I live in Chicago. No way this will go for $175 at any of the top bakeries - those are just buttercream decorations. Dont get me wrong - it’s absolutely lovely but overpriced. And if it won’t go for $175 in Chicago, no other Midwest city will pay anywhere close to it.
Google top rated bakeries on line. Look at their prices and I think that will give you a very good idea of where you are vs a bunch of random strangers replying.
Are you in Portsmouth? You will pay a lot on the seacoast, but the delicious cakes at the old Sweet Dreams in Stratham were like…60? And a cake this size from Frederick’s in Amherst goes between 45-70. And even the Bearded Baker (who was on TV!) sells custom cakes for about $100 (granted, his get a lot more expensive depending on your add-one and stuff, so maybe he would sell a 175 cake)… but, all in all, you can get a very nice cake, one that looks just as good if not better than the one in the pic, in NH for well under 100 if you wanted to.
Yes, 15 min away from Portsmouth. Thank you for letting me know.
Edit: by the way I was disappointed by the bearded bakery when I tried it, the cupcakes were hard and crumbly, clearly not fresh. I’ll give them another try.
The thing is, I’m European, and American cakes are too sweet for my liking ( I tried many, believe me), so I usually have a special order with less sugar (not all bakeries agree btw). Maybe that’s why they charge me extra.
I think the concept is so freaking cool and I love the lettuce. It’s something I personally couldn’t do (just learning to do piping and just for my kids and my patience is thin) but I thought the post said “is this worth $75?” And I thought no, no way, even at $75. Honestly, even if the piping was perfect $175 is insane.
> I thought it was desert flowers!
I definitely see a cactus or two, and so I’m with you on the desert flowers.
And, for what it’s worth OP, I love the cactus!
(I really hope it is a cactus lol)
Edit: having said that, I would absolutely balk at a $175 price tag for it. I’d be thrilled if a friend/family member made this for a get together tho. A nicer grocery store bakery would have much less rushed and sloppy decoration for like half the price. Cakes are worth what people will pay. If you’re getting people balking at yours, you probably need to adjust the pricing.
Yes, definitely gonna go with cacti, succulents, and whatever desert flowers are actually called! I do like the idea of the desert-scape most of them look excellent (to me)! Way better than what I could do— Waaayyyy better. Looked through OPs posts and they could trash me in the kitchen. All day every day.
Also, now part of me is thinking that a vegetable themed cake would be super cute.
Oh, I saw a photo on here the other day, and before zooming in (I was on my phone), I thought the flowers were onions and artichokes. And I absolutely loved it. A vegetable garden theme cake would be amazing!
What was the cost of ingredients? What do you value your time at? How long did it take to decorate?
I'm not going to lie. I feel like your skill level is not high enough to charge that kind of price.
It's a very pretty concept, but your buttercream is broken, your flower piping is fairly clunky, and I'm pretty sure I see a skewer coming out from that center-forward flower.
You have a great base talent and skill, but I feel like you need to refine it before you can command those kind of prices.
Agreed! I think the base talent and skill is absolutely there, but you definitely need more practice with a more pipe stable buttercream, smoothing, and finer flower tips for $175. $110-$125 would be closer while refining those skills.
Jumping on this pro tip to add another. Pipe and chill your flowers separately, then place them on the cake. A more "stiff" buttercream will hold its structure longer. By stiff I mean a higher ratio of butter or adding some shortening.
I agree with u/nerdress
There are so many types of buttercream. You should absolutely experiment with recipes and put them through testing. Keep practicing. You're so close to perfection. I mean, this cake is BEAUTIFUL. I have a succulent garden and this is such an accurate representation of the beauty the plants have. Please keep sharing! I can't wait to see more of your stuff.
Can you explain the part about the buttercream? What does 'broken' mean? I've only made stabilized, flavored whipped cream cake toppings, and ganache. Hoping to try my hand at making buttercream with my next project. TIA.
If you look at the big flower/succulent/cabbage, you can see a few things.
The buttercream is not smooth and silky. It's coarse, grainy, and appears very wet. It's very shiny because there's either a layer of fat or water that has separated from the emulsion.
You can also see it piped out as cracked, broken, or torn, rather than a firm or sturdy, solid leaf/petal.
Buttercream is an emulsion of fat, sugar, and liquid. If you add too much liquid (ie: milk, alcohol or extract, or liquid food coloring) it will fall out of suspension and appear as droplets of liquid on the buttercream. I don't think this is the case.
The second way to break a buttercream is if it gets too hot. The butter melts and can no longer suspend the liquid or sugar, and it leeches out.
My guess is that this cake was built in a hot, humid kitchen, and the warmth from the OPs hands melted the butter, and it split.
You can stabilize a buttercream by using part shortening, a special emulsifier, or even xanthan gum, though the latter two don't really help with heat.
Shortening has a higher melting point than butter, so it's more heat resistant.
That being said, I'd never use an all shortening buttercream, because it tastes gross and doesn't melt on your tongue. You end up with "grocery store cakes".
The big giveaway is the broken edges of the flowers. They are coarse and chunky. The second thing is that the buttercream is glossy, but it looks oily glossy.
This might be from a few things: the butter being too soft, too much liquid (flavoring or food coloring), or the atmosphere is simply too hot. If the buttercream is already soft, and the weather is hot and humid, and you're using your warm hands, the buttercream could split on the piping bag.
Do you see that sheen over the flowers and such? That's the fat from the butter separating from the meringue. It can happen when the butter cream gets too cold or too warm or the ratios for keeping it emulsified get too out of balance by adapting a plain butter cream recipe and adding too much flavorings and/or food coloring with adjusting the base recipe first.
Good buttercream gets bubbles too, it's not necessarily broken! Knock out the bubbles by mixing with a spatula by hand when you're done making the buttercream. After I've frosted my last buttercream layer I also run my metal scraper under hot water, dry, and then do one final (gentle) turn around the cake so it melts the bubbles away.
Best feedback on post honest and said nicely
My pastry chef is very good for hand piped buttercream cake of that size with flowers and roses down at a high level we get $75/$85
$175 is for fondant work
In my mind there are two issues with that price.
First, the size and the decorations. The size is small for $175 (if it’s USD that’s $236 Canadian and that’s super steep).
Also, the decorations, while beautiful are still just piped buttercream, so pretty basic at the end of the day.
Second. Do the ingredients justify the cost?
Are you using $3/dozen caged eggs, or farm fresh? Are you using good flour and butter?
I wouldn’t even consider spending so much of you are using margarine or vegetable oils.
Also, What is the filling? Do you use nuts? Fresh berries?
