"The Hardest Part" - Part One

What is the hardest part about being in the cake decorating business? You might guess that it's the baking of the cake; getting the cake to have the right taste and texture, knowing how long to bake it, leveling and torting the cake, etc. Yep, that can be challenging. Maybe it's stacking cakes with multiple tiers. Or you might guess that the hard part is the design and decorating. Getting the frosting and fondant colors right, having the right consistency in the butercream. And what if I mess up? What if the fondant rips or breaks when I'm shaping it over the cake? Kind of nerve wracking! Well, the fact is that cake decorating is not easy, but contrary to what you might think, none of that is the hardest part.

The hardest part is putting a PRICE on the cake!

I worry every time someone asks me "How much do you charge for cakes?" They see the colorful, fun and unique things that can be done with a cake, but they aren't really prepared to hear that the cost is going to be greater than what they're used to paying at the grocery store.

Let's face it. When most people think of getting a birthday cake, the usual thought is, "I'll stop by the grocery store and pick up a cake for $18.99 and ask them to write 'Happy Birthday Johnny' on it". I'll admit that even though I usually make my kids' cakes, there has been a time or two (or five) over the years that I just didn't have time or didn't want the hastle, so I caved in and bought a ready-made one at the store. It's convenient, takes almost no advanced preparation, and hey, it's cake.

A cake roll from the grocery store - we begged the store bakery to write on it for us!

It's colorful, but it's still in the foil pan! Ugh.

Chocolate cake from Sam's Club. I'll admit this one tastes really good, but it's not too festive.

Have you ever had that sticky chocolate fudge frosting? Bleh.

Boy, I must have been really busy that year, it's a bowl of ice cream. :/

Those are examples of what $10 to $20 will get you. The cakes served their purpose but the kids don't look very excited...

Once I really splurged and spent $35 or $40 on a store bought cake:

This one actually looked pretty good, but I'm not a fan of the taste of the frosting or the spongy cake.

For my 40th birthday a few years back, my amazing hubby ordered a custom cake from a the best grocery store bakery in Utah - Dick's Market in Centerville. It was a Rubik's Cube and it cost around $100. It tasted great - Dick's cake is moist and yummy. If I'm ever in a pinch and want to decorate a cake but don't have time to do the baking, I will order plain unfrosted cakes from Dick's and frost/decorate them myself.

Now contrast those store bought examples with these buttercream beauties I made myself!

Now let's take it up a notch and contrast with FONDANT cakes.....

This 8" custom fondant cake VS. a mass produced grocery store undecorated chocolate cake at $10. What would you pay?

This cake took two afternoons to make, with about 4 or 5 hours spent just on the fondant designs alone! What is it worth?

If a grocery store charges $100 for a buttercream Rubik's Cube cake only a little taller than this one, what should I charge for a cake like this? Each fondant square was added separately...

 So what should I charge for custom fondant cakes, or even themed buttercream cakes? In part two of this blog post, we'll talk about what goes into creating these cakes, and what experienced bakers have to say about how to price your cakes. I have been doing my research!  Stay tuned for Part Two!....