Cheap Full Sheetcake What???
Decorating By twistedsplinters Updated 21 Jul 2008 , 7:33pm by sweettoothmom
Indydebi, I looked on your website but didn't find--how do you charge for sheet cakes? Now I'm feeling terrible for charging the same as I would a regular cake (not tiered or stacked). And a 12x18 has 74/75 servings. Even at $1/serving that's still more than double what this lady is charging. I usually make my 1 layer 3" high (plus icing so it's about 3 1/2" high). My 2 layer is closer to 4" high---so do you double the servings on that or would it still be 74/75 servings? Do you charge considerably less for a sheet cake than a square or round?
single layer sheet, not torted, NOT DELIVERED, is $1.50/serving.
If you want it for a wedding, it's double layer with filling, DELIVERED, $3/serving, same as my wedding cakes.
A single layer 12x18 serves 54 ..... I use 50 for round numbers, so mine sell for $75. A double layer would be 108 servings, because you cut them different. (If you cut a double layer cake in the same 2x2 square, they are getting twice the cake beacause it's double layer).
However, if people need cake for 100 for a non-wedding event, they tend to order from me the 18x24, which serves 108 instead of the double layer, which serves 108.
Wait Mike... Where do you shop that a 12x18 can be made for $5?
I can see it...if you use a box mix. A box of cake mix at our local walmart is 92 cents. A 12x18 takes two boxes, no? Ok, thats 2 dollars. Then it needs what about a 1.50 worth of eggs? and I dont know, how much oil do you put in mixes these days? Cant be more then a dollar worth...and water.
Now buttercream, I don't know, if you use just crisco and water and sugar, it cant be more then a couple of bucks as well.
I have always said that this 3X thing isn't a good formula...you need to charge for your TIME! and overhead! (electric, taxes, water, yada yada yada)
single layer sheet, not torted, NOT DELIVERED, is $1.50/serving.
If you want it for a wedding, it's double layer with filling, DELIVERED, $3/serving, same as my wedding cakes.
A single layer 12x18 serves 54 ..... I use 50 for round numbers, so mine sell for $75. A double layer would be 108 servings, because you cut them different. (If you cut a double layer cake in the same 2x2 square, they are getting twice the cake beacause it's double layer).
However, if people need cake for 100 for a non-wedding event, they tend to order from me the 18x24, which serves 108 instead of the double layer, which serves 108.
I'm with you, up until the last sentence...huh? 
You all have good points, I am not angry with her for selling them at that price. I was just wondering how she was able to bc we live about 10 miles from each other and I know the prices at the grocery stores around us and just couldnt see how she did it. But I guess if you use box mixes it is possible.
Unfortunately, that is the problem with people selling cakes at these prices - it lowers the value of all the cakes in our area.
But, that's not the 'other bakers' problem.
She's doing what she needs to do, what works for her and brings her money. She's keeping her customers happy.
As I'm sure we all do with our customers.
But we can't knock her for doing her business her way. We just have to do what we need to do to keep our customers coming back and refering others.
Actually, I wasn't "knocking" this baker. I know her quite well and like her a lot. Basic economics tells us that if any person in any industry sells their product for a price considerably lower than the norm for that area, then it lowers the value for said product.
Florists are a good example, Florist Jane down the road is selling a dozen roses for $12, because she really just does it because she enjoys it, etc.; Florist Joe a couple of blocks over sells his roses for $45 a dozen. Customer questions why they would buy roses from Joe versus Jane when in the customers mind they are suddenly "worth" $12.
Another example...I remember graduating from medical transcription school years ago and thinking that I was willing to take any job no matter how low the line count rate was. Luckily I had a great transcriptionist mentor to tell me to hold out for a higher rate, as accepting just small amounts hurts everyone in the industry. If a doctor knows he can get a transcriptionist for cheap, cheap, cheap, then he is going to see that as the "worth" of all transcriptionists.
And I am actually guilty of doing the same thing in some cases. I have kept my wedding cake prices so low for so long. I finally doubled them just recently to get to a market standard for my area.
You all have good points, I am not angry with her for selling them at that price. I was just wondering how she was able to bc we live about 10 miles from each other and I know the prices at the grocery stores around us and just couldnt see how she did it. But I guess if you use box mixes it is possible.
Let her do the sheet cakes..you want to attact the higher level of customer anyway, who appreciates something more then just a sheet cake!!
I'm with you, up until the last sentence...huh? 
That was confusing, wasn't it? If people need a cake to feed 100, my customers tend to order a 18x24 (two 12x18's side by side) instead of a double layer 12x18 (two 12x18's stacked on top of each other). Same amount of cake .... same amount of servings.
It's the "sheet cake mentality" I guess. I actually had one person (ashamed to say it was a relative!) who said, "But you get more cake with the big sheet cake!" (instead of the 12x18 double layer). 
He looked only at the surface size of the cake and not the depth of the cakes!
(I TOLD you I came from a long line of Jerry Springer folks!)
I'm jealous that all of you are talking about cake mix for .99 cents or even a dollar.