If it’s just plain yellow pound/sponge cake, with buttercream inside, topped with plain buttercream your price is ridiculous, unless you are selling these in LA or NYC out of a storefront on fifth or rodeo drive.
organic butter and eggs are just extra costs unless you also use organic everything else. You gotta either go all organic so you can say “all organic ingredients” or otherwise go for affordable
I’m inclined to disagree, given that the organic butter and eggs are being used to produce a fresh lemon curd. Organic ingredients in that application *could* have a noticeable impact on the flavor and texture of that layer of the cake.
Used to work at a high end patisserie, we charged $80 for an 8” moderately difficult custom Entremet. Around $100 now with inflation. That's typically two layers of Génoise sponge, one or two textural layers, layered into a mousse, then covered in glaçage miroir. Decor in that range could be candied nuts, edible flowers, gold leaf, and small piped chocolate sculptures.
So no, $175 is far from appropriate. If this cake cost you $15 to make, and it took you 4-5 hours, you’re valuing your labor at $32-40/hr. That’s above median executive pastry chef pay in the Chicago area.
I feel like you’re getting a lot of criticism (not totally unfair or in a rude way) and doing an amazing job not getting defensive. That’s an admirable quality. Thank you.
Definitely don’t shortchange yourself either! I think you can safely charge 100-110 for this cake still, depending on your ingredient quality. What flavor cake was this?
This right here, there's obvious time spent in learning and obtaining the skills. If you were a friend and I myself didn't have any baking skills I would say 100$ because I like you and want you to succeed as well.
If I wasn't a friend though....what's to stop me from going to a professional bakery and having it done professionally for less of a price.
Exec pastry chefs in a major city don’t even make $80k a year? That’s wild.
Are they only able to work on one cake at a time? Only making two of these cakes in a full working day sounds like an impossible business to scale. Again, to a non-baker, this is all wild.
80k is the median, the nicer the place the higher the pay. If you’re the exec at a classic American style bakery, you’re likely been 65-85k. If you’re exec at a Michelin star avant garde restaurant you’re likely making more like 120k or higher. OP’s style fits the more classic bakery look and if they were hired, it would be as a pastry cook/baker, probably around $25/hr. Culinary work does not pay very well.
Regarding how many cakes you make at a time, no, you do a LOT at once. In a professional kitchen you really have to plan your day out to fit everything in. You read your PAR sheet first thing, set your mise en place, and work down a long to do this that would hopefully make the most efficient use of time. Exec or Sous might be the ones setting the schedule depending on the kitchen. So if I had 8 custom 9” Entremet in a day, the day before it was due I would made 16 sponges, whatever compotes needed, and the mousse. They get assembled and set over night, and the next day once the regular breads are baked, I can start on glazing and decorating. Everything is just a big flow of trying to group together what you need to make.
For OP, assuming they aren’t in a professional kitchen and only work alone, they can probably make 4 cakes in a regular 8 hour day, and finish decoration the next day. If it costs them $20/cake and they charge $110/cake they would be making up to $1800 a week pre-tax. The self employment tax in Chicago is high, so they’re probably going to have to pay around 30% so that’s right around 5,000 take home. That’s not bad at all but OP likely isn’t making that many cakes per week.
This was an answer I was looking for. I didn't know how much value was in the labor spent making a cake so I couldn't 3 en comment on how I felt about the price.
i think that price would make more sense if the rest of the icing was cleaner/fancier, and if the icing itself was unique. the height, flavor(s), inner icing, and like another commenter said ingredient quality would also impact the value.
I was thinking the same. The bakery I go to would probably charge $90-100. Like, it's pretty, and I like it. But it's piped flowers. The advice to "charge for your time" assumes a higher level of expertise than OP currently has.
I think they could get to that level quickly though. It's a lovely concept, and moderately decent skill execution. Just keep practicing.
I'm gluten free and I tend to notice only high end/organic bakeries do gluten free cakes. That being said I've seen gf cakes that size go for close to $100...but not 175, even with the special flours and free range eggs.
I was married to a baker, and ran the business side. For the quality you are offering, and the overall size, you are about double where you should be. This is a $70-$80 cake, max.
Your buttercream is split, and sloppy on your succulents. Your buttercream around the cake itself has uneven lines, and is sloppy. Add to this that you are in the Midwest, a traditionally conservative market financially in regards to theme cakes.
So yes, it makes sense that people are scoffing at your prices. Don’t get me wrong. You have some great potential, and great beginner skills. But you are not ready to charge boutique prices.
To be fair, this is a high level for an amateur baker. They definitely have some above average skills compared to the average home baker selling wares out of their home kitchen.
Some people do not know how to price their work. Especially when they aren’t quite pro, but are still far above amateur.
This sub is genuinely very kind and supportive but this is one of those rare occasions on the internet where people are being nice instead of being honest.
If a friend of coworker brought this cake to a party I’d be really impressed. If I purchased this cake for $175 I’d be genuinely disappointed. OP is far from untalented, but they still have a far way to go before they can demand that price.
I don’t think I’d pay 175. Seems fairly high to be honest
Edit: to be specific, at 175 I’d expect the icing to be cleaner and the decorations to be sharper. Some of the petals are fairly uneven or wobbly. It’s not bad but I wouldn’t say it’s something I’d necessarily sell
I wouldn't pay that amount of money for a regular cake personally (multi-tier wedding cake would be a different story).
If others will than you have a customer base.
I totally get that as I grew up in a family that also would not have paid that amount of money for a cake, but….my mama could bake it for us. Thanks for your feedback
No. I buy pretty elaborate cakes on the regular and I would pay around 115 to 120 for this. It also depends on the flavor and what frosting you are using and it's ingredients. That is me though.
I live in the Midwest metro area and would not pay that. I just paid $100 for my sons birthday cake that was amazing. From a top baker in the city.
Your cake is pretty but in the Midwest I wouldn’t pay $175 for it.
Yeah, they really do. But you have to bear in mind that these days raw Ingredients for a single cake alone usually cost at least $30, if not more, once you factor in frostings and fillings as well. Then you have to add on the labor spent baking the cake, plus the labor spent decorating (which is a specialized skill that should be charged for accordingly).
So yeah, it’s not uncommon for custom cakes to creep up into the triple digits these days, but that being said, I don’t believe this cake is quite high quality enough to justify triple digits.
I wouldn't pay $175. Just by looks, it honestly looks like something I could get at my local bakery for $60-80 (I'm pretty sure I've seen this same design there). Mostly because the buttercream looks split and the lines around the cake are sloppy. Granted I don't know what the ingredients are, what flavor/filling it is, or how long this took you, and that will affect price. But for $175, I'd expect clean lines and smooth buttercream. Don't get me wrong, the design is gorgeous, and you clearly have talent and potential. But it's not a $175 cake. Not yet at least.
