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?

Are you sure its for a 6in OP? I've just had my tape measure out and 6in is tiny. Like a bun for one person - two people at a push Not sure why people are saying it would serve 18. That would take a biblical miracle!

Once I spent £90 on a cake for DD’s 5th birthday. Don’t know what came over me except that I was pregnant at the time! It was a very cool black Spider-Man and tasted amazing (the little bit I had of it as not really a cake person) but it was total madness to spend that on a child’s cake.

Ds never gets that (to be honest neither has dd since!)

(He did have a £45 cake from m and s one year, I’m not completely horrible!)

Would anyone even notice if there was no Christening cake? It's not like a wedding cake where the bride and groom are photographed cutting it.

Disclaimer-I last went to a christening in 1998 and couldn't tell you if there was a cake.

@thenightsky I guess it depends how deep it is. Found this, 8 inch on the bottom, 6 inch on the top

Wait, it was buttercream? She definitely didn't want your custom.

Why book up one of your slots for a small order, when you can turn it down and wait for a larger one? Overpricing something to avoid saying 'no thanks, not worth my time' is something lots of people with a trade do. Builders, painters, mechanics, and cake makers, they all do it.

In fact I know bakers whose sizes start at 8" for this reason.

Do it yourself if it's such a simple cake

Disclaimer-I last went to a christening in 1998 and couldn't tell you if there was a cake.

God the first thing I look for is cake

@CatherineOfAragonsPomegranate oh I didn't take it badly, just speculating really! It's always something which seems to cause a divide.

I am all about the savoury @OkMaybeNot but I am fairly suspicious of buffets in general. How long has it been out? Who has touched it etc...

It's the same with knitted/crochet/sewn items.
People are so used to paying child labour prices on the high street, that they don't want to pay for a handmade item.

It seems that handmade means cheap.

Make it yourself/go to a supermarket or stop bloody complaining! I am a professional at work, I trained and worked hard to get where I am and get paid to reflect this. Why should a legit cake maker be any different?
You could always bake it yourself and see how much work it takes.

Just to say I'm a hobby baker but my cakes have won awards at international level competitions.

Everyone is constantly telling me to go pro but I won't because of this attitude.

I don't want to have to change my home kitchen and life to meet standards only to have to haggle with people who have no idea of the real cost of anything because 'Tesco' and m&s can knock out a cheaper version

Attitudes like this... The reason I won't do cakes!! .. Do people not question what they are asking for versus how long it takes??? Yeah, it's just a cake? . Go to the supermarket if that's all you want

I paid £90 for my daughter’s birthday cake recently... it was amazing and worth every penny! Go to a supermarket and buy a sponge cake if you’re after a less expensive option?

Quality ingredients and the skill of the baker .

Feel free to make your own to save the money then, you're not obliged to buy one.

Have you ever made a proper cake OP? I make cakes for my kids birthdays (only time I do it, you’ll see why in a second). The ingredients for a simple vanilla sponge and buttercream cake serving maximum 20 if you cut small slices cost £25. Add in fancy sprinkles, food colouring etc and that could be an extra £10 to £20 easily. Then it takes me approx 2hrs to make and prep the sponges. Making butter cream and crumb coating the cake takes and half hour or some. Decorating the cake in a fairly simple design usually takes at least an hour. Throughout that time my fridge needs to be empty for the decorating day and I need to keep kitchen clear of allergens etc. I don’t do this professionally so I don’t need I license, have no business admin costs, tax etc. I wouldn’t be willing to makes cake for someone else for anything less than £150 because it’s not worth it, my time and mental health are worth way more. I actually think that £70 for a hand made cake is a pretty good deal.

Marks and Spencer use butter and cakes are excellent

But your profit is the £20 an hour. Why are you charging an extra 30% ?

No i think you will find it is not ...... I am charging my customer £20 per every hour of my skilled time and knowledge.. the 30% Is the extra I am charging on the ingredients and sundries and i have needed to create build and transport the cake. There is much more than shoving a bit of flour sugar, butter and egg into a mixer and then into a pan that goes into the price of a cake

But it’s just a cake” “No, it’s not!” A bespoke (or even a simple) custom cake is the centrepiece at any event, a birthday, a wedding or a christening. It’s a major part of the day and will usually feature in some of the photos too. It’s never just a cake. Especially of its bespoke.. its then a custom piece of edible art

I also charge a premium for last minute orders with full payment up front for those...
I.do payment schedules I do discounts at certain times of year

My friend makes cakes. They're completely different to every commercial cake I've ever eaten. You don't have to buy this woman's cake. Can't understand why you're moaning about it.

There's a saying amongst
us bakers..
GOOD CAKE AIN'T CHEAP AND CHEAP CAKE AIN'T GOOD!!

Costco cakes are mass produced and made with the cheapest ingredients on a factory style production line.

Of course people are going to say they loved a cake at an event as to say otherwise is rude.

However, trying to compare a handmade, one-off cake made to your own specifications to a cheap supermarket cake is ridiculous.

It costs that much because you don’t know how to do it yourself.

I could knock up a cake like that, using butter and free range eggs in the time it’s taken many people to read this thread, and it would cost less than £20 but that’s because I am a good baker.
But, I’d never attempt to knit a gift, or sew a dress or paint a portrait for example because I don’t know how to, and would leave it those that can, and pay them for their expertise and time.

@CatherineOfAragonsPomegranate it's crazy yeah my gran almost spat her dentures out when I told her she was laughing so hard and said the girls where silly things, she knits and crochets amazingly like the best ever and has never made anything to sell she only makes for fun, charity stalls and the occasional jumper for herself or cardigan and blanket for the newest baby arriving .... she did make me the best cardigan a few years ago for my 35th though I get stopped all the time and asked about it.... it's very hard to knit a lot of time and skill I cant do it myself but can appreciate the hours after watching my mum, aunties and gran all doing it as was growing up