How to price cakes and desserts.
To price a cake, add ingredients, packaging and decorations, then the hours it takes (design, baking, decorating, cleanup, delivery) at the hourly income you want, plus overhead and fees. Many bakers price per serving for tiered cakes and per piece for treats, with a surcharge for complex designs.
Updated
Ingredients are the easy part.
Home and commercial bakers alike under-price by counting only what they bought at the store. The cake also takes a consultation, shopping, baking, cooling, filling, crumb coating, decorating, boxing, cleanup and delivery. Time every step on a real order.
- Ingredients by recipe: weigh what each batch uses, including butter, sugar, flour, eggs, fillings and the waste you throw away.
- Boards, boxes, dowels, ribbon, toppers and fresh flowers or other decor that go with the cake.
- Your time at the hourly income you want, for every step including the consult and delivery.
- Kitchen costs: rent or a share of your cottage kitchen, utilities, equipment wear, licenses and insurance.
- Card and platform fees, and a margin for cakes that fail or orders that cancel late.
Per serving, per piece or by design.
- Per serving: the usual model for tiered and celebration cakes. Pick a base price per serving, then add for filling, flavor and finish.
- Per piece or per dozen: cupcakes, cookies, macarons and dessert-table treats. Set a minimum order so a small batch still pays for your setup.
- Tiers of design: simple (buttercream, minimal decor), standard and custom (sculpted, hand-painted, sugar flowers), each with its own base.
- Dessert table: a package by guest count and number of items, with display, signage and setup priced as add-ons.
- Flat price for a small menu item at a market, with a short menu so nobody negotiates at the booth.
Size, complexity and timing.
- Servings and tiers: more servings means more ingredients, structure and carrying risk.
- Complexity: fondant work, edible images, sculpted shapes, hand-painted details and sugar flowers take far more hours than a clean buttercream finish.
- Dietary needs: allergen-free, gluten-free and vegan cakes need separate ingredients, tools and cleaning.
- Delivery and setup: a tiered cake delivered to a venue and assembled on site is a different job from pickup.
- Date and notice: a rush order or a peak wedding weekend takes the time you could sell elsewhere.
Ingredients get bought before the cake is baked.
For a custom cake, take a deposit at booking, or a larger share for a complex design, with the balance due before delivery. Say in your terms what happens if the client changes the headcount or cancels after you have ordered supplies. The deposit calculator shows a deposit and balance for a total you enter.
Set a minimum order for each product so a small request still covers your time. When ingredient costs rise or you are booked solid, raise prices for new orders first and tell repeat clients ahead of time.
- Worked example in the calculator: enter [Hours: design, bake, decorate, deliver] and [Your hourly income], add [Ingredients, boards and decor] and [Delivery], then choose [Profit margin]. Divide the package price by [Servings] for a price per serving.
- Compare the per-serving result to your design tiers. If a simple cake and a custom cake end up with the same price, your tiers are too close.
Show a starting price, then quote the custom parts.
Post your tiers, the starting price per serving and the minimum order, with photos of each tier of design. A short note on lead time and delivery tells visitors what to expect before they message you.
- A storefront page with your cakes, products, photos and a booking link.
- Customers request a date and pay a deposit online.
- Card payments add a service fee for the customer on top of your price.
Common questions.
How do I price a cake?
Add ingredients, packaging and decor, then every hour it takes (consult, baking, decorating, delivery) at your target hourly income, plus overhead and fees. Divide by servings for a per-serving price.
Should I price cakes per serving or by design?
Per serving is the common base for tiered cakes. Add a design surcharge for complexity, so a simple and a custom cake are priced by the work they take.
How do I use a cake pricing calculator?
Enter your hours, hourly income, ingredient and decor costs and delivery, and choose a profit margin. The package pricing calculator returns a price and a price per guest.
How much deposit should I ask for a custom cake?
Enough to cover the supplies you buy and the date you hold. Write down what happens if the headcount changes or the order is cancelled.
Keep reading.
Get booked and sell on bzar.
A storefront, bookings with deposits, quotes and invoices, and market applications. No subscription.