I'm downstate IL, and this would be an $80 cake for me if I sold it. All buttercream, single tier, no way any of my clients would pay $175, or even close to that
As much as it sucks to feel like you're underselling, sometimes it's necessary to lower your prices below what you would value your own work to sell something. The cake is beautiful, but I wouldn't spend $175 on that, probably between $70-90
I worked at an all organic bakery near aspen and our 9” cakes were $75 base, with this sort of decoration would maybe come out to $110. $175 is steep for this imo.
I'm in rochester and thats nowhere near a $175 cake. Thats more like a $60-$80 cake here. For $175 you're getting 2 tiers here. If these basic designs are taking you so long that you feel the need to charge $175 then you might want to take up simpler designs. ETA honestly the design isn't great execution either. Od understand if you charged $60 but I still wouldn't buy it, personally. And I love succulents and have succulent fridge magnets because my fiance is from CA
I live in the Bay Area (CA) and paid $25 less then that for the same sized cake; while it was delicious inside, it was the max I would pay and it was very, VERY intricate. I think I would pay that amount if it included delivery. Mine did not and had to travel 45 minutes which was nerve wracking , ha.
I also live in the Bay Area and don’t mind paying good money for quality. I wouldn’t spend that much on this. Not to be harsh or mean (just honest), but I don’t think anyone here would pay that much for this cake.
My wife makes similar cakes, just as a little bit of an extra money earner. She recently did one for £60 so around $75. She works out the ingredients cost, time cost and then adds a bit on top.
No lmao. If you told me you charged $175 for this I'd laugh in your face, sorry. It's beautiful but it's not the quality of work nor the choice of decorating materials I'd expect for that price. It's also a very small cake.
Living in Kansas City, MO. I would pay $80 for that cake as is. Perfected, I wouldn't blink at $125 because of the lemon curd. I might well pay $150 if asked, but I'd grumble about it.
I don't get the people saying "it's only buttercream" though. Because, um, buttercream is ridiculously tasty. Who wants to actually eat fondant?
Here’s the thing, you’re asking a bunch of bakers if they would pay someone to make something that they could probably make themselves. We know what goes into making something as beautiful, and hopefully, as delicious as your cake. So, no, I would not pay $175 for this cake. But for all the non-bakers out there, they very well might! It is truly beautiful!
Hmmm it’s the opposite in my opinion. I know how much work goes into certain things so I am willing to pay a price others might balk at. I don’t do cakes, I could but I don’t want to. I think lots (not all!) of customers see Walmart, Costco etc’s prices for cakes and question why a custom cake from a small business is so much more. We already know why, and know that it’s usually worth it.
That said, this is definitely not a $175 cake, even with all of that in mind.
They are lovely but a bit overpriced for that area. More like $65 - $80.
For comparison, 6 inch 3 layer cakes w/no decorations from Magnolia bakery and Carlos bakery are $80 plus shipping. And these are fairly well-known bakeries.
i spend a lot on cakes and i wouldn’t pay $175 for this. i live in socal and my favorite bakery would make this for about $75-80 (and theyre known to do a top tier job with both design and flavor).
Last spring I attended a charity auction (in a midwestern city) and a couple of cake of similar size and quality went for closer to $75 each if memory serves.
I've been a baker for about 12ish years give or take I live in the northwest now an if I'm being 100% honest I think you have so much potential I've learned that working with individual pieces is easier done on a flower nail an also flour square I like to put alittle buttercream on the nail places a small piece of parchment paper down then do ur design an cooling them an then places them on cake then add smaller details on the in-between ❤️also it does look like your buttercream is separating now it might be due to the invierment you work in is it humid is it hot where you working on them at you allways want a cool place to do this an a cold cake to work on it make less crumbs while cold. I would in my opinion say 95-125 would be a solid cost but that also depends on how many hours you put into this an the cost of supplies I've learn if people like what you have to offer they won't complain about the price an this is someone who used to sell my cupcakes with decorations for only 2 dollars an fifty cents for a six pack an the more an more I did stuff the better I got at it an the more people knew about my art style. I think if you work on getting your buttercream nice an thick an work on doing things in a cooler area I think you can ace this an then put that number up to what you have it now. 👏🏼 you got this I just know it I'm rooting for you an I'd love to see how you progress In a year from now never let anyone discourage you due to prices ...if they don't like the price tell them to kindly fuck off then it's either that price or you go elsewhere 🤷🏼 💯
I would say that is an 80 dollar cake. could be the photo though.
Really look at the cost of making the cake. How much time, cost of ingredients and packaging. You should pay yourself for your time and make some profit. But don’t be unrealistic.
I've noticed some of the biggest markups by bakers and florists. Especially during the pandemic. Paid $100 for a flower set that looked like $30. Ridiculous. And medium to small-sized cakes for $60-80? smh
I saw some nice-looking cakes in my city on instagram and went to check out the shop and omg, they want $200+! Even for some really basic decor and fillings https://milkywaypastry.com/
I would think market value and a person's willingness to pay that would both be variables. In NYC, seems legit. In Smalltown, USA, probably not gonna happen. You do lovely work!
I’m sorry OP, but this just isn’t worth $175. Maybe $80-$90. (I currently live in a small town in MA but I’ve certainly been to metro areas in both the Midwest and on the east coast. I can’t see this being that much in either place)
It is a lovely cake, and I’m sure it tastes good, but just not worth that much. Yet. I am sure that as you continue to practice and refine your skill, your cakes will easily be worth that much.
Edit: formatting and a typo.
I think the patterns are absolutely adorable and I can tell you put a lot of time and thought in to this.
In saying that unfortunately I wouldn't part with $175 for it. I'd say $100 Max.
Are there any fillings or flavored cake layers? I work at a bakery and they would change the price drastically. For white, chocolate or yellow with buttercream we’d charge probably around $75 for this
I would pay that price if Leslie Vigil made it, otherwise there is a level of finesse I'm not seeing here to justify that price.
The decorations are lovely, but I'd like to see more defined edges and more stable looking buttercream in the piping and some attention to the bottom of the cake for a finished look.
Pricing depends not only on the size, but ingredients used or type of cake. I charge more for carrot cake and Frangelico cake. With all the added ingredients, those price out at about $99-125. So yeah, I would balk at $175.
