To panic about my Christmas cake commitments?

[Stravy]

I'm supposed to be making Christmas cakes as a charity fundraiser and it's just occurred to me that, as I have to make them well in advance, if I don't sell any as many as I would like then I'm going to have spent a fortune on ingredients/boards/boxes and have nothing to show for it. The ingredients are really expensive, and I'm not sure if the mark up will be that great. (my estimates as to what people will pay vary wildly)

Will someone tell me that it will all be alright and people will pay a kings ransom for a fruit cake.

[Choos123]

I really love Christmas cake but im too lazy to make it, and i would happily eat it all year round :) Can you get a teenager to pit you up a quick website or advertise on boards? Make the cakes, then start your marketing, I would pay more for a charity homemade one than one from m and s.

[marzipanned]

I think your prices are really low, charge at least £1 for your mini ones! I'd snap up a few as I LOVE Christmas cake and would happily eat it all year round if I could be bothered to make it. Luckily for the past few years I've made fruit cake wedding cakes for people and have got my fix :)

Mincemeat is very easy to make and is a fab suggestion.

[Rowlers]

I think mini chritmas cake bars would be good. Don't M+S do a teeny one in a box? Always seems too small to me. I make my own big cake but would be happy to pay a couple of quid for small one person taster cake.

[mrspremise]

sugarhut HOW do you spend £50 on a fruit cake you make yourself?!

[Almostfifty]

At our PTA Christmas Fair, a few of us make Christmas Cakes for the cake stall. We make different size ones, put white icing on, then one lady pretties them up for sale.

They always sell out. Make sure they're priced well and you'll have an empty table.

[Stravy]

Thats the costs, not the prices. I don't know what the prices are yet! Some of the online prices are crazy (£60 for 7 inch )so it's hard to get a good idea of what a normal person would pay until they are in the supermarkets etc. I've never bought a cake before I would pay a bit more for a cake made by a person that one from a supermarket but other people won't. Of course, they don't have to if I can find enough people to pay a little over

I've got loads of tins already at work, some had a previous life, some are very posh. I've got one of those ones that make really mini sandwich cakes, about an inch diameter but it's a pita and throws up packaging dilemmas.

I've never bought or eaten mincemeat, it's totally off my radar.

I'm suspecting that the mark up on tiny ones will be higher so maybe I should concentrate on that

I love mumsnet

[Bingdweller]

Cake bars with holly icing decoration would look great. I can recommend the Lidl cherry brandy for alcohol - saves making a stock syrup and it tastes lovely!

[Stravy]

I think I might do a totally baldy one, marketed to marzipan haters and anyone who wants to decorate themselves.

[whattodoo]

A friend buys a square Christmas cake from the supermarket, cuts it in 4 the puts it on some plain white card with cellophane and ribbon. People queue to buy them for a fiver.

[Stravy]

Cherry brandy sounds good. I like ameretto but was going to use brandy as 'traditional'

[glenthebattleostrich]

Costco do a lovely cake decorated with glazed nuts and cherries, DH and I always get one of those at the start of December, another in the middle and then one for Christmas

They make a wonderful centre for our Christmas table and always go down well with friends when we have drinks at Christmas.

[marzipanned]

Oh, sorry!! I should've read your post more carefully. I think you're right that you can mark up the smaller ones more. I'd happily pay at least (given it's for charity)

Wee loaves - £2
8" - £10
6" - £8
4" - £5

mrspremise I easily spend that much each year, the answer is Pedro Ximenez sherry! That would be for two cakes though.

[mrspaddy]

What about boiled fruit cake op

[greenfolder]

Gingerbread bollocks-great idea-people would buy them for secret santa x

[Stravy]

mrspaddy Like Nigellas? Or is it something different

[magicstar1]

I s

[magicstar1]

I sold cakes last Christmas and you won't believe what sold best....chocolate biscuit cakes! I made them in a bowl, and poured white chocolate over the top with a bit of holly, so they looked like Christmas puddings. Great seller!

[HibernoCaledonian]

I hate marzipan so I make my version of stollen without it. It's fabulous (if I do say so myself) but it shows that it can stand up on its own without the marzipan.

Hope that helps.

[PurplePidjin]

Make Christmas Cupcakes - fruit cake in the base, then cut out circles of marzipan and fondant icing with a cookie cutter. Sell for £1-2 each, bet you get 12 from the equivalent of an 8" cake plus far less expensive marzipan.

[Stravy]

[[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alan-Silverwood-pieceRound-Multi-Mini/dp/B000IAZOPI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379104555&sr=8-1&keywords=mini%20cake%20tin&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 I can make tiny ones in this but I don't know how to package nicely and cheaply

[Stravy]

oops!

[Stravy]

this

[Stravy]

I need lovely little boxes like the ones on here with 6 little cakes in. They look very considered.

www.simplydeliciouscakes.co.uk/occasions/christmas-cake/

[Stravy]

They charge £42 for an undecorated 8 inch round cake...

[WillSingForCake]

Yeah, freezing them (undecorated) will be fine. My mum usually makes two at once and freezes one for next year, and you can never tell. Think she leaves out the alcohol though, and then defrosts it a month or so before Christmas and drowns it in sherry to revive it.