You want how much for that cake?!

Hello everyone!  Happy Summer!  The summer has been somewhat quiet so far....a few fun things but unfortunately no pool time yet because the weather seems to hate me and wants to rain every weekend when I have time off!

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?"

April showers bring.....cake!

Whew!  It has been a busy spring!  I think I have had 2 weekends that I was't making cake since the last week of March.  Anyone want to invest and help me start a cake shop?  I apologize in advance- this post is going to be a little long!

First up was my dad's birthday.  We didn't make him a cake, but we did have carrot cake truffles!  I made them for my mister for Valentine's day and they were excellent.  Since my dad loves carrot cake too- easy peasy dessert option!  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of those.

Next up was a cake for Morgan's mother in law's birthday.

Half strawberry, half white with buttercream frosting.  A few simple flowers and called it a day! 

Morgan's son also had a birthday.  Mitchell like Jake and the Neverland Pirates- so we found a design that was adorable- complete with toys to play with after the cake was gone! 

One layer chocolate, one white, with buttercream frosting.  I roughed up the sides a bit to give it some texture, then airbrushed the whole thing with layers of brown.  Sand is brown sugar, and the coins and treasure bag are fondant!

My boss's son Jack (you've seen his cakes one here before!) and their neighbor's daughter had parties the same weekend.  Princess cake for Ryleigh, and Fireman cake for Jack! 

Ryleigh's castle cake is made of yellow cake with buttercream frosting.  Towers are paper towel rolls covered with foam sheets, and topped with ice cream cone turrets.  

Jack had a fireman party at the firehouse!  So cool.  His cake was part chocolate, part white, with buttercream frosting.  It had dalmatian spots and we borrowed one of his toy firetrucks for the top.  The fireman has was modeling chocolate. 

A client from work found out I made cakes and asked for one for her grand daughter's birthday. Jasmine got puppy cupcakes for school, and had a Spongebob cake for her bowling alley birthday party.  

The cupcakes are white cake with whipped frosting.  I hear they were a big hit at school!

Jasmine's Spongebob cake is white cake with buttercream frosting and buttercream decorations.  Wish I could say I made the characters, but we cheated and found a combo pack of toys! 

Princess Ryleigh's youngest brother turned one- and had a Winnie the Pooh theme cake.  His nickname is Zach-a-roo....so Pooh fit perfectly.  And of course, he had a Roo smash cake! 

Zachary had yellow cake with buttercream frosting.  The "1" was carved from a larger cake.  The main cake was base iced and airbrushed (did I mention I LOVE my airbrush?).  We found a set of figurines with all the Winnie the Pooh characters.  Roo was initially baked in a mini bear pan, but he wasn't quite solid enough.  To fix the problem, I crumbled the cake, mix in a little frosting, and molded the figure again using the mini bear pan.  A bit of carving, and an addition of a nose topped with frosting and a fondant covering for his head and he was ready to go! 

Morgan also had a birthday in May, and wanted a Tinkerbell cake- complete with all her fairy friends.  Morgan's mom found a toy set with all 6 fairies from the "Secret of the Wings" movie.  She also had flower cookies to take to school.  

The fairy cake is white cake with buttercream frosting.  The pond is tinted piping gel.  A few buttercream flowers and edible pearls in the snow complete the combo winter/ spring scene.

A few friends of mine were having a race party for the Indy 500, and asked for a cake.  I borrowed a few cars from Jack (thanks buddy!) and set out to duplicate the Indy 500 logo.  

White cake with buttercream frosting. The Indy 500 logo is a colorflow design.  It was my first time using colorflow, and was pretty fun to make! 

Ryleigh and Zachary have another brother, Haydon, who turned 3.  He is a big sports fan, and loves the Kentucky Wildcats.

Haydon's cake is yellow with buttercream frosting, and sport themed cupcakes around the center cake.  All decorations are buttercream, and the UK logo was freehanded! 

More cakes coming soon- including a Harley Davidson cake!

2012 catch up!