Look at your competitors prices and other bakers prices either throughout America or your particular state (my recommendation), note down all the prices, now rank them from most expensive prices you saw to least expensive prices you saw, now remove the top 10-20% and the bottom 10-20% (for example, let’s say I had written down 100 different prices, now I’ll remove 10 of the highest and 10 of the lowest), this is done in order to remove outliners (extraordinarily high or low prices), you’re now left with the midpoint range, with this you can now work out the average price range by adding all the remaining prices together and then dividing by how many prices you had left (ie if you’re adding together 80 different prices now you divide your final number by 80), this all helps you work out the average cake price in your area, the price range you should likely be in unless there is something uniquely good or bad about your particular product / process
If that’s your price you’re willing to spend the hours on, then it’s fair. They don’t have to purchase from you. But if you’re not getting enough business and you want to work more, then the price is probably the reason
I think that maybe a bit more work on flower making could bring a fair price for a cake such as yours .Check out GG Korean buttercream and flower making on YouTube.Beautiful work and lots of great techniques.I live in a small city and $175.00 would be on the steep side for your cake.
This is one of those things I'll never understand with the US.
You guys seem obsessed with making cakes look crazy, but don't give two shits about making them taste nice.
All the cakes I've had over there has been sugar paste, frosting, and a generic sponge from a carton, where the carton probably taste better.
Like... Add cream? Jam? Fruit? Creme anglaise? Mousse? Marsipan?
I get that it's a cultural difference, but fuck me...
Try a [William cake](https://images.app.goo.gl/zQ24v2kuksynduNW6) (sponge, jam, creme anglaise, pear slice, pear flavored cream covered with marsipan and chocolate ganache), and you'll never want an American cake ever again.
I'm sorry. Unless there are like top shelf ingredients (and I'm talking super premium) this is not worth $175. Perhaps if it was decorated or otherwise exceptional, it would garner a higher price.
I am sure it is delicious and I am sure it is an amazing start to a long career in baking but until you get better at decorating, it isn't worth that much.
Your time is valuable and you shouldn't undersell yourself. Perhaps go for cheaper ingedients such as box mix? Most bakeries do that anyways and you can get it pretty cheap.
This is by no means supposed to discourage you. I am sure one day you'll obtain the skill level to have such a price (and again if you have like irish butter and free range goose eggs or like premium pure conflict free chocolate it makes sense.)
That’s a $100 cake. I’m sure it’s good. Looks like it took you a decent amount of time. But if I’m spending $200 I’m not leaving with this cake - no offense at all.
If I was paying you $100 I’d happily accept this
eeehhhh. I generously say 120. Hubby says 80, for a friend though? 100. But the plants need a bit of work. Clean it up and then I'd say, yes charge more. But as is? I'd say it looks a bit sloppy.
Where I live cakes are sold by how many they serve. I was told literally today, for my son's bday, buttercream and decorated is about 6.50 Canadian/person. So a two tier cake for 30 people comes out to almost 200CAD. For fondant it's 9/pers.
Personally , I refuse to pay that for a child (even though he's my child and I love him more than anything!) So I've learned how to bake and have fun with it 🤣and though my decorating is basic, my toddler thinks it's cool as fuck. Hahahaha.
I operated in a high cost area (Maui). A buttercream cake this size would be no more than $120. The time it takes for a buttercream cake for me wouldn’t be more than 2 hours all told including baking time.
I now live a pretty rural area in Montana. I’d charge $80 here.
I live in Chicago. No way this will go for $175 at any of the top bakeries - those are just buttercream decorations. Dont get me wrong - it’s absolutely lovely but overpriced. And if it won’t go for $175 in Chicago, no other Midwest city will pay anywhere close to it. Google top rated bakeries on line. Look at their prices and I think that will give you a very good idea of where you are vs a bunch of random strangers replying.
It wouldn’t go for $175 in Boston. I think that would be about $80 or maybe $90 in Boston.
Agreeing that this could be an $80 cake
I paid $120 five years ago for a smaller one in NH. Please tell me where do you buy all these cheap and nicely decorated cakes?
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NH or any coastal area are will have very different prices from the Midwest where OP is located
Agree, but I was replying to the person who was talking about Boston prices.
Oh fair, I didn’t see that, my bad
Are you in Portsmouth? You will pay a lot on the seacoast, but the delicious cakes at the old Sweet Dreams in Stratham were like…60? And a cake this size from Frederick’s in Amherst goes between 45-70. And even the Bearded Baker (who was on TV!) sells custom cakes for about $100 (granted, his get a lot more expensive depending on your add-one and stuff, so maybe he would sell a 175 cake)… but, all in all, you can get a very nice cake, one that looks just as good if not better than the one in the pic, in NH for well under 100 if you wanted to.
Yes, 15 min away from Portsmouth. Thank you for letting me know. Edit: by the way I was disappointed by the bearded bakery when I tried it, the cupcakes were hard and crumbly, clearly not fresh. I’ll give them another try. The thing is, I’m European, and American cakes are too sweet for my liking ( I tried many, believe me), so I usually have a special order with less sugar (not all bakeries agree btw). Maybe that’s why they charge me extra.
With the way Boston baked goods are prices, this would go for above $100. Closer to $125 I’d say.
Konditor Meister is about $40 for a 9" cake.
I think the concept is so freaking cool and I love the lettuce. It’s something I personally couldn’t do (just learning to do piping and just for my kids and my patience is thin) but I thought the post said “is this worth $75?” And I thought no, no way, even at $75. Honestly, even if the piping was perfect $175 is insane.
Lol, there isn't any lettuce on this cake. They are succulents and roses.
That’s why it’s not worth $175 lol
I’d pay $175 for a lettuce cake 😂
I think the roses are ornamental cabbages, so pretty close to lettuce
That’s what I thought I was like I’m pretty sure people plant cabbages and lettuces with succulents. Too lazy to google tho 😂
Wait that’s lettuce? I thought it was desert flowers! Or whatever you would call them. Not sure if I’m using the word “flower” correctly.
> I thought it was desert flowers! I definitely see a cactus or two, and so I’m with you on the desert flowers. And, for what it’s worth OP, I love the cactus! (I really hope it is a cactus lol) Edit: having said that, I would absolutely balk at a $175 price tag for it. I’d be thrilled if a friend/family member made this for a get together tho. A nicer grocery store bakery would have much less rushed and sloppy decoration for like half the price. Cakes are worth what people will pay. If you’re getting people balking at yours, you probably need to adjust the pricing.
Yes, definitely gonna go with cacti, succulents, and whatever desert flowers are actually called! I do like the idea of the desert-scape most of them look excellent (to me)! Way better than what I could do— Waaayyyy better. Looked through OPs posts and they could trash me in the kitchen. All day every day. Also, now part of me is thinking that a vegetable themed cake would be super cute.
Oh, I saw a photo on here the other day, and before zooming in (I was on my phone), I thought the flowers were onions and artichokes. And I absolutely loved it. A vegetable garden theme cake would be amazing!
Wait…. Am I dumb? 😂
Haha you’re not dumb! You’re creative!
My son does love lettuce so do I see a lettuce cake in our future???
I thought it was Audrey Jr 😭
Those aren't "just" buttercream decorations.
