I am going to be making a grooms cake for a friend of mine for her rehearsal dinner and this will be my 1st "I'm getting paid cake". I have been racking my brain to try to figure out how much to charge so I make some money off of this as I don't just want to break even or come up short (especially since it needs to be done the day after Thanksgiving). I was wondering if some of you guys can let me know how much you would charge for what I am doing:

It will be a white coffee mug with "World's Best Husband" on the mug. It needs to feed about 40 people so I was going to make 4 six inch rounds and stack them for a total of an 8 inch or so cake. Cake will be Crème Brule cake (MacsMom's) recipe with whipped chocolate ganash filling. Cup will be covered in white MMF and lettering will be hand cut out of black fondant. I am still trying to figure out how to make the coffee mug handle. Top of the mug will just be covered w/ cho MMF for the coffee look. I am going to use the SPS system to stack it as she is picking it up and I want it to be as stable as possible since i am not transporting it. I was going to charge $80. Will this give me a profit? Would any of you charge more?

I am not here to speak on price but on the mug handle.

I would suggest a firm sugar cookie. At each end that would attach to the cake, bake in lollipop or popsicle sticks. And have an extra in case it breaks.

Oh and remind the recipient(s) not to try picking up the cake by the handle!


good luck!

How much is the cake going to cost you to make? Including everything you will be using?

How much is your time worth? About how much time do you think it will take?

How much profit do you want to make?


http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-wedding-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm

According to this chart, two 6x4 cakes would serve 24 people.

Two 8x4 cakes would serve 48 people.

Oops thanks TexasSugar. I neglected to see that 2 two inch layers was the base calculation for 1 layer

Which state are you in? In some states it is illegal to accept any compensation (even just being reimbursed for the cost of the cake) for baked goods made at home. If you live in one of those states and you do not bake out of a licensed commercial kitchen, you should not accept any money for the cake.

Otherwise, follow TexasSugar's post and add up your ingredient costs and the cost of your labor, then add a profit margin (typically 20-30%).