don't be afraid to charge more than the bakeries. People will pay for quality and custom work. And if they balk--There will always be someone who can do it quicker and cheaper...
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