A co-worker of my husband's has requested a Wizard of Oz themed birthday cake for his granddaughter for this weekend. Short notice, outside my usual perview (I do French-style pastries, mostly), yada yada. Hard to say no, though.

He needs to serve 10-12 people. What would y'all charge for a 10", 2 layer, banana nut (from scratch), filled with buttercream, covered in fondant and decorated in a relatively simply Wizard of Oz theme? I'm thinking $65, but want to be smacked if I'm undercharging. ; )

Thanks!

following wiltons wedding servings, a 10 inch (round) feeds 38. even a party serving chart shows 28. so you need to have the guy agree, in a contract preferably, to have 3 times (minimum) as much cake as he actually needs.

the minimun fondant price per serving (and i mean minimum as in cheapest, wedding sized usually - party size is bigger, so higher priced) on here is usually around £2.50, $95. which of course, also depends on your area.

you need to sit down and figure out your costs. what does it cost you to buy ingredients and equipment, even those couple of bits of kitchen towel, how much to heat and light the house (i assume anyway, its not a shop), run the oven and fridge, gas to get to the store etc etc, its a long list!!!!

(there is also the whole legal issue)
xx

So a basic fondant cake serving starts @ $4.00, which means the price of the cake would start at @ $48.00 for 12 servings. For me, not worth the bother. That is why I have a cake minimum of $100, so it is worth my while. That may be something you want to start doing.Also, for that many servings, is only a 6" cake.

My thought too... a 10" cake serves 35... if that's what he wants then he has to pay for all 35 servings. I would do an 8" since that is 20 servings and closer to his needed servings. I have a $100 minimum charge too, and cakes start at $3.75/serving... this would be a $4/serving cake party style (not torted and just filled with buttercream) and over $5/serving if they wanted more gourmet options.

At $65... you are charging $1.85-ish/per serving for a 10" cake. For a scratch cake... that doesn't leave you making much at all for your time.

Thanks for the feedback, all -- I decided to give myself a pass on this one (too short notice, too much already on my calendar). But the reality check on pricing is much appreciated.

Thanks for the feedback, all -- I decided to give myself a pass on this one (too short notice, too much already on my calendar). But the reality check on pricing is much appreciated.

Thanks for the feedback, all -- I decided to give myself a pass on this one (too short notice, too much already on my calendar). But the reality check on pricing is much appreciated.