What cakes for baking stall at fundraising fair?

[MotherForkinShirtBalls]

What do you buy? I've been volunteered to organise the baking stall at a fundraiser next month. I've never paid much attention to it before so trying to work out what will sell. What's your top pick?

[MuseumOfYou]

Big cakes always made the most money as you could easily charge over £3-4 for a Victoria Sponge sized cake

I make occasional cakes for a local tea room and it costs in ingredients, let alone time, shopping, oven costs etc about £3.60 to make a 4 egg 8" Victoria sandwich with raspberry conserve and vanilla buttercream. I use free range eggs and proper butter in the buttercream.

I sell mine whole for £10 and I think that's probably much less than minimum wage to make! I would weep if it was sold for £3-4 at a cake stall.

I am doing a stall this weekend at a village hall and I am going to cut mine into quarters and sell for £3 each. Still only works out at a pound for a generous slice. I have been asked not to sell single cakes/slices as they have their own refreshments and I don't want to undermine that so everything I sell will be already wrapped.

I don't think there is much of a market for people to buy a large cake on a whim, unless they have a large family! I think smaller portions are more appealing and sell better and for a better margin.

[MuseumOfYou]

I just did a MacMillan coffee morning at work and made loads because we had a donation spot rather than a set price. People will pay for quality homemade cake, and unless your target audience is known for being mean you might just find people throw more in than the requisite 50p a slice

I did this once. Just the once. I was really disappointed how people took advantage. 🙁

[yearinyearout]

Kids always used to go for the plain sponge traybake with icing and sprinkles on top, so I used to make a big one of those, along with a chocolate one with chocolate fudge icing, and a lemon drizzle one (popular with the adults)

[donquixotedelamancha]

Turkish biscuit cake, you can really guarantee it's good grin?

The word on the street is that it's worth getting banned from MN for.

[TheScruffyDog]

Top hats, make sure there's top hats! It's the most popular here in Scotland!
(Bun case with melted chocolate then marshmallow stuck in then but if chocolate on top to stick a smartie onto) can sell individually for 20p it out a few in a bag for a quid.

I have never heard of these and had to Google as I couldn't picture it...so that's tomorrow afternoon with a small boy activity sorted then! Well, no, twenty minutes of fun eating melted chocolate and then spend the rest of the afternoon clearing up what looks like a dirty protest more likely, but, I'm looking forward to it!

[Bloodybridget]

@DonQuixotedelaMancha h'm, Turkish biscuit cake, you can really guarantee it's good ?

[managedmis]

Does Bara Brith actually taste of tea though?

[managedmis]

donquixotedelamancha

^^

Where did you hear that?

[FinnMcMissile]

@Collision hope you can read this. It's straightforward, but requires a bit of planning as you have to let each layer cool before adding the next.

[Collision]

@FinnMcMissile do you have a good recipe for Millionaires Shortbread please?

[Bluerussian]

Scones, nice light ones, some with fruit and some without.
Cup cakes and muffins always go down well.

[FinnMcMissile]

I always make Millionaires shortbread for PTA sales now. I have tried other things, but find that if people don't know what they are exactly, they don't want them, e.g.the peach crumble bars I once made. Millionaires shortbread is always popular with adults. I agree with PP That Victoria sponge, brownies, coffee and walnut cake, lemon drizzle and fancy looking cupcakes are also popular. With kids, I agree that chocolate rice krispie cakes and cupcakes with frosting on top are winners.

[TheFaerieQueene]

I don’t know about cake sales - not something I have ever been involved in and I don’t eat cake.

I do make Bara Brith for people and apparently it is v nice.

This is the recipe I use

//www.recipesmadeeasy.co.uk/julies-bara-brith-friends-kitchen/

[MotherForkinShirtBalls]

You and me both, Collision.

Just had a thought. If I made (hundreds of) plain biscuits in the letters of the alphabet, would people buy them to make up words? Eg kids could make up a bag of biscuted to buy their name, I'd buy little bags if insults for friends who would find it hilarious if they worked it out, etc. 10p per biscuit.

[Collision]

Honestly I would rather pay £10 every term and skip the crap.......

The last cake thing I went to the cakes which were truly beautiful were sold for 20p each.

Ridiculous.

Private school as well. I would have paid £1 each as the cakes were stunning.

[MotherForkinShirtBalls]

Ah yes,top hats! I forgot about them. Delish.

I get both sides of the argument on the cost of making the cakes vs recouping their value. I'm torn myself on it. I did suggest to the committee last year that if we charged everyone £10, we could in return promise not to hold a fair

[Munxx]

I am so sorry about the typos by the way.

[Munxx]

Top hats, make sure there's too hats! It's the most popular here in Scotland!
(Bun case with melted chocolate then marshmallow stuck in then but if chocolate on top to stick a smartie onto) can sell individually for 20p it out a few in a bag for a quid.

[ProperVexed]

@eyeoresancerre Just you and me remember that one, it seems!
I can't seem to do a link but it's in classics.


To pelt my cakes at this mum's head in the playground this afternoon?
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/1718384-To-pelt-my-cakes-at-this-mums-head-in-the-playground-this-afternoon-fume

[MsSquiz]

We do a tea party every year for Marie Curie and the first things to go are:
Mars Bar Krispy cake
Millionaire's shortbread
Simple iced biscuits

Then it would:
Scones (served with jam and cream so could be messy)
Cupcakes
Brownies
Victoria Sponge
Lemon drizzle

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Home-made cakes being sold to raise funds for a good cause shouldn't be sold at the same price as mass-manufactured long-life cake. I would never expect to have my costs reimbursed, that's my contribution, but if I go to the time and effort of making something that's going to be sold I'd like to see it sold for a price that's going to raise good money for the cause. Otherwise, as others have said, I might as well just have given the money I'd spend on ingredients, fuel, wrapping, labels etc and save myself the effort of baking.

[AuntieStella]

I'd make sure you have something 'healthy' (chocolate/beetroot, carrot/courgette etc) and a clearly labelled vegan option.

Otherwise, all the stuff mentioned above, in whatever quantities people are kind enough to donate it.

If it's near Hallowe'en, then get some spookily decorated, but I wouldn't bother for anything else (no, not even Christmas!)

[TheScruffyDog]

I don’t understand this view. I am not looking to make a profit out of my baking. It is my contribution to the fund raiser. I don’t expect to be paid for the ingredients I use.

Of course not. But to me it's counter productive. I could spend £15 on ingredients, the cake then gets sold for 25p a slice rather than a pound. It felt like a waste of time, energy and gas. I'd rather give the £15 and support in a different way. I never used to feel like that and always previously felt it was about the contribution in general (I got fleeced a couple of times which changed my outlook sadly.)

[labazsisgoingmad]

kids love those little plain sponge cakes with a bit of icing on top and something like sprinkles or decorating embellishments flowers for instance cheap to buy from a stall keeps kids happy too

[donquixotedelamancha]

Turkish chocolate cake, made with nuts and biscuits.

Apparently it's quite good.