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?

My friend used to have a business making cakes. She gave it up because she was fed up of the abuse she got. Her cakes were beautiful, real works of art. She had an entire room full of equipment so that she could accommodate every design whim. She had to have food hygiene qualifications. Her cakes cost £80 because they took many hours work to make. Even a plain iced cake takes ages to get it smooth. And then there are ingredients, which are also expensive.

She made less than minimum wage and spent hours every week fending off verbal abuse on Facebook from people who insisted her cakes were a rip off. Well, no one was forcing them to buy them.

The reason a cake costs £80 when the ingredients are only a fraction of that is the same reason that a hand knit sweater costs a lot more than a ball of wool. Because you're paying for a skill.

I can only speak for where I live and it sounds ok to me.

A six inch cake is not large though, it's very small. If I were making a typical layered sponge it would be 8" and three layers, butter iced, would take me about 60-90 mins. Ingredients would cost a max of £10 if not including any fancy decorations.

I'm not a sugar crafter and I admire those who are. If your cake includes lots of fancy modelling then it will be expensive as that takes time. But a basic cake, nah, not so much.

It's a day's work, and they have to pay for the ingredients. Do it yourself or go to a supermarket.

I've paid £100 for a 14" christening cake with 2 layers and a simple design on the top and thought it was reasonable? Time, effort and skill (and cleaning up afterwards) I guess are included in the price

That seems reasonable. Get a shop one if you want cheaper.

Prob depends on area etc. I cant justify it myself. Will look elsewhere. For what i wanted i feel its too much.
Not about to go slag them on fb etc though, i might not have that budget but others would. Im not the client for them.

I got my DD’s 18th ( a 1 & 8) made at short notice by s baker for £70. I was too but asked about and everyone said it was the going rate. I’ve normally made my DC’s cakes but this was different as I didn’t have time off work (term time) so it was worth it.

@ooonicorn
Yea i think the last cake i got from bakers was either 12 or 14" inch 2 layers decorated birthday one and cost 45 or thereabouts.

It's a lot

You can get plain iced sponges in the supermarket that you could personalise.

Costco for £13.00, well last time I was there

But it's made from shite and tastes like shite. At least the expensive cake is made of butter, sugar, eggs etc and tastes nice.

A friend of mine charges £150. I’ve paid it twice, for significant birthdays. She has won awards and her cakes really are exceptional.

YAB massively U

They charge what they want, if it's too pricey, buy a supermarket cake.
We all want everything for nothing nowadays, we are too used to Primark and Liddl.

If it's the cost, that's what the cake is worth.

bigchris

I'd only pay that much for an epic themed cake , like the whole of Hogwarts intricately done !

You'd be paying way more than £70 for something that intricate.

You get what you pay for.
I have paid that much for cakes fir special birthdays

I have ordered a detailed birthday cake and it’s £90 which I thought was a bargain!

It was want a well made and decorated cake then you need to be willing to pay for the time and effort involved

Sounds reasonable to me

"I'd only pay that much for an epic themed cake , like the whole of Hogwarts intricately done !"

hahahahaha

Sorry but I used to be a baker....would you be prepared to work for less than minimum wage??? If not, why expect a baker too? Equipment and training comes at a strap price. Can’t believe people are still this ignorant!!
^this^

The old saying: if you pay peanuts you get monkeys, is still true.

It's about standard to be fair.. I am a baker and there is a lot to factor in
Ingredients
Type of ingredients
Time needed for each stage.
How soon its needed
Utilities
skill

to name just a few, Every baker is different but we all pretty much have the same basis for working out our costs..... it may seem a simple cake but if it was that simple, people wouldnt need to hire someone to do it

And a Hogwarts cake for 80 quid.....come on...... I did a 3 tier Hogwarts wedding cake and they paid over 550 which was very good mates rates...... at stranger wouldnt get it at that price

Just get a Costco cake done. Everyone will love it

But it's made from shite and tastes like shite. At least the expensive cake is made of butter, sugar, eggs etc and tastes nice.

Oh I don't know. Whenever we have a thread about butter vs margarine all the cake makers here say they use margarine because it keeps liege and its fluffier.

So I wouldn't bet in actual butter being used in that that cake.

I make cakes for my kids birthdays and every time I post a picture of one someone comments and says I should do it as a job. It's attitudes like the OPs that mean I don't!

Good ingredients will cost £20, then add on icing and decorations and pay yourself even minimum wage for 3-4 hours and a cake is easily what you've been quoted even for a simple design. Poor woman is just trying to make a living!

We are going to steal some ideas off their Instagram page and try and make it at home for a fraction of the cost

:o:o:o

Ok, let us know how that goes!

FYI OP I made a golden snitch cake for DD once. Basic sponge with decent ingredients, homemade fondant icing, yellow food colouring and gold spray. Came in at about £40. However if I was to charge NMW for the time it took it would cost a fortune.

You are buying their time and their skill not a few eggs and some flour ffs. That other people undercut does not make her price expensive, I would be questioning why theirs are so cheap.... it would point to crap ingredients and a lack of expertise.