How Much Would You Charge?

Decorating By mama5kiddos Updated 30 Jul 2008 , 8:49pm by mama5kiddos

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mama5kiddos Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 11:47pm
post #1 of 12

I have a VERY picky customer that wants LOTS of changes (down to detail like color of pants, color of shirt on the hiker, etc) and this is going to be a big cake, I am thinking I need a 12" layer, and 4-5 9" layers to make it big enough to feed this many people and sculpt it. I have attached the photo below of the cake she would like me to do detail similar to...so you can see how much detail is involved.

The infamous "How much would YOU charge for a cake like this" help is needed right now. Thanks in advance!
LL

11 replies
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karateka Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 7:59am
post #2 of 12

I would start at $4 per serving using Earlene's serving chart.

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kimmypooh79 Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 8:24am
post #3 of 12

B/c of the small town I live in I would charge $3-$4 per serving. Make sure you charge the per serving charge for a whole cake even though you are going to cut some away....you will after all half to bake a whole cake.

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Momkiksbutt Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 8:24am
post #4 of 12

For sculpted cakes I charge a base price of $30 and then I add to it for every detail that I have to make to it. You can count on the price of the sculpted figures and other items that you will be building out of gumpaste to start at $6.00 minium. Fondant will be the same. It also depends on how many people this cake is going to feed. You weren't clear on that detail, but it looks like a cake for about 100 people.

If I were doing this cake I'd charge a minimum of $95.00. It's going to take you at least a week to sculpt all the figures and decorations, and your time is worth something.

Hope it turns out the way you want it to! Good luck!!

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MikeRowesHunny Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 8:57am
post #5 of 12

$6 per serving, and not a penny less - this will take you a LONG time!

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mama5kiddos Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 1:17pm
post #6 of 12

Thanks for all your help! The cake needs to feed atleast 40 people, am I making it too big? It is always hard to gauge how big a 3D cake should be since I am just starting out. I just figured a 12" layer, then 4 or so 9" layers.

Also, do you think I can just use MMF for everything, (that is all I have used before)...or do I have to use gumpaste? (like the sign, will MMF harden enough to make the sign? Or Fondant?). For the "lake" she would prefer a field of wildflowers. Should I make the field in fondant as well, or do some of you use 1/2 bc for decoration?

TIA!

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sailers2 Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 3:17pm
post #7 of 12

Why not use the big wonder mold for the mountain? If that is not high enough you could put a round cake under it and then carve that into the mountain. If you look at the picture, it really looks like the wonder mold we use for the dresses just carved some on the sides.
Janet St. John

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formerbuckeye Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 4:47pm
post #8 of 12

What about starting out with the Wilton large cupcake pan? As for price, I would think somewhere between $5-$6 per serving.

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ccr03 Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 5:14pm
post #9 of 12

I thought Wondermold too.

YOu could go a Wondermold w/a 9" underneath and then the 12x18.

This is going to be for MUCH more than 40 people. I would tell her that first so she isn't surprised at the price or size.

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Momkiksbutt Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 7:26pm
post #10 of 12

If I had to guess...

I think this cake is contructed of at least 2 layers of square cake, and a mini wonder mold on top. The flared sides are likely cake scraps or rice crispies, or possibly just fondant, layered with draped fondant.

I would guess cake scraps though since the corners and sides seem to be carved off. That seems the most likely construction.

That's what I would do anyways...that way you can bake the cake in what ever size you want. I'd likely do it in 3 layers of a square 8 or 10 inch pan. IF you don't have a mini wonder mold pan, just use a small stainless steel bowl. I've done that lots of times and it works great and you don't have the extra expense of buying a special pan.

Good luck to you!

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CakeMommyTX Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 8:49pm
post #11 of 12

I did a cake similar to this...

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1224079

I used the wonder mold and mini wonder mold to make the mountain.
And I put it on a 10" round single layer cake.
It served a total of 30, big healthy slices of cake too.

I charged a base fee of 25$ for sculpted cakes, 25$ for the fondant figure, trees, rocks and animals, and $3.50 per serving.
Since I used the wondermold there was little to no carving, just a little shaping, so I did'nt lose alot of cake in the process.
The total was $155.
I also covered mine in ganache which was easier then had the customer wanted fondant. If it was fondant I would have charged 4$ per serving bringing the total to $170.
Hope that helps a bit. Good Luck!

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mama5kiddos Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 8:49pm
post #12 of 12

Thanks for all your help everyone!

I keep going back and forth on the price though. Right now I am offering a special to get more portfolio pics on my site, and it is "approx 40-50% off". I basically want to cover the cost of the supplies/ingredients, and would LIKE to have a good profit off of it, however I am just starting out and almost feel like I need the special to get more customers right now. So all of your pricing help REALLY helps me to get an idea of how much it would cost. I think I am going to charge her approx $105-120, but let her know on the quote that it IS with the special discount, in the future it will be alot more.

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