What are your top tips for the school cake sale? Tell Flora for the chance to win a £200 John Lewis voucher. NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

With school starting up again and cake sales coming up, Flora would love to hear about Mumsnetters' tips for the school cake sale.

Here's what Flora have to say: “We know that the school cake sale can sometimes be a battleground but Flora is here to offer a helping hand. Baking with Flora Buttery couldn’t be simpler- just 5 ingredients and 15 minutes is all it takes. All it takes is a bowl and spoon! You can even get the kids to help for easy peasy baking fun and tasty sell out cakes every time!”

So, what are your top tips for the school cake sale? Do you have any simple fail-safe cake recipes which you know will sell well? Do you like to bake with your DCs? Perhaps you prefer to buy cakes? Are there any cake sale favourites which have surprised you?

Do you have any tips for navigating cake stand politics? What are the pricing policies in place at your DCs' school? What tips do you have for getting as many parents involved as possible?

Whatever your top tips are, Flora would love to hear about it.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £200 John Lewis voucher.

Please note your comments may be included on Flora's social media channels, and possibly elsewhere, so please only post if you're comfortable with this.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

Try & theme the cakes.. Easter, Halloween, Christmas - whatever the occasion. Easy enough to do with decorations on simple fairy cakes so not too complicated & time consuming either

Make lots of little cakes at pocket money prices that will appeal to the children. Decorate with colourful beads, jellies etc. Take writing icing and write names on cakes- lots of children have names that are not readily available on cakes etc in the high street,

I also cheat and buy tiny gingerbread men which I decorate in all sorts of ways eg as skeletons and pirates and children love these.

If it has huge quantities of frosting, liberal scattering of glitter and lots and lots of sweets on top, it will sell!

If you aren't very good at baking, it doesn't really matter. Despite what some mums seem to think, it isn't a competition!

Bake with the kids so they are involved.
Chocolate always works well.
Don't worry about the mess!

Be organised and know exactly what you are going to bake

Make them bright, and bold, and decorate with whatever the 'in' TV/film character of the moment is if you want them to sell fast. Anything to do with 'frozen' has been a hit lately.

Don't underestimate the power of keeping it simple

Top hats with lots of different sweet toppings..gummy bear, skittle, smartie, dolly mixture, milky way stars etc

Parents love buying chocolate brownies - they go really well. Really easy to make.

Children love chocolate rice crispy cakes - they are so easy to make with your little ones and sell really well.

Keep your treats simple and plenty of them. It doesn't have to cost you a fortune but makes great profit when excited children come to buy them! Stick to cupcakes,rice krispy cakes, flapjacks etc. Also note all ingredients incase of allergies. Most of all have fun with baking and raise loads of money.

Make you cakes look good - even if they taste less than perfect no-one is going to buy any more!

If you're not into baking or don't have time buy cheap fairy cakes and decorate them yourself with icing and sweeties. Get the children involved as well, they'll love helping to decorate them.

it's all about fairy cakes! the most bright and crazy the decoration the better! load them up with icing and gummy bears!

buy the cakes but add own icing and decorations!!!! ;)

well, dont all mums go to icelands:) I know i do lol

Buy the cakes, and check all the ingrediants to make sure no ones allergic

Not able to bake cakes to sell in our school due to the council's fears over health and safety eg food poisoning or allergic reactions. Personally I think it is a piece of nonsense but in the meantime we are only able to buy cakes from shops to sell. But find the more colourful ones tend to be snapped up first.

Cupcakes in vivid colours with lots of sprinkles always go down well!

Like lots of others here - chococlate crispie cakes. Quick, easy to make, kids love them and love decorating them.

make lots of cupcakes in large batches- dead cheap and easy and decorate them in lots of fun ways- enlist kids to help

Yep, depends who is buying them.

If it's for children, the more sugar, chocolate, sprinkly stuff and characters the better. Or marshmallow kebabs always go really well and take about 10 seconds to make.

Parents seem to like things like brownies, muffins, cheese twists etc.

The way to win at a school bake sale!

Lots of bright pretty signs on the stall.
Cupcakes with lots of glitter, sparkles, bright food colouring for girls and football toppers, silver balls and sprinkles for boys! displayed on cake stands.
have a crowd of children buying the cakes and telling their friends to go buy one!

Voila! how to win!

Sell paper plates filled with a mixed selection of small cakes, pre filled, and cling filmed, especially useful if teas and coffees being served..... Also good at the end of the sale and too much stock, and you want to shift it.

Making plain small buns to be used as part of a topping/icing station is a nice idea I've seen at a cake sale