 Wow!  Sorry I'm way behind on blogging about my cakes here.  So in April, Jack turned 2.  Jack is my boss's adorable son.  He loves cars, so we made him a cars cake.  Chocolate cake, buttercream frosting, complete with a few toys!

  

In May, Aaron's neighbor wanted a cake for her daughter's 4th birthday.  Ryleigh asked for an Olivia cake, and once again, Google to the rescue for this childless baker.  If I remember correctly, this cake was white cake, with buttercream frosting.  Olivia is made of a combination of cereal treats and white cake for her body.  She is covered in marshmallow fondant.  

Also in May was my sister's 30th birthday.  Mom wanted to throw her a surprise party since she was struggling with the fact she was going to be the big 30.  I made the cake, and helped with a few other things for the party.  On my way to the party, I had a bit of a cake disaster.  I'm talking literally holding the cake so the top didn't bounce off with one hand, driving with the other, on the highway, waiting to exit so I can put the top of the cake back on and hope that it isn't destroyed.  I had a mini meltdown, because the cake was not looking so hot when I got to the house.  I was super frustrated, set it aside, and worked on other things, while mom helped me fix it (I was too frazzled to deal with it in that moment).  Thank the lord for my momma who fixed it right up!  Stef's cake was Choclate and white cake, I think, with buttercream frosting.  She loves tulips and springy flowers, so we put a little spring mix on top.  We found the adorable ribbon trim when we were out shopping for supplies, and it matched the tablecloth we found pretty well too!  She had sort of a picnic/ cookout themed party.  I think she was surprised, and enjoyed that we were able to get all of her friends together to celebrate!

In October, my family threw a surprise party for my aunt's 50th birthday.  She had no idea what was going on, my other aunt had asked her to help make noodles at the church.  My cousins did a lot of the work to get everything for the party, and my mom helped with food prep as well.  At the last minute, one of my cousins asked if mom could make a cake and she passed that to me.  We kept it simple since it was so last minute.  On layer was white cake, one was chocolate, and the top was red velvet.  All had buttercream frosting, the red velvet had cream cheese between the layers.  I decorated it with a lace pattern, silk flowers, and ribbon, and of course a sparkly B for Brenda on top! 

First cakes of 2012

Happy new year!  Ok, I realize February is almost over, and I'm a little delayed in getting this up.  So far this year I've made 2 cakes, and have several orders coming in- Thanks everyone!  Alright down to business- up first is a birthday cake for a friend.  The main thing he requested was chocolate cake.  I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what design of cake to make.  He is a Jersey Shore fan, always fist-pumping when we are out, so I got the idea to make a fist pump cake!  

It didn't quite turn out how I hope, but was devoured quickly.  The cake is a from scratch chocolate cake with buttercream frosting.  The stripes are fondant.  The fist/ arm is made of cereal treats and covered with fondant.  

The second cake for the year is a first birthday cake for a friend from high school.  She had seen my album on Facebook, and liked a cake I did last year for Jack's first birthday (posted on that one here: http://britsallabouthecake.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html).  It is very similar to the one I made for Jack, but had a few different touches for little William!  

Chocolate pops!  These are made from an adorable mold by Wilton.  They have 3 flavors- peanut butter, milk chocolate, and white chocolate for the colors.  Great party favors!

The main event!  The monkey is chocolate cake with buttercream frosting, and fondant for the belly, feet and face.  The arm holding the banana and the banana are cereal treats.  The base is made of confetti cake with buttercream frosting, and a green fondant blanket. 

Mini Monkey Smash Cake is made with chocolate cake, buttercream frosting, and fondant belly and face.  

Here they all are together!

Stay tuned!  More to come in April :)

December cakes!

Wow!  December was a very busy month.  October and November, not so much, at least as far as cakes are concerned.  In December I made 4 cakes, 2 in one weekend!  The first cake of the month was a Caillou themed cake.  My boss's neighbor and a good friend of ours requested a Caillou cake for her son's 3rd birthday.  I'm not going to lie, I had to google it to find out what it was.  Since I don't have children yet, I'm a little out of the loop on some of the popular kid things.  Here's some pictures of the first cake!