In Australia cake mix on special is $3.99 per box and our ones aren't as big as that one in the states.
Apart from the Betty Crocker (we only get Vanilla, Chocolate Fudge and the Devils Food cake) and they are $5.49 each!!! Eggs are $5.50 per dozen.
OH Cherylweddingplanner get a few chickens. You will have more eggs than you can bake with . Then you can sell them too 
My wedding has a been ten years ago but the lady who made our cake for us has been in the business part time for nearly 35-40 years now. Her basic charge for a sheet cake is also $15-30 depending on decor. She also charged us $60 for 3 buttercream basketweave iced cakes. They were a 12, a 8 and 4 inch round. I provided fresh flowers and fruit for the topper. So she really only had a little bit of time in these cakes. But ony $60??????? That is so cheap. The filling was buttercream. She also delivers and sets up the cake on sight.
I am not sure I could charge that little and make it worth my my time. I was told set an hourly rate. SO I set my hourly rate then you add the cost of ingredients, special filling and decor and overhead etc..... THen you divide that by the number of servings required. That gives you the price per slice. So with that calculation recreating my own wedding cake no way would that $60 be profitable for that cake.
How does everyone else do this? She is the only lady in town doing cakes and she is becoming sloppy and very hard to work with but everyone swears by her. So If I charge the "right" price (by my calculations) and my prices are so much more am I gonna price myself out of the market completely?
Indydebi, I looked on your website but didn't find--how do you charge for sheet cakes? Now I'm feeling terrible for charging the same as I would a regular cake (not tiered or stacked). And a 12x18 has 74/75 servings. Even at $1/serving that's still more than double what this lady is charging. I usually make my 1 layer 3" high (plus icing so it's about 3 1/2" high). My 2 layer is closer to 4" high---so do you double the servings on that or would it still be 74/75 servings? Do you charge considerably less for a sheet cake than a square or round?
single layer sheet, not torted, NOT DELIVERED, is $1.50/serving.
If you want it for a wedding, it's double layer with filling, DELIVERED, $3/serving, same as my wedding cakes.
A single layer 12x18 serves 54 ..... I use 50 for round numbers, so mine sell for $75. A double layer would be 108 servings, because you cut them different. (If you cut a double layer cake in the same 2x2 square, they are getting twice the cake beacause it's double layer).
However, if people need cake for 100 for a non-wedding event, they tend to order from me the 18x24, which serves 108 instead of the double layer, which serves 108.
Ok, now I'm confused. I go by the baking & serving guide in the back of the Wilton Yearbook & it says for a 12 x 18 the party servings are 72 & wedding is 108. For the 2" pans w/ 2 layers it says party is 72 servings and wedding is 98.
Why do these things have to be sooo difficult?
Ok, now I'm confused. I go by the baking & serving guide in the back of the Wilton Yearbook & it says for a 12 x 18 the party servings are 72 & wedding is 108. For the 2" pans w/ 2 layers it says party is 72 servings and wedding is 98. Why do these things have to be sooo difficult?
Standard single layer serving is 2x2x2. That means a 12x18 will be cut in 6 rows by 9 columns = 54 servings. Standard double layer piece is 1x2x4. That means the cake will be cut in 12 rows by 9 columns = 108 servings. Just do the math!
After I posted I did the math. Duh. And the Wilton Yearbook has 1 1/2 x 2" so that 1/2" gives an extra 2 rows. But I think it would hard to estimate 1 1 /2". Ok, now I think I don't want to do sheet cakes. I hate how much space they take up anyway & I usually end up knocking something over when twirling it around on the turntable & I'm anal on smoothness (since getting Sugarshack's dvd I'm finally able to satisfy that more whew!).
I looked at Walmart here the other day at the discount rack & they had a 1/2 sheet for $14.88. I don't know the typical price, but it was decorated w/ quite a few roses. I'm not promoting & I know they're nasty, etc. But it goes to show they can sell tons cheaper, even a lot cheaper than the cheapest in town!
I looked at Walmart here the other day at the discount rack & they had a 1/2 sheet for $14.88.
Also be careful when comparing "half" sheets (this is why I refuse to use the terms). I tend to think of a half sheet as 12x18.....my walmart calls an 11x15 a half sheet. So if I told a customer "Half sheet is $20" and they saw the $15 "half sheet" at walmart, they'd THINK walmart was cheaper, when in reality they're getting a smaller cake.
(btw, my 12x18's are NOT $20!)
I looked at Walmart here the other day at the discount rack & they had a 1/2 sheet for $14.88.
Also be careful when comparing "half" sheets (this is why I refuse to use the terms). I tend to think of a half sheet as 12x18.....my walmart calls an 11x15 a half sheet. So if I told a customer "Half sheet is $20" and they saw the $15 "half sheet" at walmart, they'd THINK walmart was cheaper, when in reality they're getting a smaller cake.
(btw, my 12x18's are NOT $20!)
My 12x18 wouldn't be either. I just used the WASC for a 12x18 (3" & 1 1/2 of the recipe) & it was about $10 in supplies. 
