To think this isn't great for £55?

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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?

Horrible list of ingredients and the main one is sugar. It's money for old rope really.

I don’t know any Londoners who’d pay £55 for specially baked cakes to hand out to classmates after school on a child’s birthday. It’s not even for kids invited to a party.

That’s extortionate! If you have three kids, you’d be spending over £150 a year on cakes for classmates.

And a lot of them will barely be eaten and chucked in the bin.

IME of London schools, at most if it’s someone’s birthday kids would hand out a cheap packet of sweets to classmates.

And why are there only 20? In a class of 30, are there 10 kids who won’t be receiving them because they’re not friends? How will they feel? It should surely be to the whole class or not at all.

You can make your own fairy cakes for a few quid (including via the cake mix packs) or buy them from a supermarket.

Also flagging for those who’ve suggested jelly sweets like Haribo, they contain port gelatin, so would be unfair to give to 6 year olds who’re Muslim or vegetarian, as they can’t eat them. Although the Haribo made in Turkey use beef gelatin, I believe.

Honestly, for a 6th birthday, I'd have just bought supermarket ones. Half of them will go uneaten, just have the icing licked off, or get dropped on the floor.

They look awful. Poor decoration. The number 6 looks like something I would have tried to write myself, at the last minute, and bern bitterly disappointed that they looked nothing like i had in mind. 😂

i saw a local person advertising on Facebook - no consolation to you but the photos were so bad, Ithought it was a fake page.

£55 sounds expensive but it works out £2.75 per cupcake. Isn’t that around what you’d pay for a nice cupcake in a bakery anyway? Agree with other PPs that a birthday cake would have worked out more expensive. We wanted a Gruffalo birthday cake for DS’s 2nd birthday and the prices we were quoted even for a small ish one were shocking! In the £80-120 region. I suppose if you wanted a different look (more luxurious in your words) then you should have discussed up front what you wanted them to look like in the first place - sounds like you’ve learned your lesson though, and I don’t want to rub it in as I know how chaotic can be organising birthdays for the kids. Maybe have a think / print out some pictures next time before you pop to the bakery in case it’s busy. I’m sure the kids will love these though, it’s still cake!!

it's a bargain compared to my local bakery!! £42 for 12 basic chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles. Chocolate Cupcake Box – Mimi's Bakehouse

I'm a hobby baker and they don't look great. But if I bake for people I always ask plenty of questions to make sure they get what they want. For £55 I could make over 55 cupcakes but I'm not a business.

I agree with other poster they do look a bit basic....I would be a little disappointed but next time buy the 12 pack Plain from Tesco or other place and get your child to help with butter cream you can add colour and toppings super fun and get the child involved.

£2.25 each!

You could have probably bought 4 pre-made for that price or less and asked a baker friend to tart them up and decorate them or done that yourself.

Unless these 6 year olds have been raised by Michelin Star chef parents and have gourmet palates, then I'd say £2.25 per cupcake is daylight robbery!

Then again, I'm not one of these MN's on a 6 figure salary.

As a baker, this is the going rate and I would have charged the same. Possible a bit more for a cake to serve 20.

People seem to forget the cost of ingredients are through the roof. There are a few quids worth of cake boxes there. Butter is expensive, energy costs are ridiculous and they are having to pay themselves a wage.

Having said that, before I became a baker no way would I spend £55 on cupcakes, so I totally get why prices are a shock for people, and I'd never take an order without confirming what the cakes would look like before actually doing them.

That’s the photo you decided to use to show them?! Move the napkin at least surely

But wouldn't you expect a better job? They don't look professional at all, just like a higher level amateur.

Don't most people just buy them from a supermarket for what you want or is there competitive cake giving at the school gate. The price is what you would expect from a bakery.

I'm so glad I don't live somewhere this is a thing. 🫣

Totally agree. I would have gone to Asda 😂

This. I pay around £1.50 per cc from the supermarket and they look really good. However I realise this isn't helpful now, sorry OP.

They look nice though!

I too would be disappointed. We have an amazing cake maker nearby and she charges about £15 for 6 but they are so much better than that image & taste amazing too. Would probably have cost more than what you paid but we are on the edge of London/surrey & she gets amazing feedback. Next yer perhaps look on social media for local cake makers as they are often more bespoke to your needs

These look okay for £55 but I would not have spent that much for young children.

I do, but I'm not that bothered what other people do.

Local bakery to me (London) charges about £2/ cup cake and they are cuter than these.

I don't think they look all that great. I always get mine from a local small business and they look fantastic the same would have been £30.00. (£1.50 Per cupcake) If you do a Facebook search in your area I'm sure you'll find someone who can do a better job if you get any in the future.

If you have a bit of time you can make your own cupcakes with little difficulty for a lot less than £55 and they will not be as full of artificial this, that and the other as shop bought versions. If nearly £3.00 is the going rate for a single cupcake, I need to think about a career change.

Is this issue that they are tiny? They do look pretty small

Oh I thought they were bog rolls for size comparison 😆