Hi Everyone,
I guess I should give a little background about myself, so everyone knows where I am coming from. I have been decorating cakes for family members and people at work since August. I was asked to make a cake for a surprise wedding shower at work and it all started from that. Since then I have made cakes for family members and close friends. I also made a cake for my dad's scout troop but they were all kids so they would like anything.
Anyways.... I made a retirement cake for a lady at work and emailed a picture of it to my mother. She showed some friends at work and now they would like me to make birthday cakes for the families. The first one needs to be done this Thursday.
My questions are how much do I charge? The cake for Thursday is a 2 layer 9x13 cake, with butter cream frosting.
Then I have one to do on July 13th which will be a 12 inch round 2 layer cake.
I am nervous because I have never made cakes and been paid for them. Everyone I have made cakes for (family and friends) think the cakes are wonderful and some even said that they thought that the cake was bought from a pro. Which makes me feel good, but I worry about what others will think.
My other question is what kind of fillings would you suggest using in a cake with butter cream frosting? I have only filled the layers with frosting and once I did it with strawberry jam. But the one lady who wants me to make a cake asked about fillings and I told her that I would have to get back to her on that.
Thank you in advance for any help you can give. I love this website! It has been such a great help for me!
Firstly, welcome to CC. There are a number of postings about pricing in these forums. Alot depends on your area and what the going price might be. Keep in mind that your cakes are made by order and would be more specialized then say grocery store cake. That being said, you do not want to charge Wally Worlds prices. You must factor all your costs, time, materials and utilities into your pricing. Do not be afraid to charge a fair price for your time. As for fillings, they are numerous, and again there are many recipes on the forum that you might try. Just about any filling will go with a buttercream icing. If you are going to start doing cakes for money, then you need to come up with a list of flavors and fillings that you would be willing to do, so that you have it available for prospective customers. Good Luck.
Thank You for your assistance! I will look through the postings and find pricing guides and recipes.
One rule of thumb that we were taught in cake class is to total up the ingredients and multiply by 3 or 4. This is a quick and easy way, especially when you are just starting out. Be sure to include cake boards and boxes.
Jams are good as fillings. You can also buy lemon curd. You could offer strawberry and raspberry jams or lemon curd. I've even had a request for pineapple and I just used some pineapple jam.
If you use a filling other than buttercream, be sure to spread a very thin layer of buttercream on both cake layers to keep the filling from seeping through. And also be sure to use a very stiff dam to keep the jam from seeping out.
Good luck!
I just started putting fillings in my cakes. At my local cake supply store, they sell pastry sleeves. I have been using these. They have all kinds of flavors too. And they are room temp stable.
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