I have not made a cstle cake but when I look at pictures of them, usually the baker says they will never do one again so it must be very time consuming.
How many people are you needing to feed? Or are you just wanting to know how much we would charge for the castle alone?
Your question was "How much would you (meaning the people that respond to you) charge for this?" I answered, and yes plenty of people I do work for would pay for that.
I think you misunderstood my reply and interpreted it as being rude.
What I meant to say was, I think it would be unreasonable to quote someone $600 for a cake that would feed 40 people and a kids party. The picture I attached would feed 100+ easily. So, I'm looking for a price idea for a cake to feed 40 plus the detail involved.
40 servings is 40 servings, doesnt matter the ages of the people who are going to be eating it. A serving is a serving. So, for 40 servings, $320 for the cake itself, then $100 for the castle on top. So $420.
Well then, figure out your costs and whether you want to make $2.00 an hour for the extreme amount of stress and detail (if you intend to make a really nice looking cake) or want to make an appropriate amount per hour. It's really a good idea to be able to figure these things out, and then realize how much work really goes into it.
And again, if it's inappropriate for you to quote something like that, then own it. Because it is not inappropriate for a lot of us who know what we are doing when we say shocking things like $15/serving.
Those kinds of cakes can only be justified by charging an enormous amount of money for them. Just look at the detailing!
It doesn't matter if it's only for kids. If they don't want to pay what it's worth, then they can always pick out a much simpler cake.
I would estimate 30-40 hours of work in a cake like that. How much do you want to make per hour?
Charge for your time. Whether or not they want to pay you to make that particular cake is up to them. The occasion is irrelevant. They want to hire you for a job. What is your rate?
yep...I think 15 a serving sounds good. If you think it's unreasonable, then you shouldn't be selling cakes. Do it for fun. That is a very reasonable price, you obviously have never made one of those. It is a pain in the rump. You will kick yourself if you charge too low.
the top looks like it come from here http://bargainbridalshop.com/
CAST 8L (Cinderella Castle)
That changes everything--I thought the castle was all gumpaste!
You could make a simple version of this cake. Sometimes a client shows a cake that would make a seasoned professional cry but in reality they would be happy with a realistic version.
I did have someone give me a picture of a towering monster cake - I wanted to 
because I could never afford the time, money or stress to make it. The next day I created a drawing of my version and they loved it!
So - like a stylist who gets a photo of a movie star and then "make it work" (Tim Gunn ...love him on Project Runway)...you can also give a gentle nudge to your prospect client to a more doable cake.
What do you think?
I agree with Dizzymaiden, I'd sketch up a simpler version of the cake your client has shown you. There is no way they need that much cake for 40 people but she obviously wants that look. What about a simpler 2 tier (say 6"/4" stack) with a store bought castle for the top. I'd give her a price for the cake alone and then seperate out the price for the castle if it is going to be made with gumpaste/fondant - think she'll opt for something bought from a store for the topper very quickly! Sorry can't offer a price as I'm in NZ and costs probably wouldn't equate. Good luck and take only the positive out of comments you receive, I'm sure cake central is designed for hobby & professional cake decorators 
Hey Guys
I too think the topper is plastic so work out how much the topper would cost have the top 2 tiers be dummies and do enough for 40 servings with the bottom tier - simple! 
Hey Guys
I too think the topper is plastic so work out how much the topper would cost have the top 2 tiers be dummies and do enough for 40 servings with the bottom tier - simple!
wow! what a great idea! I never thought of the 2 tiers being dummies.
As for everyone else on here, fyi, I don't do this for my fulltime job, it's a hobby and part-time income. I'll admit I probably don't charge enough for my work, but again, I'm new at this, and wouldn't know what to charge for things, this is why I came on here.
As others have said, generally cake castles are a pain. They take quite a bit of work. However, in looking at this cake (and as others have said) it does appear the topper is plastic so you're really only dealing with round cake layers.
You can do it!!!! May I suggest you be careful in pricing out dummy layers as they take the same amount of work to cover and decorate as a cake layer does and when you factor in the cost of the dummy, it really isn't much cheaper than cake.
It's difficult when you ask someone else what they would charge as everyone has different prices depending on where they reside, whether they are professionals or hobbiest and what their expenses are. I personally always giggle to myself when I see someone ask what they should charge for a cake.
As an example my daughter owns a bakery 3 hours away from my bakery, however her rent is $1600 a month whereas mine is $600 a month. Of course her prices are gong to be higher than mine. Go ahead and price the cake for an amount in which you feel comfortable asking. It is a good experience and you'll feel rewarded when it turns out wonderfully. Good luck!
the top looks like it come from here http://bargainbridalshop.com/
CAST 8L (Cinderella Castle)
Wow, even going the easy route and buying it rather than making it yourself, you'd have to start with $40 + shipping, just to include the topper (and don't forget that after paying for the topper, you'd have to spend time and materials to decorate it with the colors and whatnot it would take to make it look like you want it to). You should charge (much) more for it if you do it yourself, because it will take a horrendously long time to do at all, let alone get it looking as good as this.
For the rest, while I can't speak at all to your costs, how much time it will take you, or how much you would need to get for it for you to be willing to spend that amount of time on the cake... but some of the least expensive fondant work I've seen quoted on here is $3/serving, which would be $120 for 40 servings.
I don't really think it would be reasonable to charge any less than $200 for the cake... unless this is something you really, really want to do just because you think it would be fun.
When we did this castle cake in December, we charged $687, and it was only about 30 servings of cake and a dozen cupcakes, but the amount of labour involved was monumental. It took a day and a half to hand pipe the stones. If anything, we undercharged.
Here is one place that sells that topper.
http://www.allthatsparklesoccasions.co.uk/index.php/sitenav/productpage/17
Maybe 40 hours if you're going to make the castle out of sugar. Are you? Other than that I don't see anything that would take any 40 hours. On the other hand, you can't get a 40 portion castle cake from the walmart bakery for $40. Why would a client expect to hire a baker that makes custom cakes and pay less than the junk cake in a grocery store?
Here is another one. http://www.pat-t-cakes.com/E-Store/Castle8.html
The topper unfinished is not cheap so they probably won't want to pay what the cake would be worth. I personally would have to charge in my area around $300 for the cake.
Here is one place that sells that topper.
http://www.allthatsparklesoccasions.co.uk/index.php/sitenav/productpage/17
Yeah they sell it for 35 pounds. Thats more than $40 american before the shipping ....from england.
Have you thought about utilizing the Wilton Castle set, then it is returned to you and you will have to re-work for another time? Also Cal-Java sells castle pieces too. Good luck.
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