Why are custom cakes so expensive??

Today, I decided to take on a subject that is talked about often: the cost of a custom cake.

I get this question in one form or another all the time, and I know that for many people, a dollar mix in the baking isle of the grocery store comes to mind when they hear "cake".

As a baker, I don't take this personally. I know that people have no idea what goes into making a custom cake- so I thought I'd share a few thoughts.

First of all- the actual cake. Why doesn't your "box" cake at home turn out like one of mine? Several reasons...
Custom bakers use quality ingredients which cost more money! Sure, sugar is cheap, but butter, chocolate, even milk and eggs have sky -rocketed in price recently.

Most of my cakes use between 2-4 lbs of butter. Not meant to be healthy, just meant to taste delish!

Custom bakers have put time into learning the craft. You don't go to a Dr who hasn't had training, and you understand that the cost of your medical care has to do with the extensive amount of schooling that they had to pay for. Your baker isn't much different! Whether they have trained with the best in the world, or taught themselves with books... their time and money has gone into learning the skills to make you a wonderful cake- you can't create the same at home without the skills!

Supplies. You can't make custom cakes without having the proper supplies. You hire a person who has the proper skills and supplies to frame your photos, do the exterior work on your home, etc. because you can't possibly attain the same quality without the supplies.
As silly as it sounds, for amazing cakes, the supplies are extensive and expensive. From cutters, to sheeters, to slicers, to mixers, ovens and refrigerators (which run hundreds to thousands of dollars!)... not to mention molds and tools that can range from $10- $100+ dollars! And since every cake is different, every cake needs different supplies.

Time. You know you pay for people's time because it is precious. A baker is spending hours of their time on your cake. Some bakers do it as a side job. For me, my time would be spent with my family, and doing things for them. My cakes (even the smallest ones) take me a minimum of 4-6 to complete! That's a lot of time!

Energy/Clean up. We all love to eat out because it is easier. No mess to clean up. No kitchen to clean. No floors to sweep. When you order a custom cake, someone else is using their electricity, gas, and water to create your cake! They are also dirtying their pans, mixers, floors, counters-- you walk away with a beautiful cake, and they get the mess to clean up. This is part of the job but also part of the cost!

I hope that I given some new insight as to why your custom cake may not be as cheap as the sheet cake that is ready made at your local grocery store. Remember, you are paying not only for a much better tasting cake with much more quality ingredients, but also for the skills, the time, the supplies, the mess, the energy... A lot more then you think goes into a cake!

Lips for fun

I received an order this week that I just loved.
The reason I loved this order was not just because the cake was very fun to make, but because this cake was something different, and it's based on a show which I love, the cult classic, Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Love it or hate it, you must admit that it is concept unique to this movie, that has made it withstand the test of time: Audience Participation.
In case you have no idea what I am talking about allow me to briefly explain. Every year, this movie is shown in select theaters. People come from all over, dressed as their favorite characters, with props.
Here is how it is explained on one website: "Rocky Horror is the first and only true audience partici-(SAY IT!)-pation movie. People yell back lines at the screen during the extended pauses between dialogue, dress up in costume and act out the film, and throw props various times during the film. The audience participation phenomenon was observed as early as the film's first run in 1975 (when it bombed during limited engagements in 7 of 8 cities), and was later re-released as a midnight movie where the audience participation really began to flourish. And by the way, for the "gore sensitive", Rocky Horror is NOT a horror film. It is a rock-musical send-up of old science-fiction and horror films."

To mix it up, I thought I'd post some stats you may not know about this show:

RHPS Premiered in the US in 1975

Widely known by mainstream audiences, it has a large international following and is one of the most well known and financially successful midnight movies of all time.

RHPS was filmed in England at what was then a dilapidated castle. Today the castle, Oakley Court, is a luxury hotel.

MTV was planning to remake it and release it in 2009, however, those plans were canceled.

Now, aren't you glad you know all those facts?
This cake was done to look like the lips of the main character. They were made out of a sheet cake, cut, stacked and carved.
Once they were covered in fondant, I airbrushed them using orange, pink and red, along with black for the inside of the mouth. Teeth were carefully measured and cut to fit the lines of the mouth (they were actually very hard and time consuming!)

I love the finished product and have had "Let's do the Time Warp again..." stuck in my head for days now.

Barbie Cake

Here is a picture of the cake made for my youngest daughter, and a shot of her with her pink cake batter.

She requested the colors pink, green and purple for her dress- which came off ok. The edges were painted with gold luster dust and the whole thing sprayed in shimmer dust- which I am totally addicted to. Not the best cake ever made by me, but it made my daughter squeal with delight, and that's all that matters.

