One of the questions I get asked from potential customers, is “how much does one of your cakes cost?”. This is not an easy question to answer without a lot more information. All of my cakes are completely unique and I take the time to understand exactly what the customer wants. Every cake quote comes with a hand drawn sketch and I strive to give my customers a cake that will impress, wow and (hopefully!) bowl over the cake recipient
With that in mind I think that it may be easier to give you some things to think about. Here are some questions to consider before you approach a cake artist to make your special cake.
How much cake do you want/need?
Think about how many people you want the cake to be for. If it is for a small gathering then a 6” cake is probably more than enough (14 portions). For those really big gatherings I would say a 12” may be needed (56 portions). The bigger the cake, the more expensive it will be. My smallest cakes are 6” wide. I make these around 6” deep, because a tall cake goes a long way; cut the slices quite thin and still get a decent piece and no-one feels cheated. If you like a lot of cake then obviously you will want to go bigger. Or you may just think to hell with how many it will feed, just make me a really impressively huge cake 😊. Below is a cutting guide on how to cut up a cake to get the most out of it.
How many tiers do you need?
Do you want one, two or three tiers? Although 2 or 3 tier cakes look stunning and are a real show stopper, they can be a really expensive option. Can the effect you are looking for be achieved with one tier?
Do you want a carved cake?
Do you want a 3D cake? Do you really want a 3D horse/snake/dog? Don’t get me wrong I absolutely love making carved cakes; they are my favourite cakes to make and can look absolutely stunning, but it is important to know what is involved when you ask a cake artist to go down that route. To carve a cake into a 3D shape, you need to start off with a lot of cake and I mean a lot. This can often be 3 or 4 times a normal cake. You start with a block and carve it down to the shape you need (think Michelangelo carving David out of a block of marble, and no I am not comparing myself to Michelangelo 😊). All that carving takes time too, a lot of time to get the shape right.
What type of cake do you want?
What flavour will you want? Do you want a sponge cake? A fruit cake*? Most of my cakes are covered in high quality fondant, but I can create butter-creamed cakes which makes the cake slightly cheaper. It is worth noting that a butter-creamed cake will not stay fresh for as long as a fondant covered cake but if you are planning on eating it in the first couple of days then this may be a good way to keep the cost of your cake down. I use ganache coverings in all of my cakes because it makes for a much better all-round flavour sensation. It isn’t the cheapest way to make a cake, but it is delicious. I want you to not only love the design I have created for you but the taste of the cake too.
*Fruit cakes are the most expensive cakes that I make.
Do you want a model or sugar flowers added to the cake?
Always bear in mind that any additional modelling work that you have on a cake will mean that the cake artist will be spending more time on your cake. I can spend upwards of two hours creating a model of a person to ensure that they have a personalised look and feel. If flowers are your thing then one intricate sugar peony can take several hours to complete. So if you are thinking of a cake with a “few models” on or a “few flowers”, it’s important that you take this extra work required into account.
I do have a pricing guide in my FAQ for my Novelty cakes. This should help provide an indication of the likely cost of a cake that you may order from me. This guide is a starting price and is for a simple, covered, fondant cake with a ribbon on the cake board and lettering either on the cake or on the cake board. Supplementary modelling and flowers will be additional to the basic pricing structure.
I hope that this helps to give you an idea of what a custom cake is likely to cost and what may be involved in the process. It will hopefully give you some idea of what to think about when you next send a message to a cake artist for a quote.
If you want to have the best, completely unique custom made cake, then please head over to my gallery for some ideas. There are some amazing cakes on show that I have made for other people. Take inspiration from there and then we can talk cake.