to ask how much you would pay for homemade Christmas cake

[TheHopefulBaker]

I am looking into ways to easily earn a bit of extra cash. I make a christmas cake every year just for myself and family as I love doing it, so I'll be putting in the money and time regardless. Every year I get feedback that my Christmas cake is lovely and I should sell them.

I'm wondering if it would be worth it to invest a bit more time and effort to make a few more, and maybe make a bit of money. I was thinking I could take them along to my local car boot sale in October and November.

I'm just wondering how much to ask. I usually make medium round cakes and decorate them with marzipan and royal icing. Then add a few simple decorations on top. Nothing fancy.

I'll try add a photo of last year's

How much do you think people would pay for a cake like this at a car boot sale?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

I agree with PPs that in all honesty the standard of presentation is not good enough to sell - not to people who haven’t already tasted and liked it anyway.

I also agree that you will not be able to make any profit on them as the ingredients cost so much that you will probably make a loss, without even accounting for all the time it will take you to make them (which will be a long time!).

If you did do it, I would say to improve the appearance you should probably have some piping around the bottom, or at the very least you need to make sure there is no yellow marzipan showing through.

The icing on yours is neither one thing nor the other - I think it either needs to be the thickness you have but smooth, or you need it to be thicker and spikier for a proper “snow” effect.

I would lose the decorations on top and tie a proper thick red ribbon all around it, rather than just the bow stuck on the front.

That’s just my opinion though.

You could offer to make one for the people who have said they liked it before and say they would need to pay for the cost of the ingredients, but I don’t think in that case you’d be able to add much on for your labour or make much of a profit.

The last time I made a Christmas cake was two years ago and the ingredients cost me just over £25 in total, so you I think you would have to charge more than most people would be prepared to pay

These were photographed before final finish. We like something different! But they would get noticed. DDs prize winning one was cascades of snowballs. Looked beautiful.

Not really sorry though 😬😂

Oooh no! Bet her fingers were tripping over the keys to tell op that! And yet, we don't seem to have a photo yet ...

I'm sorry to say that I think this is a non-starter. I agree that there's very little profit (if any) to be made from selling Christmas cakes at a car boot sale.

I've been making celebration cakes for 25 years, and in all that time, I've been asked to make a Christmas cake just once - because it's cheaper to go to M&S and get a decent, generic one from there. It's not like wedding, birthdays and christenings, where people want a unique, personalised cake, and are prepared to pay for this.

There might be some profit to make in small, individual, well made gift cakes, if you find the right place to sell - Christmas markets would be good for this. You could also do things like mince pies to sell alongside. However, this all costs to set up, you would need to also need PL insurance, and to have your kitchen inspected by environmental health.

It's way more complicated than just selling or gifting to friends.

It’s honestly pointless, you need a health and safety certificate, insurance etc and the ingredients are expensive plus time, electricity, washing up and packaging.

Oh but now we do!

And that, @OhDear111, confirms that taste is personal and it never does to be haughty.

I dont like Christmas cake, but your cake brings back so many childhood memories for me! So i would def pay over the odds for it and would sneakily pass it off as my own!!

It brings back childhood memories for me too op - and doesn't even make me think of the chicken pox!

I think as this thread has proved people underestimate the cost of ingredients and time required to make a cake regardless of the aesthetic.

Yes, they are really costly - especially Christmas cakes.

You can't sell food without meeting all the hygiene regulations - which are extremely onerous.

There was a lady selling home-made Indian snacks at the local market , they were very popular.
I witnessed her being accosted by the Market Inspector & 2 PCs.
She was treated like a terrorist suspect.

If it's on an occasional basis like this I don't think you do? I think it's wise to label it with ingredients and allergens but it's not like you need a hygiene certificate. Not to do bootsales a few times once a year.

I’m pretty sure you’re wrong and you do need a food hygiene certificate. It’s done online and only costs a few pounds. I have a holiday let and need one if I’m leaving anything homemade (marmalade in my case).

It's expensive to make a Christmas cake, so I don't the markup that you'd actually get back would be worth it

Maybe make them for Xmas gifts??

I wouldn’t buy cake from a car boot sale. Maybe offer to take orders on Facebook, with payment in advance.

I think there are easier ways to make extra cash. Royal Mail always post a flier asking for temporary Christmas staff.

I wouldn’t trust your hygiene or the ingredients list I’m aftaid as I don’t know you; shop bought would be preferable.

I make my own cake in October. If I calculated the amount of time I put into it e.g soaking the fruit in brandy for a week, chopping nuts and cherries, mixing and baking time, and the money for the ingredients (including the extra brandy to ‘feed’ it) I would probably have to sell it for at least £30-35 to even break even. I don’t think that car boot attendees would pay that. Maybe make individual small cakes as other posters have suggested

Always tickles me about people clutching pearls about home made food for sale though, if they looked into permitted levels of contaminants in processed food (including insects, chemicals etc ) they might never eat again. Look up Codex Alimentarius

This. I'm sorry OP but I think unless you're willing to not go through proper legal channels for selling food to the public I honestly wouldn't do it. It won't be the quick money spinner you hope it will.

Look at megrivers.co.uk - her Christmas range and her mini-cake Christmas selection is wonderful, selling price from £30 to over £50.

They look absolutely perfect and I think if you could get yours to look similar you’re into a winner!

Surely if you’re going to make food to sell to the public you would have at least had a hygiene inspection/certificate or whatever it is that says your kitchen is clean and you adhere to hygiene standards. I totally understand your desire to make some money this time of year but surely you have to jump through some hoops first. Maybe next year?

And the stories I have heard about aeroplane food!

What quality are you ingredients ? Do you use butter or margarine ? Are your eggs free range ? How many days do you soak the dried fruit in alcohol ?
A fair few people would expect the best ingredients and the above .
Plus how many do you expect to cook in your oven at a time , mine cook for hours and very obviously you can't keep opening and closing the oven door to move them so they get an even cooking and not be raw or overcooked .
What you sell them for would not cover your costs .

Thanks so much for all the replies- some very good constructive feedback and lots to think about.

In my head I wasn't really planning to sell a lot of cakes or indeed make a lot of profit this year- more just get a sense of demand. As I said I make a couple of Christmas cakes every year anyway and have already bought the ingredients for these as always. Every year I have lots of mixture left over and usually end up making a mountain of Christmas cake buns that we just eat throughout the season, so I thought this year I'd use the left over mixture to make three or four extra small cakes and see how they sell...I just wondered what price to put on them. I was thinking £5 so the fact the majority have suggested £10 seems pleasantly surprising, considering I wouldn't be spending any extra time or money.

However I take the point that it probably isn't going to turn into a bigger money making project and I will lower my expectations. We have other things we'd like to take to a car boot so if we also sold three or four cakes at £10 that would be a nice way of recouping the cost of making them, which I usually pay for anyway just for fun.

I like the ideas about making smaller individual ones as well - that could be a good idea for the extra mixture.

Thanks everyone!!