If I had a pound for every time I had been asked this question I probably could have paid for one of our clients’ weddings!
Its the same as asking ‘how much is a house’? It depends on what you want. On the amount of tiers, the size of the tiers, how much cake you need and most importantly (in terms of how much the cost will be affected) how much detail is on the cake.
For example, a simple three tier cake with plain icing to cater for approx.100 people could cost say, £400, this same cake covered in sugar flowers and petals could cost £800. Why? Simple. It takes double the amount of time. Every single flower and petal we make is made by hand and this takes time. So, essentially you are paying for someone’s time – and of course, their expertise. Not just for the cost of the ingredients in the product
Also, it is not just the ‘cake’ you are paying for. There are lots of other costs for cake company to factor it. We have the same business running costs as everyone else, staffing, transportation, website, electricity.. the list goes on. It is a million miles from simply adding up the cost of some eggs and icing sugar.
A few years ago we had a couple in the studio. The girl wanted a very beautiful 6 tier cake, lots of detail and an incredible amount of sugar work… The price came out at £1800. The guy said ‘HOW MUCH!’?. I asked him what he did for a living and he said he was a property developer. I asked him what he would pay an electrician for a days work. He replied £150. I then said ‘well, all the sugar roses and petals required for your cake is about 10 days work before we have even thought about the cake’ (not to mention overheads, delivery etc. etc. etc.). He got his card out and said ‘How much do you want for the deposit’.
Before you set a budget for your cake. Do some research and think about what you want. As I said above, an average cake (with a minimal amount of detail) to serve around 100 is likely to cost around £400. Then, the delivery cost will be additional – calculated on a round trip to your venue.
If you are looking for something more special with sugar flowers and lots of piping or lace work this is going to be significantly more. The average cost of one of our four tiers designs with some beautiful sugar flowers, piping detail and/or lace work is probably going to cost around £795-£850.
For our much grander designs – 6 tiers and above, the minimum spend is usually around £1800. There is a lot more work involved in one of these cakes. Not only the making, but the transportation, the set up.. A lot of the sugar work (flowers) is often done in advance and then applied to the cake when it is finished.
So, in summary, have a good look at what you want before you start making appointments and set a realistic budget. If you want a Rolls Royce, it isn’t going to be the cost of a Ford Fiesta!
Nicola