How much would you say I was asking for this cake?

[Cosmos45]

Just out of curiosity really.. I make cakes as a hobby, they are buttercream decorated rather than fondant and I have made some recently for a few local people (NHS workers and stuff). Someone local asked me if I would make them a cake, I do not know this person but it was someone who knew someone type of scenario.

I sent this message:

"I don't actually have a cake business but I do make cakes for family and friends. I have been asked recently to do a few for people - the ingredients, box and board come to about £9 and I am starting to ask for a small amount (say £10) to cover a bit of my time. I only do swirly icing types ones and I could do you pink swirly one, I will send a picture of the type of thing I mean"

Reading that, how much would you have given me for the cake when you came and picked it up?

I think you are under estimating your 'hobby' cakes! They look beautiful, I think you are under selling yourself to be honest!
You could easily charge £30 for those as occasion cakes.

Only an idiot would think you wanted £1 for your time, OP. So she's either one of those or a complete CF.

I would have been so embarrassed to only give you £10 for that cake! Even £20 is a good deal. It's completely obvious you mean £19/20. Who asks someone for £1 to cover their time?!

It's pretty clear you meant £20.

But you did the polite explain myself thing and left a very small window of opportunity. The recipient of the cake saw that small window and kept through it gleefully.

It's a cheap lesson, you covered your basic costs.

Next time just state £20 up front.

If the same woman orders one just tell her, no mates rates / discount this time, say it with a

I make chocolate brownies for a couple of local cafes. A third asked me and was all oooh shock horror at the cost. I told her she was welcome the make her own.

The 2 cafes charge £4 a square, 16 squares a cake. I charge £30 a cake. We all make a nice profit.

Don't underprice yourself. My cake costs about £8 and 55 minutes to make, from first egg cracked to taking it out of the oven. Delivered on foot in a plastic box I take away with me.

I charge even more for the posh chocolates I make at Christmas, but am always sold out.

And it isn't my main business. Maybe it should be

It was perfectly obvious to me that you meant £19.

If you're in South London I want one!!

Looks delicious

I typed smile 😁 not bloody chocolate inside those brackets. Now what's changed??!!

Absolutely read it as £9 for ingredients plus £10 for time (total of £19 for the cake).

Goodness, nobody in their right mind would expect to pay £10 for a cake like that.

They took advantage. If you’re planning to make a small business out of it, just treat this as a lesson learned. Make your pricing very clear and always take a deposit.

I think it's a beautiful cake and well worth £20 .Chalk it up to experience and tell them £20 next time

Have you got a food hygiene certificate? If you charge for your hobby baking and someone gets food poisoning can they sue you?

I ask because a friend has started baking pastries and charging a small amount and she wasn't sure on the law.

I don't think your message is 'ambiguous' at all, it's really perfectly clear.

How could anyone have thought you'd charge £1 for your time? Why would you bother charging for time at all at that point?

It's a lovely ,artistically decorated cake, £20 would be good. I never eat cake at all, but your cake style, would make a nice wedding hat,if it was made of silk.

The cake looks beautiful! Well worth £20.

£20 would be cheeky. That’s a beautiful cake. If anyone gets back to you quote them £30.

Just don't even start going down this road because people will just take the piss! You get another message like that just respond that you are only a hobby baker and don't want to extend to commercial endeavours and prefer to limit your baking to family and close friends. There have been literally hundreds of threads on here from bakers who've been ripped off by CFers and plenty who've been put off entirely due to arseholes ripping the piss.

Come on, it’s clearly £19! People are wilfully misunderstanding it.

Wording is not ambiguous at all! Op clearly says £9 for ingredients and £10 for her time. Only a chancer would read that to mean £1 for her time!!

Oh and I would have given you £25 for it. You’re undercharging for your time and effort (as long as the cake tastes good, obviously! 😄).

I'd give you £30 as I'd still think I was getting a bargain as I hate baking.

Not ambiguous wording at all, but a CF would argue it is. You have to spell literally everything out with this sort of thing. Lovely cake OP, send me one? (Especially for that bargain price!)

That looks amazing!!! I'd have paid £20, seen how amazing it was and given you extra. You're very talented!

CF to only give £10.... even if they did read it as £9 for cake £1 for time... only a real CF would only give you £1 for your time!

And I read it as £19 so obvs would have given minimum of £20

Thank you all for your replies. I was more intrigued to find out how someone could have misinterpreted my message. This is definitely staying as a hobby though. I did a few favours during lockdown but that will be it. I have always said I do not want to deal with the paying public because of reasons a lot of people have stated.

@Friendsofmine do you check that the cakes in the school bake sale that parents have donated have been provided by someone with a food hygiene certificate out of interest?