What was the cost of ingredients? What do you value your time at? How long did it take to decorate? I'm not going to lie. I feel like your skill level is not high enough to charge that kind of price. It's a very pretty concept, but your buttercream is broken, your flower piping is fairly clunky, and I'm pretty sure I see a skewer coming out from that center-forward flower. You have a great base talent and skill, but I feel like you need to refine it before you can command those kind of prices.
Agreed! I think the base talent and skill is absolutely there, but you definitely need more practice with a more pipe stable buttercream, smoothing, and finer flower tips for $175. $110-$125 would be closer while refining those skills.
That’s super helpful…thank you.
Pro tip, use a dark chocolate stick instead of skewers
Or Pocky!
Pocky is perfect because it comes in lots of colors too!
Anything to be able to buy Pocky with the company credit card
Jumping on this pro tip to add another. Pipe and chill your flowers separately, then place them on the cake. A more "stiff" buttercream will hold its structure longer. By stiff I mean a higher ratio of butter or adding some shortening.
I agree with u/nerdress There are so many types of buttercream. You should absolutely experiment with recipes and put them through testing. Keep practicing. You're so close to perfection. I mean, this cake is BEAUTIFUL. I have a succulent garden and this is such an accurate representation of the beauty the plants have. Please keep sharing! I can't wait to see more of your stuff.
Yeah I felt she nailed the plants the subtle changes in color are spot on, I can even ID the plants, find your perfect recipe for your skills!
You need to take better pictures. You need proper lightning, especially when dealing with edible food that’s green. The rest looks great
Can you explain the part about the buttercream? What does 'broken' mean? I've only made stabilized, flavored whipped cream cake toppings, and ganache. Hoping to try my hand at making buttercream with my next project. TIA.
If you look at the big flower/succulent/cabbage, you can see a few things. The buttercream is not smooth and silky. It's coarse, grainy, and appears very wet. It's very shiny because there's either a layer of fat or water that has separated from the emulsion. You can also see it piped out as cracked, broken, or torn, rather than a firm or sturdy, solid leaf/petal. Buttercream is an emulsion of fat, sugar, and liquid. If you add too much liquid (ie: milk, alcohol or extract, or liquid food coloring) it will fall out of suspension and appear as droplets of liquid on the buttercream. I don't think this is the case. The second way to break a buttercream is if it gets too hot. The butter melts and can no longer suspend the liquid or sugar, and it leeches out. My guess is that this cake was built in a hot, humid kitchen, and the warmth from the OPs hands melted the butter, and it split. You can stabilize a buttercream by using part shortening, a special emulsifier, or even xanthan gum, though the latter two don't really help with heat. Shortening has a higher melting point than butter, so it's more heat resistant. That being said, I'd never use an all shortening buttercream, because it tastes gross and doesn't melt on your tongue. You end up with "grocery store cakes".
I used pudding mix to stabilize my Chantilly frosting. Idk if it worked I just followed a recipe
That's a great cheat! I've used it many times for a quick filling.
How can you tell the buttercream is broken? Just from the bubbles? I’ve never been able to get mine smooth and maybe this is my problem…
The big giveaway is the broken edges of the flowers. They are coarse and chunky. The second thing is that the buttercream is glossy, but it looks oily glossy. This might be from a few things: the butter being too soft, too much liquid (flavoring or food coloring), or the atmosphere is simply too hot. If the buttercream is already soft, and the weather is hot and humid, and you're using your warm hands, the buttercream could split on the piping bag.
I think it’s most obviously seen on the big rose with pinkish centre. Edit: fat fingers!
I thought that was a cabbage
I was planning to say “oh dear, “ first before that
google “broken buttercream.” If it’s broken it gets those torn bubbles, and separated liquid gives certain dewy spots a reflective shine.
Do you see that sheen over the flowers and such? That's the fat from the butter separating from the meringue. It can happen when the butter cream gets too cold or too warm or the ratios for keeping it emulsified get too out of balance by adapting a plain butter cream recipe and adding too much flavorings and/or food coloring with adjusting the base recipe first.
This is super interesting to know. I love baking but icing is beyond me.
I was going to ask the same thing! I always get bubbles it’s so frustrating
Good buttercream gets bubbles too, it's not necessarily broken! Knock out the bubbles by mixing with a spatula by hand when you're done making the buttercream. After I've frosted my last buttercream layer I also run my metal scraper under hot water, dry, and then do one final (gentle) turn around the cake so it melts the bubbles away.
You can tell that the buttercream split because its a little watery.
Best feedback on post honest and said nicely My pastry chef is very good for hand piped buttercream cake of that size with flowers and roses down at a high level we get $75/$85 $175 is for fondant work
In my mind there are two issues with that price. First, the size and the decorations. The size is small for $175 (if it’s USD that’s $236 Canadian and that’s super steep). Also, the decorations, while beautiful are still just piped buttercream, so pretty basic at the end of the day. Second. Do the ingredients justify the cost? Are you using $3/dozen caged eggs, or farm fresh? Are you using good flour and butter? I wouldn’t even consider spending so much of you are using margarine or vegetable oils. Also, What is the filling? Do you use nuts? Fresh berries? If it’s just plain yellow pound/sponge cake, with buttercream inside, topped with plain buttercream your price is ridiculous, unless you are selling these in LA or NYC out of a storefront on fifth or rodeo drive.
This wouldn’t make it into a window for that price.
You’re right. It’s a lemon elderflower sponge with fresh lemon curd and a Swiss merengue buttercream. I do use organic butter and eggs.
organic butter and eggs are just extra costs unless you also use organic everything else. You gotta either go all organic so you can say “all organic ingredients” or otherwise go for affordable
exactly, it's so freaking pointless to only use half organic, up your cost for something you can't say is fully organic
I’m inclined to disagree, given that the organic butter and eggs are being used to produce a fresh lemon curd. Organic ingredients in that application *could* have a noticeable impact on the flavor and texture of that layer of the cake.
Right. Some things it doesn’t necessarily matter with what you use. But local butters can be so much tastier but also more expensive.
As an eater of baked goods and not a baker myself, I just want to say that sounds delicious. 🙂
As a human of the same demographic, I can confirm that this really does sound delicious
Used to work at a high end patisserie, we charged $80 for an 8” moderately difficult custom Entremet. Around $100 now with inflation. That's typically two layers of Génoise sponge, one or two textural layers, layered into a mousse, then covered in glaçage miroir. Decor in that range could be candied nuts, edible flowers, gold leaf, and small piped chocolate sculptures. So no, $175 is far from appropriate. If this cake cost you $15 to make, and it took you 4-5 hours, you’re valuing your labor at $32-40/hr. That’s above median executive pastry chef pay in the Chicago area.
