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Original poster

What £ should I offer for this birthday cake?

37 replies

Mumblechum0 · 30/10/2022 18:23

I'm having a birthday night out (for my 60th) in a couple of weeks and have asked one of the guests to make a cake to be shared at the meal.

She does this as a hobby and often brings along a cake to parties etc. She does really beautiful cakes.

There'll be 30 of us. Lemon sponge, I haven't specified any particular decoration but I know she'll spend a fair bit of time on it.

For context, I'm paying for a couple of rounds of cocktails for everyone plus putting £1k towards the restaurant bill so everyone will only have about a tenner to pay towards the night (I've also paid for transport).

I don't want to offend her by offering too little. She's not one of my closest friends so I can't just come out and ask her directly.

What do you reckon I should offer in the circs?

OP posts:
Potato28 · 30/10/2022 18:25

A cake for 30 people is going to be huge and alot of money

Your best bet is to look at cake makers in your area and get a rough guide price that they charge and pay that

Starshapeddreams · 30/10/2022 18:26

I paid £50 for a 20 person cake for my husbands birthday, maybe something about that?
You sound like a very thoughtful and generous friend!

starsinthegutter · 30/10/2022 18:28

I think you should be direct and ask her.

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Events & celebrations
Danikm151 · 30/10/2022 18:28

did you tell her you would cover the cost of ingredients when you asked her to make the cake?
Ask her how much the ingredients/supplies came to then double the cost.

or if she makes them for a business, pay what she charges normally

donttalkaboutbookclub · 30/10/2022 18:29

I paid £55 for a personalised cake to serve 12 for my daughter's 30th if that helps. That was also lemon sponge.

shoofly · 30/10/2022 18:30

The key for me is that you asked her to make it, rather than she offered. I think £75 to £100 is not so little that she'd be offended. Could you stretch to that?

Good idea to check out what local cake makers charge.

Luredbyapomegranate · 30/10/2022 18:30

Just ask her - it will be expensive at that size, but how expensive will massively vary according to ingredients

HiDeDi · 30/10/2022 18:31

Just ask her before you see the cake how much you owe her. She may offer it at a gift but if she doesn’t then you will not offend her

BobbyBobbyBobby · 30/10/2022 18:34

She might be someone who has a big stick of ingredients and doesn’t mind charging you cost price or she might have to buy a lot more in.

What might not offend one person might offend another so to avoid any upset, gossip or falling out on what is meant to be your special day you have to ask her exactly what it’s going to cost.

it’s up to her if she wants to offer a mates rate and up to you if you want to pay a little extra because she’s your chum.

girlmom21 · 30/10/2022 18:39

£60-100 depending on how detailed the cake is

thepurplewhisperer · 30/10/2022 18:39

If she offered as a Favour for your birthday I'd be covering the ingredients. £30.

If you've asked her to make it then £75-£100

EasterIssland · 30/10/2022 18:40

Around 70 charges the lady that did the cake for my sons bday this year for that size

stuntbubbles · 30/10/2022 18:44

£100+ – covering cost of ingredients, cost of energy to bake it, cost of her time, plus some profit hopefully.

Original poster
Mumblechum0 · 30/10/2022 18:46

Brill, thanks everyone. We've only texted so far and I've said twice that I'll obviously pay but she's ignored both mentions of that, she just wanted to ask how big and what flavour etc.

She's one of those people who text about 4 or 5 words!

OP posts:
MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 30/10/2022 18:48

Ingredients x3 at the very least. I don't understand why you can message her and ask her straight? "Can you let me know how much I owe you for the cake please and I'll transfer the money?" Please don't faff around guessing as you'll likely offend her.

coodawoodashooda · 30/10/2022 18:49

That is awkward. I'd phone her and be direct. If she insists its a gift then buy a thank you gift.

caringcarer · 30/10/2022 18:57

I'd offer her £100 towards ingredients, electricity to bake it, decorations and her time and love she puts into it, probably 4-5 hour. So 5 hours minimum wage is about £50 plus ingredients, decorations and electricity I'd say £100 is fair.

Goldbar · 30/10/2022 18:59

HiDeDi · 30/10/2022 18:31

Just ask her before you see the cake how much you owe her. She may offer it at a gift but if she doesn’t then you will not offend her

This. A quick message 'Let me know how much I owe you for the cake" would probably be the best approach.

CheezePleeze · 30/10/2022 19:04

I don't want to offend her by offering too little. She's not one of my closest friends so I can't just come out and ask her directly.

Yes you can.

You've asked her directly to make you a birthday cake, so you can ask her directly how much money you need to pay her for it.

BretonBlue · 30/10/2022 19:06

Don’t forget to factor in the cost of ‘cakeage’, which won’t affect what you give her but will have an impact on your overall costs.

MovingOnUpp · 30/10/2022 19:09

She probably won’t accept any money and will say it’s her birthday gift to you.
I hope you have a fun night, it all sounds lovely.

JillFromHolt · 30/10/2022 19:14

I had a cake made last weekend for 30 people, Victoria sponge with buttercream icing piped on top. It cost £90 to give you an idea, it was the first time I'd ordered from a proper cake maker and I had no idea on costs previously

Vegay · 30/10/2022 19:25

If she hasn't told you a price, then she might want to give it you as a gift - that would be a really lovely gift, and you'll know time, energy and love has gone into baking it.

You sound very generous, and clearly don't want to take advantage. Obviously, if it is a gift, I'm sure you don't want to offend by offering to pay either. However, you don't know if it is yet.

I'd probably go with 'Hi friend, thank you so much for baking my cake. You haven't quoted me a price, would £100 cover the ingredients and your time?'.

She might then say that it is her gift to you. Hope you have a lovely birthday.

YaWeeFurryBastard · 30/10/2022 19:25

You asked her to make it so you need to ask her how much it costs and don’t take no for an answer! I’d be expecting to pay around £30-50 depending on whether she’s doing mates rates. For context I pay £75 for a 28 portion cake from a local professional who has a large customer base, her cakes are Instagram famous and delicious! I’m quite surprised at posters saying they pay £100 for a hobby-maker cake.

LumpyandBumps · 30/10/2022 19:50

I agree that she might offer it instead of a birthday gift, but the ingredients for a cake to serve 60 will not be cheap.

Professional cake makers who work from homes premises near me charge £40 upwards for a small ( 6” diameter) basic buttercream iced cake. I would expect to pay at least 3-4 times that for a much larger cake, possible 14-16” diameter.

I think a good approach might be to think about the cost per portion. £1.50 per slice doesn’t seem unreasonable, so £90 for the whole cake maybe?