Why Are Cakes So Expensive?

By Sherree Kruger - CEO Supacakes

So many people have the idea that cakes made by professionals are too expensive.  Many factors are taken into account when a professional baker quotes a client on the cake. The biggest mistake clients make is when they see a cake that they LOVE but they only have a certain budget (in the back of their minds) and think they can get that cake for that price. Unfortunatley it does not work that way. Another big mistake is that they ONLY take (or think about) the ingredients into consideration when they think of the price of a cake:

Baking a cake is easy and many people can do it, but constructing the cake and decorating it is a skill. 

My advice to clients is always to give us an estimated budget of what they want to spend on a cake, we will then source ideas and present it to them for consideration within their budget. When a professional baker quotes a client on a cake, they do not work for free.  Baking is a VERY time consuming job and if you do not know what you are doing, well then it can be your worst enemy!

Most professional bakers charge an hourly labour rate to make, construct and decorate the cake - a BASIC 3D cake can take up to 6hrs to finish off depending on the difficulty and technicality of the cake, also, the fondant decorations need to be made days before the actual cake is finished. There are processes and drying times for this.

Then the rest of the costings are added to the labour as follows:

1.  Main Ingredients - flour, eggs, oil, milk etc.. -  (these days these are not cheap anymore)

2.  Decorating Ingredients - filling, colouring, glitters, fondant etc...(these items are expensive)

3.  Packaging - Cake Board and Box

4.  Travel Costs - Fuel, and the time it took you to go and buy the ingredients, and deliver the cake if you offer that service

5.  Electricity - we all know how much that costs these days

6.  Consultation Fees - Telephone & Internet Use to assist the client with ideas and order

7.  Labour - how long does it take to make the cake required, this is charged by an hourly rate

So from above, I am sure you can now see how it is justified with regards to the pricing? Remember that the professional baker runs a business and does it for a living, these expenses are just there and there is no denying it or avoiding it. If you want a professional cake, then be prepared to pay the price.