I am new to using fondant. This is the 3rd and biggest cake I have covered in fondant and while I am decently pleased with the outcome, I feel as though I probably wouldn't have paid the suggested prices I have found on some of the discussion boards here.

The bottom tier is 3 10" chocolate cakes filled with strawberry cream cheese frosting and a buttercream crumb coat.

The top tier is 2 6" vanilla with the same filling and crumb coat. 

I bought my ingredients during a regular grocery trip so it is hard for me to say how much I spent on ingredients but I would assume somewhere between $50 and $70.

I baked the cakes low and slow as to prevent the dome on top and to eliminate waste from needing to level them. As I only have 1 normal sized oven I could only bake 2 cakes at a time so it took quite a while. I would say start to finish I spent 15 hours on this cake.

It is my daughter's 1st birthday cake and many of my guests asked if I would do something similar (perhaps smaller) for their children's birthdays so now I am looking at a reasonable price to ask. What would you pay for this cake?

Side note:

I am aware of the wrinkle on the bottom tier, that happened because my butter cream dam broke and some of the cream cheese frosting started seeping out. Since this was only for my daughter's birthday I didn't bother fixing it but if it were for someone else I would have gone back and done it over. 

AIf you plan to do it as a business you need to find out whether you even can in your state and county. Then you need to make a business plan and work out your pricing from there.

When baking for friends, it's completely up to you to decide what you think is a fair price. Only you know what you think you'd be comfortable charging, based on how much you've spent on supplies and how long it took you. If you know it's going to cost you $50 in supplies and take 10 hours, would you be okay if your friend only wanted to pay you $25? $75? A specialty baker in your area might charge $250 for the same cake, but that doesn't mean your friends expect or are willing to pay that much.

Personally I've never charged any of my friends for the cakes I made, but they were my gift for the event and I got to decide on the design etc. Others do it for the cost of ingredients, or for a small fee on top of their costs, or for a much as $3-6 a portion. You have to decide what is right for you.

AI don't plan on doing this as a business as far as finding many outside customers. I would enjoy working in an already established bakery but for now I am just looking to make a small profit from friends and family who are looking for desserts. I don't want to charge crazy prices for anything, I am just curious about what a cake like this would generally go for as far as quality.

If you would like a small profit and you spend $50 on ingredients, I would say charge $100.  That's a nice 50% margin.  I agree, I don't charge my friends, neighbors or acquatintances a fortune.  I make a profit and am market value.  The last think you want is a reputation for being way to expensive and not worth the value.

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The amount someone outside your market would pay for the cake is irrelevant. Turning the question around and asking the guests how much they think the cake would cost will reveal far more useful information and will tell you whether or not it's worth it to target this market.

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That's only a 50% margin if your time is worthless and you have zero overhead.

AIf it is for a birthday party or other event I am going to I would make it at no cost as a gift but a friend has requested I make a cake for the bridal shower of a girl I have never met and won't be attending. You're right, I don't want people to think my prices are unreasonable but we are a single income family and I am also still in school so we would benefit from small profits, even if it is just $20-30 to buy diapers.

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I have asked my family how much they would pay for this particular cake and was told to, "Go ask the baker at the local supermarket what they would charge for a cake that size and increase it by $20." Others who are less informed about what it costs to make a cake said, "I don't know, like 20 bucks?"

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There's your answer. If you want to make it worth your while to sell cakes, you'll need to look outside your circle of friends and family and advertise to a market that is willing to pay for a premium product (after you've set up your business legally with the relevant licenses and insurance of course).

Read my article about Pricing, Market Value, and Economic Damage (linked below in my signature) for more details.

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Read my article on Allocated Overhead, the link is in my signature below.

Overhead and labor are both costs, if you fail to account for them when calculating your profit margin you will never have an accurate picture of whether your business is succeeding or failing.

No offense, but I wouldn't pay a nickel for it because I make my own cakes. Most of us on here do, so we are not who you should be asking, if you should ask anyone. But, that is not how I got my prices, because most people are cheap, and I don't want them telling me what they will pay for my cakes, I Tell THEM what they are going to have to pay to get one of my cakes. And to do a cake similar, someone would have to pay over $180. A 6 and 8 are $126, base price in my bakery, and I make 2-3 almost every week.

AAgain, it comes down to what you are comfortable charging and what your friend is willing to pay. You might find that she thinks it will only cost you a few bucks to make it and she's doing you a favor by giving you $25, she may also be a custom cake connoisseur who knows what it's worth and will happily give you a decent price.

AThis is exactly what we have been battling!!!

1. If you don't want to charge friends & family, don't. If you want to discount to them, do but let them know the market rate. Do this because it lets them know just how generous you are being, and so they don't think hey can walk in one of our bakeries & expect a similar cake for $50.

2. Oh yes you do have overhead & other hidden costs! Even if you are only doing 2 cakes a week & washing home dishes with others. Perhaps it's only a spoonful of detergent, but eventually you've used the whole bottle! I try to keep everything separate. I even bothered to research how many units it takes to run the dishwasher and the cost per unit.

3. The minute you charge, you are a business legal or not.

4. Charging what a cake is worth may be expensive, but it's not unreasonable! I find that one so very offensive. Seriously! Not being able to afford is not the same as not valuing. Just rude.

A similar cake, from me, would be $265. From another baker in my area who charges less, $190. And, the most expensive in my area would charge $600 if available.

This comment has nothing to do with how much to charge for your cakes. If you live in Florida then you are legal. The state of Florida has a Cottage food law. Here's a link pertaining all the guidelines  http://www.freshfromflorida.com/fs/CottageFoodAdvisoryWithFormNumber.pdf

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Not quite...if you live in Florida and abide by the rules of the cottage food law you do not need a license from the state, but you at least need to be aware of those rules and comply with other requirements at the municipal and federal levels (the cost of which should be incorporated into your prices).

just a quick note, if you wrap your tins in a strip (4-5 thickness's) of very wet newspaper (and tie it on with bakers string) you will find that the cakes will stay level. you won't have a dome. the dome happens because the tin gets to hot at the top. I cook all my cakes like this in a 150 degree oven. 

I bake my cakes at 325F and don't need to use any bake even strips or newspapers or wet cloths. I was using a wet towel and tried it without one day and realized it wasn't necessary. No cake trimming here!

thats correct. the baking strips you buy don't work as well as old fashioned news paper (and a lot cheaper)

good luck with the level cakes. havn't tried the wrapped in alfoil one, but thanks i will give it a try.

Need to be careful with Newprint these days- they use all sorts of different chemicals to what they used to and they are not designed to be heated.

The damp paper towels encased in foil are a much better option - cost is minimal as they can can be used more than once
 

oops