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 finished reading this thread and came off mumsnet and this is the first post I saw on reddit...

I enjoy baking and make my own cakes - a cake for 40 people costs around 20-40 quid depending on egg and butter quality and takes 3-4hrs to make and buttercream. Say you don’t charge for the hour in the oven. Skilled wage £15 - £37.50, employers pension and NI ~30%, £50, £10 for ingredients (wholesale) leaves £10 to cover rent and energy overheads. Time costs money.

"Anyway. I bet the OP and plenty of others who complain about paying a baker a living wage don't even flinch when their mechanic charges upwards of £50 an hour for an oil change."

Well yeah, if your cake fails your party may be disappointment.

If youur brakes fail you may die

Same as no one is flinhing at paying 100+ per hour for a doctors overtime

People are so, so naive when it comes to things like this. It’s professionally baked, takes time and effort and creativity. I just had a cake from a baker for around that price it tasted amazing, best cake I have ever had and also looked amazing.

You get what you pay for. Shop bought, mass produced cakes are nowhere near as good, M&S or not.

It annoys me how people always want something for nothing. They would pay £70 to get their hair/make- up done but won’t stretch for a special occasion cake that’s actually not that badly priced for the industry.

I think every business is free to set their prices or rates of pay as they see fit. Also, every consumer is free to decide whether they’re happy to pay that price or go elsewhere.

But I do think it’s unfair to slate a price simply because it’s too high for you. I can be a bit frugal but I don’t enjoy this criticism of other people’s businesses.

@maggiethecat

the thread is 22 pages so someone has probably said this - if the OP wants a simple (cheap) cake she should buy a supermarket one and not waste someone's time with her enquiry.

And in 22 pages many, many people have also pointed out that THIS THREAD IS A YEAR OLD

And your point is? Unlike cake, threads don’t go off.

Yep, just like margarine.

That never goes off, apparently, so cakes stay fresh for much longer.

@Sinful8

"Anyway. I bet the OP and plenty of others who complain about paying a baker a living wage don't even flinch when their mechanic charges upwards of £50 an hour for an oil change."

Well yeah, if your cake fails your party may be disappointment.

If youur brakes fail you may die

Same as no one is flinhing at paying 100+ per hour for a doctors overtime

Someone else who doesn't understand the difference between a job and a business.

The doctor you mention is paid £100 per hour for overtime and that's his wage, i.e. he doesn't pay his secretary, rent his desk, pay for utilities, rent his examination table or diagnostic equipment - all of which is provided by the employer. That's how employment works.

Re the garage who charge £50 per hour, the mechanic doesn't get paid that. The £50 goes towards renting the garage, paying the admin staff, paying the utilities, renting the ramp, buying the tools and equipment, covering staff holidays, sickness, employers NIC, workplace pension, etc.

See the difference? In reality the mechanic's wage is probably more like £20 per hour!

Businesses have costs. Even home based cake businesses have costs, such as utilities, baking trays & other utensils, plus the cost of ingredients, plus perhaps insurance, vehicle costs for business journeys, accountancy fees, bank charges, etc etc. A larger/more professional cake business using an outside kitchen will have rent to pay and lots of other overheads too.

The doctor you mention is paid £100 per hour for overtime and that's his wage, i.e. he doesn't pay his secretary, rent his desk, pay for utilities, rent his examination table or diagnostic equipment - all of which is provided by the employer. That's how employment works

GPs on the whole are partners not employees so they do pay their receptionists and nurses, utility bills, council tax and buy all the equipment the surgery requires.

I am aware this is an old thread ..........

I think some people don't realise how much time and work goes into these cakes

@AryaStarkWolf

I am aware this is an old thread ..........

I think some people don't realise how much time and work goes into these cakes

a year is rather extreme for a cake though 🤣

@BlueThistles

@VinylDetective

The doctor you mention is paid £100 per hour for overtime and that's his wage, i.e. he doesn't pay his secretary, rent his desk, pay for utilities, rent his examination table or diagnostic equipment - all of which is provided by the employer. That's how employment works

GPs on the whole are partners not employees so they do pay their receptionists and nurses, utility bills, council tax and buy all the equipment the surgery requires.

I don't think the pp said anything about GPs did they? Lots of salaried doctors work overtime in hospitals etc. A partner GP won't get "paid overtime" as such, as they're paid profit share. The term "overtime" is more commonly used for employees.

By the time this thread has finished it will be a Graduation cake that's needed.

I think this is pretty standard. I bake my own cakes because I can't imagine paying this much for a cake, but if your skills aren't up to it and you want a special cake then that's how much it costs. But as loads of people have said you can buy perfectly nice celebration cakes off the shelf for cheaper. If you don't want any specific design you're better off buying a plain iced cake. You could even buy a hand-made cake topper to make it look fancy if you wanted.

.

Work to your budget, I've no doubt that many bakers are talented and using high quality ingredients but it doesn't mean you have to buy their cakes. We've had so many family birthdays recently where those massive drip cakes have been purchased. My elderly aunt was in despair at being left with the remains of one during lockdown.