Fucking 70 quid for a cake????

[Hairwizard]

As title says. Quoted 'from' 70 quid for a Christening cake. This was based on a 6" square cake with 4 sponge layers. Not tiers. Buttercream icing. Any decs toppers etc would be extra and from 8 - 15 quid!
Am i missing something?? How the f does a cake cost that much?

I was shocked when I realised how much hand made cakes are, but then I guess it’s like going to the hairdresser. It’s the skill you are paying for.

Oh wow. Well buy a supermarket one then you cheapskate. Or make it yourself. It’s not unreasonable at all to charge that much. Some people 🙄

I read the pattern and told her roughly how many hours it'd take, 20=30 as a conservative estimate. Even at mates rates she'd be looking at £300+. She was furious and tried to argue me into doing it as I don't pay those prices for the stuff I make myself. Well yeah, that's the whole point of DIY.

Good for you! What a cheeky bitch. Can't abide pisstakers like this.

The threads from cakemakers on here whom people try to rip the piss out of are legion! 'I'll pay for ingredients'. Fuck off or some variant of that is the only appropriate response.

YABVU.

I used to be a professional cake baker/decorator, running my own business. The reason I stopped was due to this kind of response.
You need to think about this a little, the costs involved are not simply ingredients.
Premises, equipment, licensing, insurance, utilities, design/planning, qualifications, training and general admin all have to be considered, before you even get down to the cost of ingredients and the time it takes to physically make a cake.
In the past, a single wedding cake has taken over 20 hours to create and make to the personal specifications of the bride.
When you hire a professional cake maker to create a bespoke cake for you, you aren’t simply paying for a bit of sponge and icing, you’re paying for an individual service, for a unique quality product.
If you want a cheap cake, go to a supermarket. They can provide cakes cheaply, simply because they are mass produced in a factory, their overheads are comparatively low and costs covered by profits.
An independent baker will never be able to compete with supermarket prices, but their products will be made to your individual requirements, with quality ingredients, with love, care and personal pride.....and they’ll still barely scrape a profit.
The decision is the buyers, always, do you want good or cheap? Bespoke or mass produced?
If you aren’t prepared to pay for a baker to make your cake, that’s absolutely fine and your prerogative, but absolutely do not go online to moan and try to undervalue someone who is providing a product and service that you yourself, do not have the skill to replicate.

@Franklymydearidontgiveadam that is amazing, absolutely love it! I wouldn't be able to afford a professional cake (I wish!), but you can see why they cost what they do, wouldn't be able to buy that in a supermarket.

I can’t work how to post photos on here if I posted my Dd2 autumn toffee apple cake it would give you all a good laugh. It all sort of slid. Happy to pay talent

That's amazing Franklymydearidontgiveadam

Ingredients, time, insurance, qualifications, profit.

Plus their skills. If u can do it just as well, but cheaper, press on.

Thank you. We only do it for fam and friends as there is not much profit at all xx

It's the standard price of a cake. It's not a lot when you think of the ingredients and the time and effort that goes into it. They have to make a profit from it or what's the point?

@FreshRisks I want my three piece suite reupholstered as it's a good quality but dated material - I'm fully prepared it will cost more to do than buy a new suite from dfs.

And this is why I stopped doing handmade bed sets, no one wants to pay £40+ for a quilt cover and matching pillowcases even if it’s handmade, the design is one-of-a-kind in the world, and I work for less than 50p per hour.

I'm a cake maker, and I can honestly tell you that is cheap. People seem to forget that you are getting a bespoke cake. It's often the cake makers main job, and if it takes her 10 hours to cook, etc that means she is working under the minimum wage. That doesn't include ingredients, insurance, electricity and extra costs lime decorating tools and colours. Bespoke cakes are not cheap to make! Sadly, the average person looks at Asda as a pricing guide, when they have the facilities etc to produce a massive amount of cakes for low price. It's the same as a wedding dress, if you want bespoke, you have to pay the price that matches it

I made two cakes for my best friends wedding last year.

They were 'simple' and my mum (who makes wedding cakes and teaches sugar crafts) guided me.

They still took HOURS.

Mum stopped doing it because of posts like yours OP.

Crack on and do it yourself, or buy a generic one.

You really does get what you pay for.

From my limited experience that the price is reasonable. Supermarket bought can never be as good and people can tell the difference.
If it's for a special ocassion, think of all the time, shopping, prep, cost and cleaning up after that you have to do if you do it yourself, so pay a skilled person instead.

I think £70 is a good price, I just think it’s such a shame people will quibble over £20 for a special occasion, rather than support a small, local business, who is presumably making great cakes.

If you can’t afford it, I get it, and you shouldn’t feel under pressure to spend what you don’t have, but it’s the big supermarkets who are really profiteering, not small independents.

I'm reasonably good hobby cake maker.
I make family cakes, I'd make one for someone I like, if I want to.
My heart sinks if I'm asked to make anything specific, partly due to cost (made 40th cake for a friend, she wanted specific coloured cake similar to rainbow/ombre cake, the colours alone were over a tenner).
Also the stress of getting it right...that 40th cake will have cost £30 + with ingredients, colours, board, box, topper was a fiver.
I think 70 is standard and what the work is worth.

@PanettoneEater
MyDcAreMarvel it’s not just the baker that has to make money, the business does too for insurance, investment, advertising etc
The baker and the business are one and the same!

Buy a supermarket cake and add your own decorations if you want to keep the cost down.

Hobby cake maker here. I started with my own wedding cake years ago and started going on course, and have gradually built up a ridiculous amount of cake-related kit, all of which is of course not cheap. I only do cakes for family and a select group of friends, simply because they do take daft amounts of time and I have a F/T job and a family and attempt to have a life. If I costed a cake by my time (at my normal job rate!) nobody would even consider it, yet I'm paid a rate for that normal work for the 7 years of formal study and postgrad and postdoc that nobody begrudges. I agree that there is enough out there for everyone's tastes (literal and financial) but that people shouldn't begrudge the skills needed for a custom cake.

Can I ask a question? On one of the sugarcraft courses I went on, the tutor was very clear that the only way you can avoid possible (huge) fines for not having a council inspection and hygiene certificates is if you only do them for friends at strictly at cost - no profit. So that's all I've ever done. I cost in everything ingredient and fuel-wise (and any new kit!) but not my time because of that warning.

So was the warning correct? and if yes, would you other non-inspected hobby bakers include a 'time at NMW but not profit' charge?

Would love to know...

I wouldn't buy one for that much as I can't afford to but I can understand why they cost that much and the work and training etc that has gone into it.

i was quoted 85 pounds for a 9 inch cake. Went to another and it was 120 pounds.

went to Sainsbury in west london an got 2 Gateaux for 15 each and everyone at my husbands party loved it. said they preferred it to the traditional office.

Costco - it's been a while, but we got 2 of their celebration cakes (the ones you can personalise that used to be around a tenner) for our wedding (one for the day and one for the evening 🤷

Good question @moonbells. Initially I was inclined to say paying yourself NMW is not profit. But as you're not a business with associated rates I'm not sure.

Be good to know

I

@Moonbells - if you are taking any payment for them, however little, then you are running a business and need to be inspected and certified. It's quite simple to do and costs nothing (at least in my area). All they do is inspect your kitchen and test your hygiene knowledge and food storage etc. They were really helpful to us and gave us lots of pointers.