Phooey. I got a call about a red velvet cake last night, and I priced it out at $25 for a 9 in round. That's only $7 for my time, and $1.54 for tax. The rest is all ingredient cost. He didn't want to pay that.
Does that price sound too high to you? Seemed reasonable to me.
Nope...not unreasonable at all.....let him buy it from the grocery store for $8.99
I used to think Costco's cakes were pretty good, before I started making my own.
I had an opportunity this summer to have a piece of Costco cake (the one with the chocolate mousse filling that everybody raves about, LOL!) and it was really not very good.
The mousse was ok, the cake was dry and didn't have much flavor, and the icing was ok, but overall I think it's the first time in my ENTIRE LIFE that I didn't finish a piece of cake that I started! 
It's happened, I've become a cake snob, there's no denying it! 
SO, I think your customer can probably find a cheaper cake, but it certainly won't be as good as the one he could have had from you. Hopefully it'll be bad enough that he'll call you and be willing to pay for quality the next time he needs one!
Laura.
'" the most i've ever charges the teachers was $25.
Considering how much cakes cost at bakeries these days, and how many independant bakeries there are, $25.00 is very reasonable to me. My neighbors are all in to who can make the best red velvet cakes and so far I haven't gotten into the contest. I want to find a recipe that is not heavy and dense causing the layers to be short. I like my layers tall (2 inches per layer), not these scrawny little layers my neighbors are getting.
I haven't yet charged for any cakes. I have just been making them for free (and the referalls). Now I want to start charging for them so I looked at walmart.com's prices. For a basic 9" cake they charge 28-32 dollars. For one with chocolate ganache the price rises to 40 dollars. So no one can say that is too expensive if it is what walmart charges.
I've checked online too and at my local grocers. The average price for a 1/4 sheet, little writing, and simple borders is now $25. That's at Walmart, and two very popular grocery stores. It will not do you justice to charge less than the grocery store!
I am not in the cake business, but I can totally sympathize with you and everyone who either puts up with cheap customers, not to mention irrational or ignorant ones. I know what it takes to make a good cake. The time you spend alone making that good cake is worth a lot already. So it's just fair that you get paid for your time.
Well, guess what?
I made a cake for someone and brought it in to work. Commissioned by one colleague for another. Well, it got me a booking! Another pharmacist asked me to make her husband's birthday cake to bring in to work. She said she loved my other cake, that nobody made "homemade" cakes anymore and she missed the taste!
YAY!! There is hope for humanity! I guess not everyone wants to quibble over price or get something for nothing!
Most of the cakes that are used by the major grocery store chains are bought as frozen half sheets then cut to form. There is no telling how old these cakes are which probably attributes to the stale/dry/yucky flavor. The reason they buy them is because most of the staff isn't qualified to properly bake items (they don't want to hire a professional baker). Thus if you buy them frozen, you eliminate costly mistakes and maintain consistent (but blah) quality. You can hide a lot with frosting but the taste of the cake.
I've run into the same issue on three occasions actually!!!
I made a dinosaur cake using the wilton pan and 4 mini dinos... charged $35. way under what I should have charged... They all loved it and the mom mentioned ordering a cake for her daughter, when I told her it would cost $24 for a 3 layer 9" cake fully decorated, she never called me back.
My mother's own friend did the same thing, she wanted a 2 layer sheet cake to feed 60, fully decorated to match the colors of her friends bridal party, not the typical best wishes and shell border, I quoted her $30 since she was a friend... she said well I guess I should look at the grocery store because I can't afford that much...
And then a guy at my brother's work did the same thing to me for a lemon chiffon cake. I quoted him $20, i had to deliver it a half hour away to their work and test recipes to even make it since it wasn't on my menu not to mention go out and buy a 10inch tube pan.
Sometimes I just want to shake my customers, they have no idea what kind of time goes into these cakes!
I think your price sounds fine! You will ALWAYS have people who want a cake for less than the price you give them. That does not make them right. YOU are the one spending your time/talent on the cake, you charge what YOU are comfortable with and get on with people who will pay 
I have been fortunate so far in that the only ones of my customers that have commented on my prices all thought I didn't charge ENOUGH for their cakes (and they were RIGHT)! I'm starting a new job this week, though, and it is my "new job resolution" (instead of new year's resolution) to stop undercharging for my cakes. Most people that ask me to make their cakes will pay what I ask, and if they can't or don't want to, then they can shop elsewhere. Honestly, I've been doing cakes cheap partly because I needed the practice. At this point I'm going by the philosophy that I'd rather make practice cakes when and how I want to make them and give them away for free to people that will appreciate them than to sell an underpriced cake to a picky customer!
i only make cakes on request LOL and I tell people how much they cost and then i just leave it at that. I get so irritated at trying to justify the cost of eggs and my time and all that. i get kinda snobbish when i tell my prices, which i think are too low, but seeing as I am into a "business", those are my prices.. if they balk, I just say ok. thank you
It is the same with any gourmet item. We can buy chocolate from a chocolatier for $8, 9, 10 a pound, or we can go buy a hershey bar for 89 cents! I'm not saying hershey bars are bad, but......you get the idea.
When asked to justify my cost, I would explain that there are many things that go into the cake besides ingredients....my education, my supplies, my expertise....you may purchase a less expensive cake elsewhere, but you get what you pay for. Most artists won't haggle their prices....there are plenty of other fish in the sea who appreciate the work. If you want cheaper, if your loved one isn't worth it, then that's certainly no skin off my teeth.
Seeing as the grocery store price is rising, but the quality isn't rising along with the price, I can't see where a $10 or $15 dollar difference for a professional cake would be that out of range. But, I don't sell cakes yet.
Perhaps you could supply your customers with a "supply list" for everything that you will need to finish the job....ingredients to buy....(maybe not pans, tips....). Have them buy the ingredients for you...see that it costs like $20, and then tell them you work for $8 an hour (for example). Clock in and out.....I'm really just ranting here....I wouldn't expect anyone to really do that. It is just annoying. I am an allied health professional that sells as part of my job, and justifying cost to people really annoys me after a point. Sorry, I'll shut up now. 
I have rarely been questioned about the price of my cakes. My prices are reasonable and comparable to other decorators in the area. I recall one of those occasions when a customer remarked, "That much for a cake?? That's a lot of money!".
Smiling sweetly 
, I said, "You are absolutely right! It is! And almost anyone can make a cake. What you are also paying me for, is to 'decorate' the cake. Not just anyone can do that". ~~~~ He became a regular customer.
The cost of ingredients is hardly a secret. What we do, is artistry. All the extra touches we put into our cakes make each one unique. That is what we are paid for. The bonus is that they taste great, too!
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