The cake was marble with buttercream frosting and some fondant accents. 

Here's a close up of the figures.  They are made of modeling chocolate and fondant.  It was my first time using modeling chocolate, but it worked out well for these figures!

The following weekend, one of my sister's best friends, Megan, who happens to be a former co-worker of mine, was turning 30.  My sister, Megan's husband and a few of her friends were going to throw a surprise party for her.  Unfortunately, the party didn't work out as planned.  One friend got stuck in Chicago on her way home from Florida due to the weather.  Another friend had a family emergency.  I couldn't go because I had a wedding to go to (more on that in a minute).  Though the party was small, they had a good time, and Megan was very excited for her cake.  Because I had a wedding that weekend, and I was doing the groom's cake, we kept Megan's cake simple.  My original plan was to do a white cake with caramel swirl, but that didn't work out how I planned so we went with a confetti cake instead.  

The party was at Pizza King, so we went with w train theme.  The train is actually a really fun wooden toy I found.  I realize the toy may seem a bit juvenile for a 30 year old woman, but she had a baby boy in September, and I got the idea to use a toy of some sort on the cake that the baby could enjoy when he gets a little older.  It has removable wooden blocks that can be stacked on the "cars" in different ways.  The other decorations and piping are buttercream.  

The same weekend I made the train cake, I was doing a groom's cake for my friend Lindsay.  Lindsay and I have been friends since we were 11.  At her bridal shower, we got on the topic of cakes, and she asked me then if I could do a groom's cake for her wedding.  Her fiance (now husband) is from Michigan and is a Detroit Tigers fan, so that was the logical plan for his cake!  

Here's a close up of the cake.  It is a white cake, with both buttercream and fondant decorations. I used the small ball pan for the baseball, and the larger sports ball pan for the hat (just half).  

Here is the cake table setup.  I wish I could take credit for the wedding cake, but I can't!

The final cake of the month was also for my boss's neighbor and friend.  Her husband's 41st birthday was January 1, and she wanted a cake for him.  He enjoys golf.  I was trying to decide what to do, and found a few simple designs that looked great.  

The golf cake was marble with buttercream frosting.  I used the large ball pan for the golf ball, which was covered with fondant.  The original plan was to have the whole ball on top of the cake, but I had a few problems with stability.  I cut a space in the rounds, and placed the ball in partly.  

Top view of the cake!  

Whew!  That was a busy month!  Hope to have a few more of those in the future :)

....and Fondant Fun

About a week before the gluten free cake was made, my mom had asked me if I might be able to help her with a cake.  My mom taught me a lot of the things I know about cake decorating, so I was excited that she trusted me to help her with something she'd never worked with before.....fondant.   She was making a lady bug cake for her assistant's daughter's 4th birthday.  The bugs would need to be smooth and shiny in order for everything to look perfect.  Mom and her assistant picked out the design they wanted.  We made the fondant, I started cutting out the shapes, and she iced the cake and got it ready.  Here is the final product!

One layer white, one chocolate, with buttercream frosting and fondant decorations.  How cute is this?!

Gluten Free......

Way back in April, an old friend from high school contacted me after seeing a few of my Facebook cake pictures, and asked if I could make a gluten free cake for her anniversary.  It would be her 1st anniversary this year, and they weren't going to be able to eat the original cake topper because she had recently found out that she was allergic to gluten.  Up until last month, I had never made anything gluten free before.  I did some research and looked for recipes before saying yes to this one.  She and I worked together on finding recipes for the cake.  I baked a couple different concoctions and asked my boss to try them, since he is the most selective eater I know, and he loves cake.  She sent me a picture of a cake design she liked, and I went to work!  Here is the outcome of the anniversary cake....

This anniversary cake is a gluten free white cake, with buttercream icing and fondant decor. 

I received one of the highest compliments a person could get on this cake- that it tasted great, especially for being gluten free, and that she would be recommending me in the future :)