to not bake cakes for the school to sell for less than the ingredients cost me?

[ANTagony]

This am took DS1 to school teacher stopped me in corridor and said would I mind baking some cakes to be sold for children in need to the staff on Friday. She particularly requested Chelsea buns (I've made them and lots of other cakes for the school before). I have a lot on this week but said I'm sure I could rustle up something. Rearranged my week to fit in an extra batch of baking (already baking for PTA meeting Friday morning). Collected DS1 from school to be handed a notice saying cakes would be on sale in aid of children in need on Friday and would be a flat rate 10p each. I can't buy the ingredients for 10p each. I'm a single parent I have a younger son to and money is really tight. I don't object to helping out where I can but they are asking me to bake cakes which would cost over £1 in the local bakers,give them for free and then feel good about themselves (the teachers) for donating 10p to charity in return for something they couldn't get for any where near that in the shops. I feel really taken advantage of. I'd rather just give the ingredients money to children in need, then they'd win (make more money than if the school charge 10p per cake) and I'd save myself a lot of effort. Is this mad should I just wind my neck in.

Actually it is precisely because my kids' teachers don't ask this kind of thing that I am going to give them some Very Chocolately Brownies in the week running up to Christmas (a top tip of Martianbishop's - forget the end of term present, give the poor loves a boost as they stagger through the fag-end of the term).

FWIW YANBU. I love decorating cakes, and they are always admired at fund raising events at the school as I decorated them very artistically. However as they were being sold for 20p a cake and I decided it really wasn't worth my time, effort and ingredients and that I would rather donate the money as it simply wasn't worth my time and effort.

However, I did find I rather missed making them as I love decorating cakes, and people constantly kept asking for them. So this time around, I have decorated 2 gorgeous cakes ( 1 chocolate and 1 Christmas), and they are now going to be raffled off. I'm hoping that this will generate more money than baking 24 cupcakes

Totally reasonable...had a similar experience with the Catholic church. Our then parish priest held me to ransom by refusing to sign the necessary documentation to allow me and dh to marry in a church unless we became regular parishoners. Apart for going to mass every Sunday this involved sorting smelly jumble sale goods and baking a cake for the mother's day charity cake sale. Being young, foolish and in possession of no baking equipment the damn thing ended up costing about £10 to bake with another £3 for the burns cream required after the detachable ring thing got caught in the crook of my arm while trying to remove the cake once taken from the oven. I learnt two things: 1. wait for the cake to cool before removing it from its tin 2. could have picked one up for less than half the price in Sainsbury's.

Ah, you were developing useful marital skills in terms of domestic competence and housewifely bargain-hunting there, starmucks.

It was a noble attempt I thought. Sadly, it also pretty much concluded my baking career.

How much will the ingredients cost and how many buns will they make?

Slightly off topic, but kinda fits in here, so don't want to start a new thread....
but can anyone enlighten me on the following...
Fundraising events...i.e. when people climb whatever mountain in whatever country for charity, for instance...how does that work, and wouldn't it make more sense to just donate money to whatever charity?

I am just asking, because to me it doesn't really make sense, but I don't really know how it all works...so, that might be why....iykwim

I ended up making 96 cakes because my son was so excited about being allowed to buy a cake at school and the word on the playground was no one else was intending to do any. In the morning when I took the cakes in another parent had been asked to go out and buy another 60 cakes they'd given her £5 and asked her to get receipts!

The kids all had their 10p pieces and got a cake, some savvy ones took in £1 and wanted to stock up - they're obviously business tycoons in the making watch out Sir Alan. I think in the end only three people baked and one other bought value sponges so they just scraped together the 250ish cakes needed.

I know this was a petty winge but it was so good to get it off my chest and I know to politely decline next time and offer a donation. On a lighter note I had a really shit year last year and its made me laugh to think that cakes are what I'm now stressing about. Puts a sense of perspective on things and made me realise things aren't so bad.

Re baking time in the recipe yes it is just 10mins - you can tell cause they're lightly browned. They're a bread rather than a sponge so the cooking time is more in line with a bread roll.

Tell you what I'll swap your lovely buns for my crap cakes you can take those in instead. They'll never ask you again after they see my deflated offerings! Well done for being a good baker I am jealous!

Bit confused now I thought the buns were for the teachers only not the children?

I think I might bake these for DS' preschool cake sale. How much do the ingredients for the recipe to make 12 cost?

yes ant...thought teachers were the ones willing only to pay 10p a cake....Kids a whole different story, of course...

I'd have bought cheapo ones and passed them off as my own.
Saves you time and money, and they've still got something to sell for charadee.

YANBU.

cranky....you do know that shop bought cakes can never really be passed of as your own, right...

I'm sure your buns were delicious, I love other people's cake. You will get good cake karma!

10p pure farce! - No wonder you're pissed

Ummm...

Tried it once for DD's b'day at nursery. I iced a sponge myself, but did not know you put jam on so it sticks. Icing fell off in huge chunks when cut. And i left the cardboard disk on the bottom. Busted!

Engaged to a chef now. He gets his pastry chef to knock something up for fetes etc.

"I ended up making 96 cakes because my son was so excited about being allowed to buy a cake at school and the word on the playground was no one else was intending to do any. In the morning when I took the cakes in another parent had been asked to go out and buy another 60 cakes they'd given her £5 and asked her to get receipts! "
ooh that would make me

hang on

the TEACHERS are asking you to bake cakes for THEM to eat?

And are then going to give LESS than the cost of the ingredients (even before your labour etc) to a children's charity thing.

Well big at that

I wouldn't do it, tbh, thats taking the piss on several levels.

Lol cranky at your sponge/icing disaster....but lucky you for now being able to get things done by a proper chef...