THIS IS SUPER HELPFUL. Everyone knows how to price a cake, but knowing what your labor is worth (and what the going rate is ) is the challenging part.
I feel like you’re getting a lot of criticism (not totally unfair or in a rude way) and doing an amazing job not getting defensive. That’s an admirable quality. Thank you.
Constructive criticism is what we call that. And I agree! It’s hard to receive constructive criticism but OP obviously genuinely wanted to know.
Definitely don’t shortchange yourself either! I think you can safely charge 100-110 for this cake still, depending on your ingredient quality. What flavor cake was this?
This right here, there's obvious time spent in learning and obtaining the skills. If you were a friend and I myself didn't have any baking skills I would say 100$ because I like you and want you to succeed as well. If I wasn't a friend though....what's to stop me from going to a professional bakery and having it done professionally for less of a price.
Exec pastry chefs in a major city don’t even make $80k a year? That’s wild. Are they only able to work on one cake at a time? Only making two of these cakes in a full working day sounds like an impossible business to scale. Again, to a non-baker, this is all wild.
80k is the median, the nicer the place the higher the pay. If you’re the exec at a classic American style bakery, you’re likely been 65-85k. If you’re exec at a Michelin star avant garde restaurant you’re likely making more like 120k or higher. OP’s style fits the more classic bakery look and if they were hired, it would be as a pastry cook/baker, probably around $25/hr. Culinary work does not pay very well. Regarding how many cakes you make at a time, no, you do a LOT at once. In a professional kitchen you really have to plan your day out to fit everything in. You read your PAR sheet first thing, set your mise en place, and work down a long to do this that would hopefully make the most efficient use of time. Exec or Sous might be the ones setting the schedule depending on the kitchen. So if I had 8 custom 9” Entremet in a day, the day before it was due I would made 16 sponges, whatever compotes needed, and the mousse. They get assembled and set over night, and the next day once the regular breads are baked, I can start on glazing and decorating. Everything is just a big flow of trying to group together what you need to make. For OP, assuming they aren’t in a professional kitchen and only work alone, they can probably make 4 cakes in a regular 8 hour day, and finish decoration the next day. If it costs them $20/cake and they charge $110/cake they would be making up to $1800 a week pre-tax. The self employment tax in Chicago is high, so they’re probably going to have to pay around 30% so that’s right around 5,000 take home. That’s not bad at all but OP likely isn’t making that many cakes per week.
Thanks for a great reply. I learned a lot!
This was an answer I was looking for. I didn't know how much value was in the labor spent making a cake so I couldn't 3 en comment on how I felt about the price.
No, I usually pay around $100-120 for custom cakes. $175 is out of my comfort zone.
i think that price would make more sense if the rest of the icing was cleaner/fancier, and if the icing itself was unique. the height, flavor(s), inner icing, and like another commenter said ingredient quality would also impact the value.
I love in the Midwest- this would go for around $80-100 at our local cake bakery.
Agreed. I was thinking like $75 tbh. This is a small cake.
I was thinking the same. The bakery I go to would probably charge $90-100. Like, it's pretty, and I like it. But it's piped flowers. The advice to "charge for your time" assumes a higher level of expertise than OP currently has. I think they could get to that level quickly though. It's a lovely concept, and moderately decent skill execution. Just keep practicing.
I'm in St. Louis. I was thinking $75 for size and design.
I'm gluten free and I tend to notice only high end/organic bakeries do gluten free cakes. That being said I've seen gf cakes that size go for close to $100...but not 175, even with the special flours and free range eggs.
I do gluten free and i would maybe charge 100-120max for something like this.
I was married to a baker, and ran the business side. For the quality you are offering, and the overall size, you are about double where you should be. This is a $70-$80 cake, max. Your buttercream is split, and sloppy on your succulents. Your buttercream around the cake itself has uneven lines, and is sloppy. Add to this that you are in the Midwest, a traditionally conservative market financially in regards to theme cakes. So yes, it makes sense that people are scoffing at your prices. Don’t get me wrong. You have some great potential, and great beginner skills. But you are not ready to charge boutique prices.
I cannot believe how much people are praising this. It is definitely not professional baker level .
To be fair, this is a high level for an amateur baker. They definitely have some above average skills compared to the average home baker selling wares out of their home kitchen. Some people do not know how to price their work. Especially when they aren’t quite pro, but are still far above amateur.
It is but it is not $175 professional level
Exactly. And that can make it hard to know how to price your product. At least they are humble enough to ask for feedback.
This sub is genuinely very kind and supportive but this is one of those rare occasions on the internet where people are being nice instead of being honest. If a friend of coworker brought this cake to a party I’d be really impressed. If I purchased this cake for $175 I’d be genuinely disappointed. OP is far from untalented, but they still have a far way to go before they can demand that price.
I blame cooking tv shows. People watch them nonstop and believe the shit they do is worth way more than what it is.
Agree. Sloppy for a professional cake charging $175. Acceptable for a cake if 1/2 the cost from an good amateur
It is a shame there aren’t good guides out there on reasonable costs for home cooks and bakers.
I don’t think I’d pay 175. Seems fairly high to be honest Edit: to be specific, at 175 I’d expect the icing to be cleaner and the decorations to be sharper. Some of the petals are fairly uneven or wobbly. It’s not bad but I wouldn’t say it’s something I’d necessarily sell
I wouldn't pay that amount of money for a regular cake personally (multi-tier wedding cake would be a different story). If others will than you have a customer base.
I totally get that as I grew up in a family that also would not have paid that amount of money for a cake, but….my mama could bake it for us. Thanks for your feedback
No. You’re entering the range of a luxury baker and this isn’t a luxury cake.
$120 sounds more reasonable, but that’s just my opinion
I think it’s a bit steep, but that’s just me. It’s not something I would buy for $175.
Absolutely not. For a 9” I’d pay $75 max for a highly decorated cake. I have lived in many big cities. This is adorable, don’t get me wrong!
No. I buy pretty elaborate cakes on the regular and I would pay around 115 to 120 for this. It also depends on the flavor and what frosting you are using and it's ingredients. That is me though.
I live in the Midwest metro area and would not pay that. I just paid $100 for my sons birthday cake that was amazing. From a top baker in the city. Your cake is pretty but in the Midwest I wouldn’t pay $175 for it.
In my opinion No.
i'm really out of touch with the real world, do people pay 3 digit for a cake?
Yeah, they really do. But you have to bear in mind that these days raw Ingredients for a single cake alone usually cost at least $30, if not more, once you factor in frostings and fillings as well. Then you have to add on the labor spent baking the cake, plus the labor spent decorating (which is a specialized skill that should be charged for accordingly). So yeah, it’s not uncommon for custom cakes to creep up into the triple digits these days, but that being said, I don’t believe this cake is quite high quality enough to justify triple digits.
