How much to pay a friend to make a Birthday cake??

Double the price of the ingredients

You'd be surprised. I only make as gifts now (I was a pastry chef for many years), but a three tier would minimally cost £50 to make. I recently did five tiers with fresh flowers for a niece's wedding, very simple cakes covered in a white chocolate ganache and it cost almost £150 to make.

It's also a 3 layer cake, not 3 tier. OP corrected herself in a later post.

He’s not a professional though and therefore shouldn’t t charge as such.

I think you're the only person on here who has said the right kind of amount for a 3 tier cake.

Are there actual l real life people who wouldn't give a kid wanting to practice baking something on top of the ingredients because he's not registered with the council?

I hope I never meet one

Hi, I'm a hobby cake person and I usually ask for cost of ingredients. For me it's an easy way to build skills etc that I probably wouldn't have time to practice at home. On average I'd say people would pay me an extra thirty plus a bottle of something

I'd get him an Amazon gift voucher then.

Add Macmillan coffee mornings to that list too.

At least the cosy of the ingredients, which is quite pricey these days. Plus the cake board, the cake box to carry it in. Plus minimum hourly wage for his age group

You don't really suggest only to pay for ingrediens?

Didn't you? Presumably you know they take a few hours and that people will charge more than minimum wage for a skill like cake making and decorating. If you'd thought about it for a few seconds you would have realised you'd be looking at £30-40 just in labour at least, plus the ingredients.

I think you need to give him at least £60.

Ingredients will be more than you think. Butter and eggs alone are pricey now.

I’d pay for the ingredients and then thirty quid on top.

Unless he's registered with his local council to allow him to sell food from his home then it's a moot point. He can legally only charge you for cost of ingredients.

It's not that people don't understand the concept. It's more so that when you're baking a cake for somebody, they usually take the cake away and it gets eaten over the course of a few days. It also doesn't look professional presented in one of those. They're fine for a cake for your nana, but for a birthday party or occasion, people generally want a board and box they don't need to then return.

I'm amazed all the people assuming he must want paying.

I'd be so embarrassed if friends offered money for me making them a cake (beyond ingredients cost). I'm doing it as a friend, being offered money would make me feel like they didn't value me as a friend and felt obliged to pay

Do be aware some people could be quite offended at being offered hourly wage etc for something they want to offer as a gift or sign of appreciation.

That's already a lot of money buy the ingredients and then pay him £15 an hr still a bargain .

amazed at the number of people that don't understand the concept of a reuseable cake container
ANGIX 30cm Cake Box with Handle

A retired friend in my village charges me £45 for a one tier fondant iced cake with a few fondant decorations on (fondant letters spelling a name, for example) for my kids
birthday parties. (I’d pay more if she asked, but it’s always £45!)

if there is anything particular / fancy the kids ask for in terms of decorations, i buy them and give them to her.

Absolutely great if you have the time to learn techniques and have the ability to decorate a cake 🤦‍♀️Many people do not have the time or inclination to do it themselves

Of course. But for many people it is enjoyable.

I often think we've lost track of the notion of a hobby. Everyone wants to do everything for money. Its not enough to love singing & enjoy the church choir etc, everyone wants to be a professional singer.

There's space for hobbyists and professionals. As a pp said for all the people out there who love doing it for fun, there's all those who hate it and are happy to pay £150 for a child's birthday cake in order to not think about it.

Agree with this for the most part and that’s likely the reason for backlash in here.

However, I am actually a professional baker and really I couldn’t care less about hobbyists. There are customers out there for us all and everyone has different budgets. 💕

I used to make cakes for family and friends and received no money for it. I did stop not because I didn't like it but it was very time consuming. Ingredients can cost anything from £20-£30. It included different packs of fondant icing, as I used to make the iced decorations myself, the base, the basic ingredients, cake box. It would take a couple of days with both evenings before dedicated to it. It really depends on exactly how detailed and decorated the cake is. Baking it is the easy part, it's all the rest!

Absolutely great if you have the time to learn techniques and have the ability to decorate a cake 🤦‍♀️Many people do not have the time or inclination to do it themselves!

I make cakes and occasionally sell them. From that description, I’d charge around £100. You have to consider the ingredients, time, electricity etc. It’s not cheap to make a cake.

If the ship has sailed with giving him a budget I'd whack £30 on top of the ingredients cost / round that to the nearest 5.