I am thinking of starting a side business decorating cakes, my family and friends advise that I should. I am doing a cake for my cousins dd's bday this weekend and I have no earthly idea how to charge for it. I am doing a Tinker bell wilton face on top of a 1/2 sheet cake all fully decorated with scratch buttercream frosting. BTW, I am no pro...lol. But I do okay, I guess. I like to do the character pan cakes and elaborate them. Any way how should I charge for something like this?

hi! I also do cakes mostly for family and friends. I usually take what it will cost me in materials and then depending on the amount of work involved add either 50% of that or 100% of that for the final cost. of course...in a situation like that where i was just starting out...i do A LOT of free cakes too, because i still make mistakes and would hate to take money for a cake that wasn't perfect.

recently i've been using an excel spread sheet that i downloaded off of this site, i believe its a sticky topic on this forum, its very detailed though and maybe not appropriate for this cake you are doing, but is good to fiddle around with and see what it says you should be charging.

at this point, i charge for cakes that i'm very comfortable making, and anything that has something that I've never done before, i usually offer to do for free and it's a way for me to build my skills and take another picture for my portfolio

Most charge by the serving. Call around your area and see what others are charging per serving. Detail also dictates the price. Is it legal to bake and sell out of your home where you live. As a side note it is illegal to sell Wilton Character cakes, their pans are marked for home use only. You can give them away but not sell them due to trademark issues.

Thank you both so much, there is great advice in both replies. Answers alot of my questions.