I have been asked to make a sheetcake for a housewarming. She said she would pay for supplies, but I will tell her that I charge per serving. My cakes will definitely cost more than Walmart because I put more time and effort into it. Plus my cakes are freshly made scratch cake. How much would you charge for a 11 x 15 cake that would serve 35-40? She was talking about a cake in a shape of a house. Would you charge more for that kind of cake? I haven't ever priced a cake so I was thinking around $1.50 a serving since I am so new at this. I'm afraid she will be expecting a beautifully decorated cake for Walmart prices. Thanks for your help.
Definitely charge more than sheet cake price, especially if you have to cut it to look like a house. Tell her up front the price, then she can go to Walmart if she wants and get a cake that looks everyone else's!
Don't just let her get buy with paying supplies. Hey, if she wants to do that, why doesn't she just pay for supplies and do the work herself??
For a 1 layer of this sort, I think a minimum of $1.50 - $2.00 is reasonable, it should be fairly easy to cut out a house (and don't forget the wasted cake you will have).
Walmart charges more than $1.50/pp if you size the slices a normal size.
I can tell you for certain that your ingredients alone are going to run you $35-42.00 by the time you figure in every last paper towel, support board, and egg. Does that help you charge what you're worth a little easier???
Never short change yourself especially in the beginning because you'll live to regret it later on. I just had a bride this week that I flat out had to say there's no way possible that I can charge less than the grand total I quoted you because of how much work is going to go into the design. All the while waiting for the response, which was the Mom writing out the check without flinching an eye because I was still half the price of what a couple bakers up the road were going to charge her for the same cake with a lot less work for their detailing (and I was thinking I was overcharging for it when I gave the original quote.
Remember that your cake is going to be more work than thawing out a frozen cake and putting some premade frosting on the top of it. Never feel bad about charging what it's worth!!!
I always charge more for carved cakes.
My price would be set this way: For any carved cake, the minimum sheet size is 1/2 sheet (12x16) and then I add an additional $10 for carving.
So, for a simple carving ( and I think a house would be fairly easy) with no filling, no fondant and just very basic decorations the charge would be $45. If they wanted fondant, fillings, specialty flavors and/or a more intricate design, the price could easily reach $75 or more.
Keep in mind that my prices are very low considering what some people here charge. However, I base my prices on the going rates of the bakeries in my area, and that's just about the rates they charge.
I would think though you might have some problems getting 40 servings from an 11x15 that you're going to have to carve.
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