I want to explain today how I come up with cake prices. The reason for this is that sometimes cake decorators get questioned on why a cake from a private/specialty bakery or home baker costs more than the grocery store. So here we go. First, when you order a custom cake- it is just that- customized. A one of a kind edible work of art that requires planning and skill. These cakes can take many hours to make. For example:
Remember Jack's first birthday monkey cake? The round cakes are 10" cakes. They can take close to an hour each to back. The monkey on top takes about an hour to bake. All cakes have to cool completely before you can decorate them, or you risk them crumbing up and leaving ugly specks in your frosting. This cake required a few batches of frosting. The base cake frosted rather quickly- maybe 20 minutes or so to get it covered and smooth. The monkey takes much longer to frost, as it was done with a "grass" tip to make it look furry. Hundreds of squeezes on a pastry bag to get it covered. Before the "fur" was added, the ears had to be removed and lowered to monkey level, and the arm carved a bit to add space for the banana. The smooth areas on the face, belly, and ears had to be frosted and covered with fondant. Making and using fondant adds 30-45 minutes of prep and decorating time easily. The banana is cereal treats, covered in chocolate. That took probably 20 minutes to make, plus drying time. That gets us to about an hour an a half (which is probably a little low) just on decorating time. 3 hour of baking time. 2 hours of cooling time. And let's not forget, before you can make a cake you have to have a plan (30 mins to an hour working with the client to get said plan) and shop for supplies- another hour or more of time to get the items needed. That's 8 hours of time- including baking and cooling time- for ONE cake! Today, I would charge probably $70 for this cake. That, divided by say, 4.5 hours of active cake time (not including the lag time while it's in the oven or cooling, or clean up after it's complete) is about $15/hr. $15/hr is pretty decent right? Sure, in an hourly setting it's not too bad. But, as you can see from the time break down, it's not exactly an accurate representation because it doesn't take into account the supply cost- which on this one I would estimate to be $15-20.
How do I come up with the price for my cakes? I generally start with $2.00/serving. Fondant is extra. Fillings are extra. Specialty flavors are extra. All of these are extra because they require both more time and more ingredients. So, a cake that serves 30 that has fondant on it- $70.
But.....how are grocery stores able to offer cakes that serve 50 people for $30? I only have personal experience at one store, but know what I'm about to tell you is the norm in grocery and big box stores. (I should point out I am NOT knocking grocery store cakes; I simply want people to understand how they can do what they do for the prices.) The cakes are pre-baked and frozen. The frosting is pre-made and in a bucket. You have limited options for the design and size of your cake. And, because everything is pre-made and from a pre-determined design, they take much less time to make. Your typical "kit" cake (one with say a toy or figurine on it with a design from a book) takes maybe 20 minutes to put together. Beginning to end. That's a big difference from 8 hours, which is also why I am now requiring a deposit for orders, and a cancellation fee if it is cancelled with less than 72 hours before the cake is due out. There is a lot of pre-planning and work that goes into a custom cake, and cancelling at the last minute not only wastes my time (which, I'm sure you will agree your time is precious to you and when you feel like you've wasted time you aren't to happy), it also can cost me money. You are not only paying for the cake supplies, and the time required to make it, you are also paying for the skill and creativity involved in it. So please, keep these things in mind the next time you want to ask your baker, "You want how much for that cake?"