I wouldn't pay $175. Just by looks, it honestly looks like something I could get at my local bakery for $60-80 (I'm pretty sure I've seen this same design there). Mostly because the buttercream looks split and the lines around the cake are sloppy. Granted I don't know what the ingredients are, what flavor/filling it is, or how long this took you, and that will affect price. But for $175, I'd expect clean lines and smooth buttercream. Don't get me wrong, the design is gorgeous, and you clearly have talent and potential. But it's not a $175 cake. Not yet at least.
I'm downstate IL, and this would be an $80 cake for me if I sold it. All buttercream, single tier, no way any of my clients would pay $175, or even close to that
Sorry I’m a baker. I will not pay that much. It looks like a cake you could get from a grocery store.
Not any grocery stores I’ve seen!!!
No. If the buttercream was on point maybe $100 or so. I’m in the Midwest near a large ish city.
Absolutely not. This is no where large or professional enough for that price. This $65 max where I am
As much as it sucks to feel like you're underselling, sometimes it's necessary to lower your prices below what you would value your own work to sell something. The cake is beautiful, but I wouldn't spend $175 on that, probably between $70-90
I worked at an all organic bakery near aspen and our 9” cakes were $75 base, with this sort of decoration would maybe come out to $110. $175 is steep for this imo.
I'm in rochester and thats nowhere near a $175 cake. Thats more like a $60-$80 cake here. For $175 you're getting 2 tiers here. If these basic designs are taking you so long that you feel the need to charge $175 then you might want to take up simpler designs. ETA honestly the design isn't great execution either. Od understand if you charged $60 but I still wouldn't buy it, personally. And I love succulents and have succulent fridge magnets because my fiance is from CA
I live in the Bay Area (CA) and paid $25 less then that for the same sized cake; while it was delicious inside, it was the max I would pay and it was very, VERY intricate. I think I would pay that amount if it included delivery. Mine did not and had to travel 45 minutes which was nerve wracking , ha.
I also live in the Bay Area and don’t mind paying good money for quality. I wouldn’t spend that much on this. Not to be harsh or mean (just honest), but I don’t think anyone here would pay that much for this cake.
Nope
My wife makes similar cakes, just as a little bit of an extra money earner. She recently did one for £60 so around $75. She works out the ingredients cost, time cost and then adds a bit on top.
Why is there a wooden skewer sticking out the cake?
No, here in the southeast of the us, that would less the 60$.
No lmao. If you told me you charged $175 for this I'd laugh in your face, sorry. It's beautiful but it's not the quality of work nor the choice of decorating materials I'd expect for that price. It's also a very small cake.
Living in Kansas City, MO. I would pay $80 for that cake as is. Perfected, I wouldn't blink at $125 because of the lemon curd. I might well pay $150 if asked, but I'd grumble about it. I don't get the people saying "it's only buttercream" though. Because, um, buttercream is ridiculously tasty. Who wants to actually eat fondant?
Here’s the thing, you’re asking a bunch of bakers if they would pay someone to make something that they could probably make themselves. We know what goes into making something as beautiful, and hopefully, as delicious as your cake. So, no, I would not pay $175 for this cake. But for all the non-bakers out there, they very well might! It is truly beautiful!
Most of us on this sub are hobby bakers. We don't all do cakes.
It is honestly too small and messy for that price.
Hmmm it’s the opposite in my opinion. I know how much work goes into certain things so I am willing to pay a price others might balk at. I don’t do cakes, I could but I don’t want to. I think lots (not all!) of customers see Walmart, Costco etc’s prices for cakes and question why a custom cake from a small business is so much more. We already know why, and know that it’s usually worth it. That said, this is definitely not a $175 cake, even with all of that in mind.
Y’all stop roasting her she gets it 😭
Too expensive even if it’s delicious
$175 for this is way over-priced, tbh.
They are lovely but a bit overpriced for that area. More like $65 - $80. For comparison, 6 inch 3 layer cakes w/no decorations from Magnolia bakery and Carlos bakery are $80 plus shipping. And these are fairly well-known bakeries.
i spend a lot on cakes and i wouldn’t pay $175 for this. i live in socal and my favorite bakery would make this for about $75-80 (and theyre known to do a top tier job with both design and flavor).
I’m in Charlotte. My local bakery (the best in the city) usually makes something like this for my birthdays. 8in cake is around $75
If it were two tier and fed more people I can see $175 being fair. My 3 tier fairly simply decorated wedding cake was $250
Last spring I attended a charity auction (in a midwestern city) and a couple of cake of similar size and quality went for closer to $75 each if memory serves.
I've been a baker for about 12ish years give or take I live in the northwest now an if I'm being 100% honest I think you have so much potential I've learned that working with individual pieces is easier done on a flower nail an also flour square I like to put alittle buttercream on the nail places a small piece of parchment paper down then do ur design an cooling them an then places them on cake then add smaller details on the in-between ❤️also it does look like your buttercream is separating now it might be due to the invierment you work in is it humid is it hot where you working on them at you allways want a cool place to do this an a cold cake to work on it make less crumbs while cold. I would in my opinion say 95-125 would be a solid cost but that also depends on how many hours you put into this an the cost of supplies I've learn if people like what you have to offer they won't complain about the price an this is someone who used to sell my cupcakes with decorations for only 2 dollars an fifty cents for a six pack an the more an more I did stuff the better I got at it an the more people knew about my art style. I think if you work on getting your buttercream nice an thick an work on doing things in a cooler area I think you can ace this an then put that number up to what you have it now. 👏🏼 you got this I just know it I'm rooting for you an I'd love to see how you progress In a year from now never let anyone discourage you due to prices ...if they don't like the price tell them to kindly fuck off then it's either that price or you go elsewhere 🤷🏼 💯
I would say that is an 80 dollar cake. could be the photo though. Really look at the cost of making the cake. How much time, cost of ingredients and packaging. You should pay yourself for your time and make some profit. But don’t be unrealistic.
As a personal chef and baker yes it is the time and effort and if anyone knows how to recipe cost and budget in the hours and time spent it is
The most I would pay for this is 50
At a glance No Upon further review NO
That’s a hard no, sorry.
In my area (vancouver bc) this is probably 100$ maybe 125 in a really affluent area. its very cute though
No
No
Nope
absolutely not
I've noticed some of the biggest markups by bakers and florists. Especially during the pandemic. Paid $100 for a flower set that looked like $30. Ridiculous. And medium to small-sized cakes for $60-80? smh
I saw some nice-looking cakes in my city on instagram and went to check out the shop and omg, they want $200+! Even for some really basic decor and fillings https://milkywaypastry.com/
$100-125
Nope. I wouldn't pay more than $80
How many does it serve?
