Recently I quoted someone for one italian cream(from scratch) 8" three layer cake(with cornelli lace) and one white *' three layer with white icing, 50 mini cannolis for $200.
I thought maybe it was too much, BUT then , she added more guests hince more cake. the labor alone for the italian creams is what worries me. I am doing traditional style, with cream cheese icing. lots of butter, walnuts, coconut....etc. so now it it 2 , 8" three layer italian creams, one, 8" 3 layer sour cream white, and cannolis( I am buying the shells, but making the fillings).....is that still an accurate amount, is it too high???

she bought a fabulous buffet style stand(for hor deoureves??) that will hold the 8" cakes well, but I am worried about the weight of them. It is a tiered style server from COstco.

Also, all the icings need to match colors: so the cream cheese icing will be off white, but then what do I do about the white buttercream icing??should I dye it to match the cream cheese, OR do I do the buttercream with 50/50 crisco butter blend??and hope it matchesor add ivory??ugh.

thanks for anyones help!!!!!!!!1

Why not do a cream cheese,shortening based BC for the white cake?

You don't really taste the cream cheese.

If the amount of cake went up so should your price.

If I were a customer that got a quote for a certain amount of cake, added more and the price didn't change I would wonder if I was being over charged to begin with.

A stand meant for canapes may not be strong enough to hold those cakes, especially the Italian Cream. With all the nuts in them those babies are HEAVY!!!

Tell her you are concerned about the weight issue and let her know if she insists you use that stand you cannot be responsible if the cakes are too heavy for it.

GET A CONTRACT and spell this stuff out in it.

I agree...if the amount of cake was increased, the price should increase too - don't sell yourself short!!

As far as icing....use only cream cheese in your cream cheese icing - I wouldn't add shortening at all - I've made many, many italian cream cheese cakes and the icing is part of the package!

I've had the same color problem too because I use cream cheese icings alot. But I don't like to use it to decorate with because it's too soft. You could make the shortening decorating icing recipe (for borders, etc.) and tint it to match the cream cheese icing. If you don't tint it, you will notice a definite difference in color.

Good luck! It sounds wonderful!!!!

I am actually mostly doing the cake for porfolio work.
I thought about doing cream cheese/shortening base, but was worried about the taste since that cake would be sour cream white. so does the cream cheese/crisco tastes the same as butter/crisco combo?I am mostly worried about the color.
her original quote included chocolate covered strawberries. she went to other places and was quoted over $400 in total for what she wanted.
which boggles my mind.
again, I am mostly doing it for practice/pictures, and she is a friend.do you think $200 is too much??

the cake stand she got is for canapes, but I weight tested it for the italian cream(only one) and it seemed fine. if all else fails, then I would take the decorative plates off the stand and set them on the dessert table.

Not sure about the cakes and cannolis price.....it doesn't sound too high if it also includes strawberries. In fact, you may not be charging enough. I recently made a 8" chocolate round on a 10" choc. square. Both were two layers and torted (with fudge, then bavarian cream and then fudge again). It was covered with a chocolate ganache (my first attempt) and included an edible image of the guest of honor on the top cake. My cake also had choc covered strawberries. I called around (cheap places and high end places) to see how to price it. As far as the strawberries are concerned, the high end place didn't do strawberries, but they would dip them, if I provided them, for $1 a piece! Another place charged $1.50 per strawberry! A few weeks ago, I could buy a one pound container of strawberries for $1.77!

I also made my cake for a friend and she was a little sticker shocked when I quoted her $80. The high end place I called charges $120 and that did not include strawberries! I should have charged more....I'll know next time!

Still not sure about the flavor of the cream cheese and criso - I've always used cream cheese and butter. If you're not concerned about flavor, then do what would be easier for you.

Good luck!