to ask how much you would pay for homemade Christmas cake

To clear up some of the misinformation on this thread...

In order to sell cakes (or any other food item) made in your domestic kitchen, you are legally supposed to register as a food business, 28 days before you start trading.
Registering means informing your local council (usually by filling in a very basic online form). It is FREE to register, and they cannot refuse your registration.

Once you've registered, somebody from the council'ss environmental health dept may visit your home to make sure your premises are suitable from a food safety point of view....

meaning:
that you can store food safely (including refrigeration for items that need it and a system for ensuring this is at the correct temperature);
that you have adequate work space to handle the food safely;
you have hot and cold running water;
that you have facilities to wash equipment and a separate place to wash your hands;
that there isn't a toilet opening directly into the food preparation area;
that you can store/ dispose of waste properly;
that you have sufficient lighting, proper drainage & ventilation;
that you don't have a pest problem (and have protection in place)

...and that you have a system in place to manage food safety risks, and prevent cross-contamination.

They will also want to check that whatever you're selling is labelled accurately (with any allergens listed) so that people know exactly what they're getting.

They will expect you (and anyone else working in your food business) to have done a food hygiene training course - which is a good idea anyway - and may also expect you to have a health & safety policy, and a fire risk assessment, for your premises.

I don't know what the rules are around putting brandy or any other alcohol in cakes as the bakery I worked in didn't do this - maybe someone else does?

You can register via this link: https://register.food.gov.uk/new

To sell you will need to register with the local council and have an inspection of your premises. It’s a simple enough process but not worth taking the risk of selling without being registered! You’ll also need public liability insurance!

I think with the price of the ingredients in a fruit cake, you wouldn't be able to charge enough to make a decent profit, it wouldn't be worth the time and effort. I've done car boots and cake sales and what tends to sell well are small cakes like rock cakes, brownies, flapjacks and cupcakes. I've also done shortbread rounds, various flavours like chocolate chip or cherry & almond. Loaf cakes sell well, chocolate, lemon drizzle etc and Victoria sponge type cakes which can be sold by the slice. My bestsellers were coffee and walnut and St Clements (orange and lemon).

Cost up carefully so that you know what it costs you to make each cake and then add on a reasonable amount for profit.

If its any help I sold several 6inch square cakes plain iced for £7 each. for a charity. Also sold several smaller slicespriced by weight again plain iced. These went really well from £3 .

Absolutely the same here. Mine cost £40ish in ingredients alone.

Every year I have lots of mixture left over and usually end up making a mountain of Christmas cake buns that we just eat throughout the season, so I thought this year I'd use the left over mixture to make three or four extra small cakes and see how they sell...I just wondered what price to put on them. I was thinking £5 so the fact the majority have suggested £10 seems pleasantly surprising, considering I wouldn't be spending any extra time or money

You can't do that @TheHopefulBaker - you would need to register with the council first and get your kitchen approved before you can sell food for profit.

You need to be registered if you sell food for your own profit unless you apply for a small business exemption. The other exception is for charity (so those MacMillan coffee mornings, for example) and fundraising events.

I hate xmas cake and make a chocolate one.
I wouldn’t buy cake at a car boot from someone I don’t know.
Are you hygiene registered?

I make our family Christmas Cake, admittedly it’s big, but it costs a LOT to make, the ingredients all add up, all the fruit, I add glacé cherries, the marzipan is expensive, butter, eggs, brandy…

Cost this up properly.

That Meg Rivers cake is six inches (so really small) and sells for £48. That sounds about right tbh.

The £10 one from M&S people mention is a small cake bar with icing only on the top. Say 5-6 small slices. But if that's what ppl want then it's fine for sure. I don't think people are looking for a really big Chr cake so much.

All baking is so ££ now – I made a batch of brownies for a work sale the other week and as it happened, I needed to buy everything except the sugar; ingredients (for about 20 smallish brownies) came to £12. So if I were selling them, I would have had to price them at £1 just to cover costs of ingredients and electric; to actually make money it would be £2-£2.50 each. Not sure anyone would pay that for a two-inch square brownie.

ETA I see the OP has posted again – yes if you sell at a car boot you will need to jump through the hoops mentioned. Honestly I cannot see how selling a Chr cake, even a small one, for a fiver would come close to covering costs. And you do have costs, even if you have already bought the fruit etc.

Easily, easily a fiver and probably a tenner for one op. And I also think the idea of small ones is nice.

Lots of people have talked about the appearance of the cake and I think some people automatically assume a hard, smooth fondant icing is somehow best. It does look professional if done well, but I actually dislike eating it - lots of people in my family pull it off and just eat the cake as it is hard going and sickly. I much MUCH prefer a soft peaked royal icing and there will be others who do too. It looks delicious.

@TheatricalLife But DD wasn’t selling her cake! Leiths has high standards!

From a car boot sale? Presumably with none of the required permits, licensing, inspections done, nothing. Make some extras and give them to friends as a xmas gift

What quality are you ingredients ? Do you use butter or margarine ? Are your eggs free range ? How many days do you soak the dried fruit in alcohol ?
A fair few people would expect the best ingredients and the above .
Plus how many do you expect to cook in your oven at a time , mine cook for hours and very obviously you can't keep opening and closing the oven door to move them so they get an even cooking and not be raw or overcooked .
What you sell them for would not cover your costs .

And the stories I have heard about aeroplane food!

Surely if you’re going to make food to sell to the public you would have at least had a hygiene inspection/certificate or whatever it is that says your kitchen is clean and you adhere to hygiene standards. I totally understand your desire to make some money this time of year but surely you have to jump through some hoops first. Maybe next year?

Look at megrivers.co.uk - her Christmas range and her mini-cake Christmas selection is wonderful, selling price from £30 to over £50.

They look absolutely perfect and I think if you could get yours to look similar you’re into a winner!

This. I'm sorry OP but I think unless you're willing to not go through proper legal channels for selling food to the public I honestly wouldn't do it. It won't be the quick money spinner you hope it will.

I make my own cake in October. If I calculated the amount of time I put into it e.g soaking the fruit in brandy for a week, chopping nuts and cherries, mixing and baking time, and the money for the ingredients (including the extra brandy to ‘feed’ it) I would probably have to sell it for at least £30-35 to even break even. I don’t think that car boot attendees would pay that. Maybe make individual small cakes as other posters have suggested

Always tickles me about people clutching pearls about home made food for sale though, if they looked into permitted levels of contaminants in processed food (including insects, chemicals etc ) they might never eat again. Look up Codex Alimentarius

I wouldn’t trust your hygiene or the ingredients list I’m aftaid as I don’t know you; shop bought would be preferable.

I wouldn’t buy cake from a car boot sale. Maybe offer to take orders on Facebook, with payment in advance.

I think there are easier ways to make extra cash. Royal Mail always post a flier asking for temporary Christmas staff.

It's expensive to make a Christmas cake, so I don't the markup that you'd actually get back would be worth it

Maybe make them for Xmas gifts??

I’m pretty sure you’re wrong and you do need a food hygiene certificate. It’s done online and only costs a few pounds. I have a holiday let and need one if I’m leaving anything homemade (marmalade in my case).

If it's on an occasional basis like this I don't think you do? I think it's wise to label it with ingredients and allergens but it's not like you need a hygiene certificate. Not to do bootsales a few times once a year.