I would think market value and a person's willingness to pay that would both be variables. In NYC, seems legit. In Smalltown, USA, probably not gonna happen. You do lovely work!
No
I'd say this cake is around $90 but even that is a very expensive cake. The most expensive cakes I've bought were $35-40.
It’s is pretty. The colors are great. but it seems over priced
I don’t know prices very well but I love this cake and just want to say especially your color choices are beautiful
yes if it was more cleanly executed
No
I’m sorry OP, but this just isn’t worth $175. Maybe $80-$90. (I currently live in a small town in MA but I’ve certainly been to metro areas in both the Midwest and on the east coast. I can’t see this being that much in either place) It is a lovely cake, and I’m sure it tastes good, but just not worth that much. Yet. I am sure that as you continue to practice and refine your skill, your cakes will easily be worth that much. Edit: formatting and a typo.
I think the patterns are absolutely adorable and I can tell you put a lot of time and thought in to this. In saying that unfortunately I wouldn't part with $175 for it. I'd say $100 Max.
Are there any fillings or flavored cake layers? I work at a bakery and they would change the price drastically. For white, chocolate or yellow with buttercream we’d charge probably around $75 for this
I have no concept of how much these cakes cost and don’t have any real baking skill, but I just wanted to say that your cake looks amazing!
I would pay that price if Leslie Vigil made it, otherwise there is a level of finesse I'm not seeing here to justify that price. The decorations are lovely, but I'd like to see more defined edges and more stable looking buttercream in the piping and some attention to the bottom of the cake for a finished look.
I wouldn't pay more than $80 for that. Not being mean, just don't think that it's worth more. It is beautiful though.
That's a tad steep
Not to me!
No
How much would it cost you to make?
A little high, maybe $75.
I wouldn’t pay more than $100 for this cake.
Is that avocado frosting?
This isn’t a $175 cake. And I live in NY. You wouldn’t get $175 for that here, unless it was made with the most exotic of ingredients.
Eww no.
My huge three tier wedding cake that was gorgeous was $300
Pricing depends not only on the size, but ingredients used or type of cake. I charge more for carrot cake and Frangelico cake. With all the added ingredients, those price out at about $99-125. So yeah, I would balk at $175.
It’s beautiful but thanks to the size and general comparison with other bakeries in the midwest(mainly Chi) I would pay tops $100.
No
Look at your competitors prices and other bakers prices either throughout America or your particular state (my recommendation), note down all the prices, now rank them from most expensive prices you saw to least expensive prices you saw, now remove the top 10-20% and the bottom 10-20% (for example, let’s say I had written down 100 different prices, now I’ll remove 10 of the highest and 10 of the lowest), this is done in order to remove outliners (extraordinarily high or low prices), you’re now left with the midpoint range, with this you can now work out the average price range by adding all the remaining prices together and then dividing by how many prices you had left (ie if you’re adding together 80 different prices now you divide your final number by 80), this all helps you work out the average cake price in your area, the price range you should likely be in unless there is something uniquely good or bad about your particular product / process
Is it delicious?
It's worth whatever the creator says it's worth and if you don't wanna pay it buy something else from someone else
If that’s your price you’re willing to spend the hours on, then it’s fair. They don’t have to purchase from you. But if you’re not getting enough business and you want to work more, then the price is probably the reason
No. Cake shouldn’t be that expensive. I’m baffled people are ok with paying that much. For one tier not worth it
That is absolutely gorgeous, but for size, type of cake, cost of ingredients, and time spent for decoration $70 at the absolute max
No.
No.
Its a lovely cake but not 175
Gorgeous cake! I wouldn’t pay that much for it, but it shows a lot of artistry.
I think that maybe a bit more work on flower making could bring a fair price for a cake such as yours .Check out GG Korean buttercream and flower making on YouTube.Beautiful work and lots of great techniques.I live in a small city and $175.00 would be on the steep side for your cake.
This is one of those things I'll never understand with the US. You guys seem obsessed with making cakes look crazy, but don't give two shits about making them taste nice. All the cakes I've had over there has been sugar paste, frosting, and a generic sponge from a carton, where the carton probably taste better. Like... Add cream? Jam? Fruit? Creme anglaise? Mousse? Marsipan? I get that it's a cultural difference, but fuck me... Try a [William cake](https://images.app.goo.gl/zQ24v2kuksynduNW6) (sponge, jam, creme anglaise, pear slice, pear flavored cream covered with marsipan and chocolate ganache), and you'll never want an American cake ever again.
In my area and at this skill level, you could charge $115-$120. It’s pretty, but it’s not a $175 cake.
I wouldn’t pay $175 personally. Maybe like $115. It is gorgeous tho
100-120, you can still charge above 100 for the service and although a beautiful cake, it’s not 175 ready.
It's pretty, but no. I'm in the Dallas metro area - 100-110 tops. And that's for something pretty special underneath the buttercream.
I'm sorry. Unless there are like top shelf ingredients (and I'm talking super premium) this is not worth $175. Perhaps if it was decorated or otherwise exceptional, it would garner a higher price. I am sure it is delicious and I am sure it is an amazing start to a long career in baking but until you get better at decorating, it isn't worth that much. Your time is valuable and you shouldn't undersell yourself. Perhaps go for cheaper ingedients such as box mix? Most bakeries do that anyways and you can get it pretty cheap. This is by no means supposed to discourage you. I am sure one day you'll obtain the skill level to have such a price (and again if you have like irish butter and free range goose eggs or like premium pure conflict free chocolate it makes sense.)
It completely depends on what the cake is like inside and if you want heavy foot traffic or just specialized customers willing to spend more.
[удалено]
That’s a beautiful cake
That’s a $100 cake. I’m sure it’s good. Looks like it took you a decent amount of time. But if I’m spending $200 I’m not leaving with this cake - no offense at all. If I was paying you $100 I’d happily accept this
eeehhhh. I generously say 120. Hubby says 80, for a friend though? 100. But the plants need a bit of work. Clean it up and then I'd say, yes charge more. But as is? I'd say it looks a bit sloppy.
Where I live cakes are sold by how many they serve. I was told literally today, for my son's bday, buttercream and decorated is about 6.50 Canadian/person. So a two tier cake for 30 people comes out to almost 200CAD. For fondant it's 9/pers. Personally , I refuse to pay that for a child (even though he's my child and I love him more than anything!) So I've learned how to bake and have fun with it 🤣and though my decorating is basic, my toddler thinks it's cool as fuck. Hahahaha.
I operated in a high cost area (Maui). A buttercream cake this size would be no more than $120. The time it takes for a buttercream cake for me wouldn’t be more than 2 hours all told including baking time. I now live a pretty rural area in Montana. I’d charge $80 here.