. Thanks for the heads up that walmart's 1/2 is 11x15", good for future comparison.
sweettoothmom,
you can offer what she is not, at your prices....
not sloppy and not hard to work with :}
does anyone else make deals with a neighborhood grocery store to save money?
maybe I shouldn't give out my secretes, but here is one:
my grocery store is individually owned, and gives me deals on cases of mixes....granted they are the same price I'd pay at walmart...but I don't have to drive all over town looking for what I need. they order what ever I need them too. they also save the eggs cartons that had a cracked egg in it...replace it of course. they can't sell it to the public, so they sell it to me for half of what a case of eggs would cost me.
I usually get 30 dozen eggs for less then $30.00
make friends with your neighbor hood, small stores.
melody
I don't see anything wrong with what this lady is doing. I don't bake at home, but if I did, I think that is what I would want to do. I would think that in 1 day she could easily bake and decorate 10 of those half sheets. If she made $20. profit off of each one...that is $200. for her and she had no stress, no prep time a week in advance, very low supply list and equipment.
Where I work we do cakes that way and if they want a drawing or special flowers on it we add $10.00 to the price and most of our customers do opt for the extra decorations. A drawing or special flowers takes maybe 20 minutes to do.
She isn't hurting your business, if they want it decorated with no flaws, covered with fondant and cutesy figures done to perfection, they have to realize it will cost them more.
I am sure there are a lot of customers who want that look of perfection....others just want some cake to serve. Some people buy paperback books because they just want to read the story, others buy the hardback edition for 4 times as much because they want it to look nice on their shelf.
....and for the record, I live in California and bought a house 4 years ago 3,000 sq. ft. for $190,000. I don't use cake mixes but can buy eggs 3 dozen for $5.00 at my local supermarket. Powdered sugar is $1.00 for 2 pounds. I feel sure I could bake and decorate a half sheet for not more than $5.00 in ingredients
......and right now it is hot enough here (100-114° in the shade.) I could sit the unbaked cake out on the sidewalk and it would be done in an hour, saving me the oven expense. (that was a joke.)
Thats a great deal! I wish we had individually owned stores, but in my town within 1 block of each other is a Kroger and a Walmart.
I usually get 30 dozen eggs for less then $30.00
make friends with your neighbor hood, small stores.
melody[/quote]
We have an egg farm about 10 minutes from us. A flat of xl eggs is about $3. She knows me now when I walk in and just asks how many. 
We don't live in a rural area either! It's just a small farm in the middle of a residential area. Glad I don't own one of their houses.
Are you allowed (by the HD), to buy eggs from a farm like that??
I think they are ok. Eggs can be sold in most states with little health dept intervention. Our neighbor sells them right out of the backyard. It would be no different than having your own chickens or your own cow for the butter or cream etc...... I believe all cooking or food prep should be done by a carfeul person. I know people in my town who are food preparers caterers and chefs who are the most digusting nad deplorable people in the world but because the day of thier licensing the kitchen etc was clean they have a license. I also think no matter what if you wouldnt eat from thier own household kitchen would you eat from thier commercial kitchen?
I have heard several times that "what the stomach doesnt know the stomach doesnt mind". I hate that saying becuase it is so yucky to think of what all could be going on but if you walked into the kitchen of your favorite eatery i think you would be shocked at the condition of the kitchen! Salmonella is carried on the outside of the eggs anyway. So wash your eggs and your hands before using them. It is all good!!!!
These eggs sold by my neighbor are bought the same day they are laid and then used with in two days of laying. To my understanding it is not necessary to pasturize when using them this quickly since they are fresh.
If the general public knew.... no one would ever go out to eat.
This may be true, but how about what you prepare at home, what goes on with the wheat before it comes into your house as a bag of flour. How the butter is handled before becoming a finished product........
We try to keep our food sanitary, and the laws are there to help us but there is no way it isn't going to be exposed to something shocking to our minds somewhere along the line.
I'm pretty sure the "general public" has a good idea. There have been so many documentaries/news specials/articles about it.... I think the convenience still overrides it. That and the "outta sight, outta mind."
I've worked fast food & food prep for 10 years. At one point the "largest family restaurant" I worked in had a big "B" on their front door from the health inspector - didn't slow business one bit!
But the "McDonald's isn't healthy!" news bulletins crack me up. I'm not eating a double cheeseburger, large fries, and a coke cause I think it's a square meal!
BCJean you are right we can only be as sanitary as our kitchen is. The product that is brought in is out of our control to some extent. The laws are in place to help us and regulate how many toxins or outside materials or agents can enter a food product before it is considered tainted. That is why our kitchens and our suppliers have to be top notch at all times.
PLEASE BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY YOU WOULD NOT EVER EAT OUT IF YOU ONLY KNEW!!!!
I invite people right into my home they see the kitchen they see where I store everything etc... If they feel comfortable enough then to order then they order. I have yet to have anyone refuse to order after seeing my kitchen.
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