To think this isn't great for £55?

[SilverPicnicHead89]

We ordered 20 cupcakes from a local cake shop for my child's 6th birthday to give to her friends at the end of the day at school. Paid when ordering (no images available or book to choose from and the staff member serving just told us to go online to look at examples on their social media profile, but we were in a queue and didn't even have WiFi). Picked them up today. I'm not going to complain and I'm sure they're going to taste nice but at £55 for 20 of these, were my expectations not reasonable?

Lola's cupcakes seem to be about £24 for a box of six, makes yours seem quite cheap!
Could have gone for mini cupcakes for children?
Waitrose do boxes of 8 for £16 - but I'd expect to pay more at an independent bakers.

Did they taste nice?

To be honest in future you'd be better off ordering a delivery and adding in some cupcakes/a shop brought cake. As the PP said most kids won't eat more than the icing on a cupcake. It's a lot of money to waste when a Tesco cupcake or bag or haribo would have sufficed.

Yes, but it would have taken her two hours with the cooling, plus time to buy ingredients and wash the dishes. This is what we pay for when we buy ready made.

They look fine. I don’t know what you expect for £2.75. But I agree I’d never pay £55 for cupcakes for 6 year olds.

So they look like standard decorated cupcakes that I'd expect to pay £4+ each for (eat-in) at any local café. (Surrey). They look perfectly fine and priced about right at £2 75 each takeaway.

Those cakes look appealing enough, I'm sure the kids will enjoy them. Presumably hand-made so the price is reasonable.

All of these look like big piles of icing with a small cake buried underneath.

The kids must be bouncing off the walls after eating these. Children don’t get daily sugar anymore. They’re not accustomed.

They probably took some time to prepare, and you supported the local economy.
I'd not worry about it @SilverPicnicHead89 . Better than small cheap ones.

I would have made them myself very easy then iced them with ready made icing

I'd expect a better finish.

Well there speaks some one who isn't a baker.

Yes £55 sounds reasonable for the cupcakes. However YABU to even question it because you bought and paid for them without even seeing a pic of what to expect and also who spends £55 on cupcakes to take to school?!

OK thanks for posting about Lolas.. This is a great example of what I'd hoped to see/get to choose from before the woman who served us just told us to go online to see what they do (while we didn't have any wifi..): https://www.lolas.co.uk/products/assorted-classics-mini-cupcake-box?_gl=11264ka9_upMQ.._gaMTM2NTE3ODUyMS4xNzQ2MTI4MzY3_ga_2V2RNL1XXP*MTc0NjEyODM2NC4xLjAuMTc0NjEyODM2NC4wLjAuMA..

So.. i've read the replies and what i'm taking from this is "not great, they're ok" and in some parts of the country this is more than ok for the cost.

But lesson learned, never buy something like a cake you haven't seen - and next year I'll be baking the damn things.

Thanks all. this has been helpful - while i'm still disappointed, i feel slightly less stupid at what happened.

You knew the cost prior to ordering...I'm shocked you pay that. The children won't care. Just some cakes from the supermarket...

They look ok. Are the the same as what’s in their social media? I don’t think the issue is the cost or quality but that you never checked before ordering

YABU, if you buy cupcakes at £2.25 each from a bakery that's pretty good. Very fancy cupcakes typically cost a lot more. Next time, get the plain cupcakes from the supermarket, some icing and sprinkles decorate yourself if you don't want to spend the money

Price sounds good to me. For home made.
however I wouldn’t spend so much on a bunch of kids tho.

Aldi or Lidl do some at a price point where you don’t mind a kid taking 1 bite and then throwing it away.

I think they look nice. £55 is probably what I’d expect to pay. It costs about £90 for a handmade bespoke birthday cake these days (sometimes more).

I think your money would go further with an independent baker - part of what you're paying is the overheads on the shop.

It's got the job done, and the kids will enjoy them, just don't rush back. The 6s are fine IMO, like modern calligraphy style.

Not in my house 🙂

We have a cupcake shop near us and they’re all over £3 each. How big are they?

They’re what I would expect for the price you’ve paid.

The buttercream looks nice!

Yeah, theyll' taste nice but they look shit for a professional job. Just make them at home next time. Kids don't care, it's all colourful sugar.

I think they look OK - not amazing but acceptable.

Whether I considered myself ripped off would be down to how they taste. If they've been made with decent ingredients eg butter not baking spread, and homemade buttercream made with butter, then I'd be happy. If they've been made with shit ingredients and premade icing and basically taste like they've been bought from Tesocs, then I'd be pissed off.

Although possibly the kids wouldn't care either way.

Very basic cupcakes and not worth £55, I would've expected better quality cases to start with not cheap white ones, Baking isn't cheap nowadays but I can only see £10-£12 worth of ingredients there so a massive mark up.

Very generous of you! I’m glad I only had to spend £6 on Haribo sweets 😂