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?

You should be expecting £0, you're not allowed to accept money for making cakes if you aren't registered with your local authority and HMRC.

OMG you're so right - OP is a tax dodger & should contact HMRC immediately although I think they're a bit busy at the minute to declare that £10 - the tax she'd be due on that could fund education wouldn't even buy a pencil

OP your message is perfectly clear to me that you're asking for £19 & I'd have given you £25 cause I'm just like that

Perfectly clear that it's £19.

You state that it costs £9 to make and your time is charged at £10.

CF indeed, which would piss me off even more when it's a hobby.

That cake looks delicious, yum!

I read it as £19 but would have given you £25 or £30 as it's a lot of work for £10 plus it was a favour

OP the cake looks lovely and is well worth more than the £19 you asked for it. But I will say that you do need to be registered with your local council as a food vendor in order to sell anything you produce yourself. This is to protect you and your customers. While all professional bakers usually start as a hobby (baking for fun and donating to family, friends or charities) if you accept any form of payment even just for ingredients you legally need to be registered and inspected. I'm not trying to be picky or unkind, I'm just providing information so that you are aware of where u stand. If you were reported you could be heavily fined. (You are also required to have a food safety certificate)

I will also add that you should have public liability insurance to protect yourself, particularly if you sell to the type of CF that would chance their arm at a claim for no reason.

I understand that this all probably sounds like a lot of hassle for very little benefit, but it is why professional bakers charge more for their cakes. They invest the time and effort into all of these things and it is particularly undermining to the industry when they are then faced with "my sisters aunts cousins friend will do it for a tenner.."

There is nothing at all wrong with hobby baking and gifting/donating or even charging ingredients costs to close family but you invite risk and hassle to your door when you go out past that as you will become knows as the person that does it for next to nothing and it can be very difficult to move away from that. If it's something you enjoy then register with the council and do an online course and sell your cakes for £30ish pounds plus.

Looks lovely OP. What a CF though, you clearly asked for £19.

Anyone who came to any conclusion other than £19 has comprehension difficulties. Your message was very clear though I'd probably just give a total in future to avoid difficulties with those who can't read properly.

Normal person = £19
CF/thick as mince = £10

This. I can’t begin to imagine how someone you don’t even know thought you could / would make them that cake for a tenner.

£20

Uh oh, now you will be inundated with CF wanting a cake for £10 that you could very reasonably charge £50+ for.

Knowing it is your hobby expect sob stories galore.

Tell us when they arrive. We are bored in lockdown.

£19

Great cake!!

Even though you lost out on 9 pounds, I'd consider it a lesson learnt about how important it is to be crystal clear when it comes to money. Hopefully, you won't have any problems in the future. Also, I agree with the others that it's better just to round up to 20 pounds. Easier for everyone.

Also, as you have been donating the money. I think it's a bit different. I'm pretty sure you don't need hygiene certificates to bake cakes for cake sales and the like.

Honestly maybe I am thick as shit as first time I read it as £10 . But after reading comments I can see you meant £19. Another one who hopes you have all you the paperwork to run a Business from home. People can't be too careful with hygiene and insurance in these times.

You asked for £19 it isn’t ambiguous as someone pointed out as you used the word “and”.
And no it doesn’t take 5 mins to mix and 15 to decorate a cake. I have a day off work when i have a cake reception and make three. Shopping, drawing and cutting out the bloody parchment, crumb coating, testing piping, melting and cooling ganache, trimming the sponge etc etc. It takes ages. And that’s without washing up!

Are you not able to send a message saying “I’m not sure you understood my message, the price was £29”?

@3cats if she was donating the baked goods registration and food hygiene are not required but if money is accepted in return for food produce, no matter how small the amount it's considered to be a sale and normal food sales laws apply. Although it's lovely that the money was donated it offers no protection in the event of a claim/incident.

£20 and cheap at that, looks lovely. Yes you can buy similar and cheaper in a supermarket but then it's just a cake from a supermarket?

I read that as you wanting £19. Even at that price your cake is a steal. Looks lovely

£20 might well be the cost of ingredients, but as with most baking, the cost of ttem often outweighs what it's actually worth. Theres no way I'd pay £20 for a 6" cake like that.

I would pay £20 happily your paying for the design too like cupcakes. The only supermarket celebration cakes that are nice are M&S. I’d rather pay extra for a good sponge.

@Cosmos45

I know, you are absolutely right. The OP should turn down these sorts of requests.

You sound really nice, OP, but perhaps a bit too nice. Be careful. Unfortunately, people often end up taking advantage of nice people. Just make cakes for family or donations, unless you do want to make it into a small business, but I agree that sometimes that is more stress than it is worth.

*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*

Your local Environmental Health Officer would expect you to register if you were doing anything more than occasional cakes for community events etc. If she's baking regularly for cash, she needs to speak to her local council re registration as a home food producer.
An inspector will usually come out to do a home visit but they are very helpful!

Actually it's not illegal not to have a good hygiene certificate but EHO's need to be sure you understand the subject and a certificate is a handy way of demonstrating that!

You can be sued for food poisoning and if someone tripped inside your home collecting a cake etc. Again, it's not illegal not to have specific cover but it's advisable for peace of mind. Its not very expensive.

As someone has mentioned she's allowed to invoice up to £1000 (regardless of expenses) before troubling HMRC.

The main thing is that she really needs to contact her council asap. It can be a long time before they can arrange an inspection and they are usually happy for you to carry on baking in the meantime.

ps - also a good idea to get up to speed on allergy labelling.

I would have read your message and said 'thanks anyway' and found someone else. Your message was clear that you were not really interested.

Your cake looks amazing.

I read it a £19 straight away. It's a lovely cake, and homemade sponge always tastes better. Even M&S cakes still taste mass produced.