£130 on a cake?!

I'm a professional cake maker. If you go for the cake, please make sure your baker is registered with the local council (if they are, they will be happy to show you their paperwork). There are an awful lot that sell their work without having jumped through the hoops so you have no idea of their hygiene practices. I also invested in a two-year qualification to make sure I have learnt the techniques correctly - there's an awful lot of misinformation being taught on YouTube! Finally, the cost will reflect the quality of the ingredients used to a degree - I know of bakers who use vegetable fat (e.g. Trex) to make their 'buttercream' because it's cheap and easier to colour - I bet they don't tell their customers that! A genuine baker will be happy to answer all these questions and provide tracing for all their ingredients, so do your homework!

There’s no right or wrong answer to this one. If you can afford it and want to push the boat out, go for it.

Do you like the big Costco cakes? You can order a plain one and Etsy sell customised icing sheets to fit them with loads of options (photos etc) looks good with sprinkles round the sides of the icing sheet

This is really personal. Nobody in my family really likes cake, so for us it would be a total waste, when any old cake would do. Some people adore cake and 130 doesn’t sound all that expensive.

Having said that, M and S and Waitrose both do good cakes that you can layer etc for much less than custom made.

How big is the cake? What sort of cake? Makes a big difference as to whether that’s a fair price.

I’m sure you won’t but please don’t do that thing where you decide to make it yourself, then change your mind and try to book a cake maker at very short notice. I remember a thread by a cake maker who said she kept getting people get very cross with her because they would attempt to book her with a few days’ notice and it wasn’t possible.

As soon as the first slice is cut the decoration is ruined.
It depends on whether looking at photos of the cake, in the future, will be worth the cost.
Sorry to be so practical. 🌺.
Hope you have a great day whatever you decide, and many more to follow

£130 sounds reasonable for that type of cake.
Only you @NowStartAgain can decide if it’s worth the cost to you.

I think a lot of this depends on the value you put on your own time (and what you can afford). If you love baking and would enjoy spending a day baking and icing a beautiful cake, then you should do that. If, like me, you'd rather do anything other than that, and don't also want the hassle of searching for the right supermarket cake, fresh fruit/flowers cake toppers etc, then it makes sense to pay £130 for someone else to do it all.

It’s pretty standard around here. I’ve paid that for my kids birthday parties! However do absolutely get references for it.

I paid £150 for my daughters 18th cake - only for immediate family as well as no party.

would not do it every year but for a special birthday I think it’s a nice treat.

130 for a large-ish, nicely decorated, tasty cake for a special birthday? Yes, I'd pay that. It's by no means very cheap or anything, but it doesn't sound extreme either. I'm not a cake person, but my family is, so there's that.

For a regular small birthday - no, small shop/bakery cake would do just fine (I can't bake to save my life), but for a party with friends and family, 130 seems ok.

Happy Birthday, OP :)

If I was having one made I would specify no syrup on the cake,I find that really spoils it.

I recently made a large, four tier cake for an event with ‘proper’ ingredients (I.e real butter instead of spread/ cheap oil) and with the tropical fruits to decorate it cost almost £40. Then there’s the box, bakers time, energy costs etc. it all stacks up so I can easily see why they’re over £100.
if I couldn’t afford a pro I would bake myself rather than a shop bought one due to the quality of ingredients used.

Depends what your budget is but I’ve ordered a cake and thought it was great and worth it.

M&S and Waitrose do good standard celebration cakes including numbers, e.g. '40' = £66? If you're not after anything too fancy they look professional. Style it up with a nice cake stand, add balloons etc Or spell out your name and birthday age in cup cakes in different flavours and colours!
If, however, you'd like a life size representation of your dog in cake form then it's a special order from a skilled baker.

My DH spent quite a lot of money on my 50th birthday cake - which was beautifully decorated to look like my garden - which is my pride and joy. It was delightful and I'm still slightly in awe of the woman who managed to ice it.

Get a nice cake - it's your birthday!

I made my own wedding cake. It was 3 tiers of chocolate fudge cake ( Nigella recipe) I then just iced it all over with Swiss meringue butter cream then covered it in edible flowers. For my 40th I made chocolate cupcakes iced with buttercream. If you use a good nozzle they look really professional.

Any commercial cake I've tasted isn't as good as a simple homemade cake. But it depends if you want something more complicated looking.

Honestly? I think people massively underestimate how much it takes to make things like cakes. Plus the economy is difficult. It’s good to be able to support a small, local business.

Please post a photo of the cake on here when you’ve got it.

I’ve always found professional cakes to be a bit hit and miss. They look great but the cake itself can be disappointing.

You don’t say how many people but in similar situations I’ve gone for a couple of Waitrose Fiona Cairns lemon daisy cake (delicious!), or for larger numbers Waitrose to order cakes which are for 20+ people.

Looks like you better supply cake then :-)

I'm in the same boat as you. My 40th this year and throwing a party. I think I'm going to get a small cake to simply cut and that's it. I'd rather put more money behind the bar than on cake.

IMO they are worth the price of no stress, when you've got a party to sort out. I like Costco cake, but they don't do numbers. I'd go for the professional one.

If you want the cake - if it will bring you joy, add to the sense of occasion, you will enjoy eating it, and can afford it, then order the cake. Honestly, financial prudence is great but so is joy and - like everything in life - balance is important