I just got my first cake order, she wanted a 3-D frog with marble cake, buttercream and fondant. I just did a trial run using the 3-D stand up bear pan which serves about 12 it says. Do you think this cake would be worth $50??? Other than smoothing the fondant better (it's really humid in the house today and I didn't want to turn on the A/C since it's pretty cool and this was just a trial run), do you have any ideas how to make it better? Should I put it on a 1/2 sheet cake or something? I originally told her that would cost more. I'm just nervous since this is my first paid cake and want to make sure I'm not overcharging.. Thanks for any input you can give!

I've never done anything like this before, and I think it's great! Can you make the features more 3-D so they stand out more? I would put it on another cake, even a one-layer round or square with a lilipad (sp?) just for presentation sake. Could you make a lilipad to decorate the board for more color and detail?

I'm trying to look at it from the customer's point of view since I'm not a cake decorator. I don't know how you guys/gals make these cakes!

I agree for here 50.00 is pricey for 12 servings. A lilly pad sounds good a single layer?

I think it's adorable, by the way. I would outline the eyes in black and I do like the idea of having him sit on a lilypad.

if it were me i would charge about $35 for that cake. you did well, especially since its your first attempt. is 12 servings enough for her? i don't know the diameter of the bear pan you used, but maybe make a 1 layer round cake and carve it into the shape of a lilly pad for him to sit on, as mentioned above. i think you could charge $50 for it then.

I would have to agree with Michelle on this one. You should do something a little more. How many people does it need to serve? I think it is a little bit pricey because you didn't have to actually carve the cake because you fortunatly had a shaped pan. My starting price if I am actually carving a cake is $4 per serving, minimum 20 serving. So I think you should add a little something because that will only add to the great frog and give it a theme feel to it. The frog looks Great though, good work!

This is a very cute idea. I also love the lilypad suggestion. If I were going to do this cake and make it worth 50 bucks, I would cut off the ears and reposition them closer on the top of the head. Cover them with white and the rest of the cake in green. then I'd make the mouth a little more prominent Make the front legs a little thicker and make the feet 1/2 inch thick and have them taper down to the thinness they are now and vein them. You could also probably give him a belly by putting an oval of a lighter green on is chest. hope this helps.

Thanks everyone, I was thinking of doing a lillypad on the cakeboard, but like the idea of a single layer cake underneath better. I think I'll also move the eyes as suggested as well as all the other suggestions about improving him. Thanks for all the great input everyone! I really appreciate it! It's always hard to critique your own work as you probably know. I thought something was off about his eyes and his feet but I wasn't sure what for example. You guys are great! Thanks again!

Look at the cakes on this search. I love the colored dots that add texture and color to the frog. It might also give you an idea for where to put the eyes.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?ei=UTF-8&p=frog+cake&fr=ush1-us-mail&b=1

Can't wait to see the finished product! I'm sure your customer will love it!!

I think a long red tongue would make a nice touch. You could make it out of Laffy Taffy or a fruit roll up. I like the lilly pad idea too.

Whew! Am I glad this is done! I baked the two cakes last night and still spent about 6 hours on this today (the gumpaste lilyflower was almost finished so this wasn't included in the time. The first one was so much easier! I think the humidity got to the MMF, it was horrible to work with- it just kept tearing and falling apart! I ended up just making a new batch and coloring it again. Now I'll have to put in an order for more green, yellow and blue americolors!
So what do you think? I think at least timewise it's worth at least $50 now, do you? What would you charge??
Thanks again for all the help everyone!

It is really cute now!
I'm sure I would charge $150 for that cake
mpc

Definately worth $50! Very cute he came out great. Love the cat tails!

It drives me insane the way so many people on this board undercharge! There is no way I'd charge just $50 for that cake - Wilton novelties start at $45 in buttercream from me, so fondant would be at least $50! Add to that the lilypad cake underneath (8in round?), and I would charge $100 for the finished cake!

Too cute! The flower on the lilypad was a nice touch!

The 2nd frog is adorable! You did a great job and your effort was worth it.

darkchocolate

Thanks, everyone, I thought it was well worth the $50, especially what I went through to do it LOL! She thinks her parents (who own a catering business) might want me to do some cakes for them. I hope so, my hubby and I are saving up for a single family home and we could use the $$.
She picked it up this morning and was very happy with it. I'm glad I talked to her about how to store it until her party tomorrow morning- she was going to leave it in her car during the ceremony, and it's supposed to be 90+ tomorrow and high humidity! I just looked at her and told her it would be melted by the time she got back to her car. I'm amazed she thought she could do that- duh it's FOOD!
Oh, and the bottom layer is a single 10" layer. I actually didn't have a regular 10" pan so I used my cheesecake pan instead- worked like a charm!

I can't believe this was your first paid cake. Covering a shape like that with fondant seems impossible. What a great job.

Awesome job! Definitely worth 50$!!

Very cute!! I loved the extra details you put on the frog and his little pad!

Excellent job. It's definitely worth the money and more.