Me again, I didn't want to derail the thread below going on another topic. I am a hobbyist and may one day consider an at home business after I learn a lot more. I have not done a lot of square cakes. Why do they cost more than round ones? Is it because the sharp edges take more work/time?
more cake batter used--more servings for 'same' size round cakes--
but yes corners take more expertise too
Well that would explain why my square cakes did not "rise" enough. They have seemed a little short, lol. Guess I will need to adjust my recipe accordingly so I'll have more batter!
oh those dang little details--you cracked me up--
but lookie here--http://www.wilton.com/wedding/wedding-cakes/wedding-cake-data.cfm
tells you how much batter for the different size pan--
happy high rising baking to you now & always
plus often you need to build the corners up with an extra sliver of cake to get it to height--just spread some icing on both sides of the sliver so it all stays put during serving--if it's chocolate cake --use choco icing so it's not so obvious--confessions of a professional wedding cake decorator hahahaha
If you look at a serving chart, the square cakes feed more people but a per serving cost is per serving cost.
AI do know some people who have mentioned charging more for square then round. I'm talking about an added charge for labor, as well as serving size.
This is not something I do-but the people have discussed the extra time it takes to build up the sides, etc. as stated above.
You will need to decide what you want to include in your 'base' prices, how much you want to make an hour, if you want to charge per slice, what serving chart to use...I know you've heard all this, there's just a lot to consider when pricing.
I have nothing to contribute to this conversation other than I hate doing squares, and talk people out of them whenever possible. :D
I also hate to do square cakes and I charge more for them, hoping to talk the person out of it. So far it's worked every time....a penny more for a square cake....and people choose rounds.
Last summer I had a bride who wanted all squares spiraling like 10 layers tall and she was adamant that they all be really thin one layer cakes (to feed 350). I was THRILLED that they didn't purchase from me!!! Yuck-o!
Oh ick...what an "interesting" concept. I'm all for brides getting the cake of their dreams....just somewhere else sometimes. :D
I do a buttload of square cakes for some reason, I don't charge more for them, maybe that's why.
There's one baker in town who tells brides that they cost more because you have to start with a round cake and cut the square cake out of it. I'm not kidding.
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There's one baker in town who tells brides that they cost more because you have to start with a round cake and cut the square cake out of it. I'm not kidding.
That's hysterical!!
I once worked at a place where the previous pastry chef cut every cake out of a full sheet pan. I struggled to get them to understand why I needed round pans for my wedding cakes.........sheesh I don't know how that person had so much spare time than I did.......can you imagine frosting every cake with soft cake edges?....
AI know there's quite a few people out there that cut their cakes from sheet cakes, that's definitely not a rare thing to hear about. I couldn't do it, but I get it. Quicker baking time, consistent results, not too much left over if you are good with geometry..or some sort of math, ha ha!
AAt very high volumes it probably becomes more efficient to have a constant stream of sheet cakes coming out of the oven and cut out the sizes needed for each order, with the waste being repurposed into cake balls.
Except that this guy cuts square cakes from round ones, or so he says. Has nothing to do with cutting everything from a sheet cake.
I've seen bakeries that cut everything out of sheets but just throw the scraps out. Depending on what kind of icing you're using it wouldn't be too hard to ice the cut-out edges (meringues would be easy) but if you're using a stiffer icing it would be a pain. In the grand scheme of custom cake pricing, though, the thrown-out cake is the least of your worries in the cost, so if it's faster to bake everything in sheets and cut them out, the time saved in terms of mixing and baking for different sized rounds would make sense.
Still not the same as cutting a square cake from a round, though
A
Original message sent by costumeczar
Except that this guy cuts square cakes from round ones, or so he says. Has nothing to do with cutting everything from a sheet cake.
Sorry, I should have quoted Stitches' post.
Although theoretically if you make a high volume of primarily round cakes the same labor savings would apply for an occasional square order.
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Sorry, I should have quoted Stitches' post.
Although theoretically if you make a high volume of primarily round cakes the same labor savings would apply for an occasional square order.
It's more likely that he's trying to jerk customers around by making up a ridiculous reason for charging more.
but all that guy needs is a set of square pans--ver ver strange--some kind of mental blockhead
he needs to be more like sponge bob (square pants)
Depending on what kind of icing you're using it wouldn't be too hard to ice the cut-out edges (meringues would be easy) but if you're using a stiffer icing it would be a pain.
He did that for stacked wedding cakes and they only did about 12 per year. As Jason suggested in his post if could work-out for a high volume place......I can't conceive of that, ever!! I can't find a logical answer to why anyone would bake in full sheet pans and cut to size unless they couldn't get pans in the right sizes. Why did those people do that?????
Here's a crazier part, I didn't add the fact that the job required the pastry chefs to pre-slice all our cakes for serving. So every dessert cake he made even iced with meringue had to be sliced and kept pretty. That was hard to do even with crusted edge cakes......
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Here's a crazier part, I didn't add the fact that the job required the pastry chefs to pre-slice all our cakes for serving. So every dessert cake he made even iced with meringue had to be sliced and kept pretty. That was hard to do even with crusted edge cakes......
Now that's just stoopid.
This brings up a pet peeve. I hate washing square and rectangular cake pans. They get tiny crumbs stuck in the corners that I have to dig out with a toothpick. Round pans are easier and faster to wash.
But no, I don't actually charge more for squares except that "all cakes are priced individually by number of servings and complexity of design" so a square that provides more servings will cost more based on servings and "complexity" might take into account how many corners I have to deal with --especially if I'm quoting on a day when I'm tired of dealing with PITA clients.
I hate square pans. The first cake I sold was square, and then I switched and am so happy I only do round cakes. I sold my square pans on Ebay!
AI quit taking orders for square cakes a long time ago. Heck i even bake round brownies now.
AI hate making square cakes. Meh. Washing the pans and digging out the crud with a toothpick is another story - hate it!
However - a brownie isn't a brownie unless it has four corners.
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