Are my cakes really expensive?

On the eve of any celebration, everyone starts to look for a baker who can make a beautiful and delicious cake. Of course we do not want to miscalculate the price and buy a high quality product for a lower price.

It's no secret that homemade baked goods differentiate in price from store-bought ones. When hearing the prices some people act very indignant: Why is it so expensive? Isn't it easier to go to the supermarket and buy a cake three times cheaper there?

I would like to enlighten you to what is included in the price for homemade bakers' cakes.

When calculating the cost of a product, you must take into account the initial and additional costs:

Initial costs

Ingredients costs.

Of course, there are basic products that are used in the preparation of absolutely any cake, such as flour, eggs, milk, butter, cream, etc., which may not be so expensive at cost. However 98% of orders include fresh berries, special types of flour, expensive Belgian chocolate, edible gold and many other ingredients that the customer can possibly have in mind. This price also includes high-quality natural food colourings, which are quite expensive. One cake can consist of 35 ingredients (and more), and I am pretty sure you yourself know the prices for food in London very well.

Inedible expenses.

During preparation, many disposable consumables are used, such as medical gloves, pastry bags, foil, acetate film, cling film, and more. The price also includes boxes and cake boards. For cakes with two tiers and more, it is necessary to purchase special support skewers and axes so that the structure stands stably.

Communal expenses.

Oddly enough, we also have to pay for electricity, gas and water. When bakers start to bake, their costs for all utility bills are automatically increased. Washing dishes is a special headache for me. During the preparation of one cake, I have to wash the dishes at least 5 times. Many bowls and utensils are not dishwasher-proof, so washing them not only takes a lot of time but also dramatically increases my water bill.

Fare.

Every order I make is absolutely unique. Some people want lots of fresh mangoes and some will not eat the cake unless it contains crushed hazelnuts. In order to satisfy the needs of any customer, I also have to spend money on transport to go to the store to buy groceries or in search of rare ingredients.

Additional costs:

Equipment.

If you think that you can use everyday kitchen utensils to make a beautiful cake, as “in the picture” then I hasten to dissuade you. To create their masterpieces, absolutely every baker needs a powerful mixer that can withstand a continuous load (for a note, the cost for such starts at £500). Further, special cake tints, a submersible blender, a rotating table, an airbrush, several types of spatulas, forms and tools for sculpting decor, non-stick rugs, and thermometers are constantly used for work. The list of necessary tools is quite impressive and confectioners have to invest a considerable amount of money in such purchases. Also, from time to time, tools wear out and have to be updated.

Training.

None of us woke up one day with a full set of knowledge and skills. In order for our work to be admired and the number of customers to grow, we, bakers, had to invest well in training. When you find out how much pastry courses cost, your life will never be the same again. (For intrigue I will leave this investigation for you.) As you can imagine, continuous professional development in our case is not a whim but a necessity. If you don't know how to make modern cakes, you lose customers. We have to continuously make bespoke cakes for several months to earn money for at least 1 new course.

Labor costs.

For some reason, people do not like to take into account the work of the bakers themselves and when placing an order mentally only consider the cost of the products. And as for me, such an attitude towards honest workers is humiliating.

To begin with, I would like to remind customers that they choose the fillings and appearance of the cake on their own - you order BESPOKE cakes. I do not use blanks, because every week there are completely different orders and naturally, in order to fulfill your orders, I myself shop for the necessary fresh products on the day when I need to start baking, I adapt my recipes to your wishes (someone people need their cake drier, someone needs different fillings, and different cream in each layer) so basically your wish is my command.

Everything that is in my cakes I make from scratch. You want a caramel sponge - I need to make homemade caramel first. You want a cake with milk chocolate ganache but the outside of the cake should be light - I make additional creams for decoration. (Sometimes I end up making 3,4 different cream for one cake).

You cannot order such cakes in the store, you cannot be sure of the freshness of the used products of the store cakes. When ordering, remember that you want a bespoke handmade product, such a product will never be cheap. After all, the baker takes responsibility for the quality of their products.

And so now the most important thing is how much the work of a baker needs to cost. One cake takes 2-3 days to complete, of which there will be at least! 8 hours of work. Suppose we have absolutely no respect for the work of a bakers and evaluate their work at the lowest wage in London - £8.91. After completing a very simple math exercise, you can find out that for 8 hours of work, the baker should receive £71,28 just for his time spent doing you a service. Now add absolutely all of the above expenses to this amount and that is how you get a completely logical price and it already ceases to seem that the cakes are expensive.

In conclusion, I would like to say that just like you and absolutely any person, I want my work to be fairly valued. I am responsible for the quality of my cakes, I work hard and put my soul into every cake. I am very grateful to people who perfectly understand what is needed in order to create cakes “from a picture” and appreciate the work of other people. And, of course, I ask you not to be offended if I refuse to fulfill an order for several kgs, made with expensive ingredients, with decor and fresh berries for only £50, since this does not even cover the cost of your order.