If you've never made a fondant cake before, I suggest trying one of these. They are so easy!

You'll need a stainless steel bowel for the dress, along with at least 1 layer of 8" cake (you'll flip the bowl upside down and stack it onto the 8")

Let it cool, fill it, and then stick your new barbie in (hint- pin hair up using straight pins) Make sure to wrap her up tight in saran before inserting her.
Ice, then roll fondant really thin. Lay the fondant around the sides, making sure your seam is in the back. To make the top part of her dress simply wet her slightly, and cover in fondant- seam in the back. Decorate to your hearts desire!

Birthday week over!

Thank goodness we made it through birthday week here at my house. It always hits us like a wrecking ball-right after Christmas.

We don't always do parties, but this year I caved into mommy guilt and did parties for both of the girls. We had fun with a spa party for my oldest daughter and a tea party for my youngest.
My youngest daughter has never had a party so she was super excited this year. She even helped me bake her cake while Daddy took all the other kids rock climbing. She had a few requests for her cake. She wanted it pink (the actual cake) and barbie. Mommy was breathing a sign of relief as Barbie cakes aren't super hard to make. We just added food coloring to my standard white cake, and viola'! A happy 4 yr old!

Her flavor was "princess" which is actually a well know cake flavor consisting of raspberry and custard layer filling in a white cake.

Now that parties are over, and the cakes are gone, we can move on in our house.!

Spa Tote Cake

Today we celebrate my precious daughter's birthday. I've realized that although birthday's are fun for kids, they are amazing times for us parents' to reflex on that child's birth, their life so far, and the amazing way that we have been blessed. Much more rewarding then my own birthday for sure!

The big party is tomorrow, so I have been super busy with all the hustle and bustle.

I decided to go with a Spa bag for her cake, which fits our theme great.

This is 4 tiers of round cake. The ends are cut off on 2 sides and shaped slightly, leaving rounded edges. The top was cut to fit the cake out of fondant, then the sides were put on in 2 separate pieces, leaving seams on both sides for the seams of the bag. Stripes were put on, a sewing tool was used to create stitches on the strips and all the seams.

Inside the bad lay an eyemask to match the polka dots ones we have for the girls, a towel, and a slipper. Because I wanted to only use these colors, the things inside the bag faded instead of standing out. I wish I would have colored the fondant "inside" (aka the top) a dark color and make the strap green. Had this been for someone else I would have changed it, but it's only for us.

I love the way this turned out in person and wish I had been able to capture it better on camera!

Snowflake cake

Brrr... It's cold outside!

Here in KS God has answered my prayer for snow- and with that comes snow days. Having 4 kids in the house 24/7 can get crazy on these snow days, especially when they have already been home for a few weeks for Christmas break.

I broke the craziness with a Playdough Ice Cream Shop toy. Not a grand idea on my part as now I will be scraping dried playdough out of the rug for hours.

Along with the snow have come record breaking lows- meaning it's also too cold t go outside and play in all this snow. I'll remember to be more specific in my prayers from now on.

This cake today was done a couple of years ago and was my first experience with patchwork cutters. Please note: These cutters are very different then normal cutters or cookie cutters, and I had to learn the hard way. Patchwork cutters can be GREAT and they have so many cute ones out there, but they must be used properly or they will leave you sitting in a pool of tears (I know from experience.) So here are some tips for you:
#1- They MUST be used with gumpaste. Not a mix and not fondant.
#2- You must let your gumpaste sit for a minute or two before pressing your cutter into it!
#3- You will want to grease you surface then lay your gumpaste on it to cutout your shapes.
The ideal is that the piece stays ON your surface and not in your cutter. If you find yourself having to peel out of the cutter then let your stuff set up longer before cutting.
#4- Be prepared to clean up edges using a toothpick or another very small thing. These don't cut super clean most of the time.
#5- Have fun! There are so many of these available, and you can do so many things with them. I don't recommend using snowflakes on your first try!
Here's a few links to places that I like to buy from: Patty Cakes in IL, and Global Sugar Art

There's no better way to stay warm then baking!

Baby Days ahead

On this snowy, snowy day here in mid-America, some can't help but dream of spring.
I'm not one of those people, I'm loving all the snow- it so beautiful and fun to play in!

But just because I love the snow and this colder weather doesn't mean I can't sympathize with all my friends who aren't used to this and hate it. This post today is for them.

Spring is known for a few different thing:flowering trees, greener grass, birds chirping, budding colors everywhere.... and babies.

This cake was done for a much anticipated baby girl. Simple, girly, and don't miss those cute toes poking out of the blanket!

Now think warm thoughts and go enjoy the snow!