My girlfriend likes to bake stuff, has been making pies for awhile that she sells to bars and by private request. Nothing huge. However, she was asked to make two sheet cakes, one with 2 layers for a birthday and the other with 3 layers for a bridal shower. One vanilla and one chocolate. Large enough to feed 50 people for each event. The catch is she's never made a sheet cake before so the difficulty, execution and pricing is beginning to worry her. I figure it'll cost around $45 to make each cake so I suggested charging $120 per cake. Apparently cost isn't a concern but she wants to be fair since this person is also her boss.
>>22192949Bake a test cake. Whether she succeeds perfectly or not on the first try, she’ll definitely have a way better idea of how “doable” this is afterward. I have had a rich boss who was friendly before. I would have just asked him for the money to do a test cake in advance. He was kind of autistic but he would have appreciated my commitment to delivering a proper cake on the right day. Probably not ideal to buy a cake your baker has never practiced before.
>>22192949I think that’s a good price but a bad idea to take on these commissions for something she’s never made before.Also, what kind of pies is she selling to bars?
>>22192949Cakes are fundamentally much less of a hassle than pies so I don't think she has anything to worry about outside decoration.
>>22192949"Pie or fuck off" then start screeching.
>>22192959I suggested she make a test cake that I'd pay for. She is considering it although she can be quite arrogant so we'll see>>22192961Key lime, coconut cream and banana cream pies. Will pecan and pumpkin pies when the time comes around>>22192964Thanks for the support!>>22192966Noted
>>22192949I mean FFS it's not that hard to bake a sheet cake. You just need a big enough pan. Figure those HR landwhales are going to eat about a square foot of cake each.>>22192959>Bake a test cake./thread
>>22192961Agree with this sentiment, OP at most I’d do the birthday but politely decline the wedding. Is she comfortable with cake decorating? Honestly if there isn’t a trusted cake recipe already I’d strongly consider using a box cake mix (utilizing the normal suggestions of how to make it taste nicer) and focus on the decoration and filling. Allegedly most professional cake places just use box mixes anyway and it’ll be less pressure, plus it’ll reduce the time and cost of practice
>>22192994It’s a bridal shower, not a wedding. Way less pressure.>>22192949I’d be concerned about triple layer though, that’s approaching structural issues i assume.
>>22192990Its just ordinary nervousness. Relax.>>22192994Thanks for the suggestion >>22193194Yes its a lot of cake. She is asking a practice cake now. Will update with pics later
First test cake is finished. She is thinking of going eith a different style for the final cake. Flat on top with rosette piping or something else on outlining and on the sides.
>>22192949>CWC is actually a chadinsanity
>>22193766Ngl this looks much better than I’d feared, what kind of buttercream is on there? Slice shot?
>>22192949She is not gonna outdo costco
>>22193766Oooo lookin good buster
>>22193943We're going to try>>22193839French butter cream. Ill ask for a slice shot but I think shes gifting it to a friend's café >>22193967Thanks. Here's another angle. Chocolate cake is next she wants to run a second trial i guess. Its a large cake
>>22193766
>>22193813Always was.
Chocolate cake is done. She is going to keep this style for the bday cake but make it smaller and do a different style for the 3 layer one bridal shower
>>22192972you build the test cake price into the actual cake price. you can price higher. if you’re taking on costs just to make money you’re pricing too low
>>22193766>Flat on top with rosette piping or something else on outlining and on the sides.I think that might look better for both. It works a little better with the white one but >>22194215 kind of looks like a hedge. A bit of flat negative space can be a good thing for balance.
>>22194219Yes she is working on dialing in her pricing. I was happy to pay for these two test cakes and it turns out she was able to sell one of them. Could have sold both if she weren't giving the other away. Just boxed it up>>22194240Yes I agree. Ill post the final cakes once theyre done but this thread probably won't still be alive by then
>>22193766I make a lot of cakes, so right away my best advice to her is to ditch the French tip for piping on a sheet cake, an open star tip will always make a better looking result with less effort and a lot more room for error. The cream or buttercream she used is a bit too stiff which is why the sides are a little raggedy. I suggest a straight finish on the sides, just use a cake scraper or large offset spatula and leave them straight. Then open star tips for rosettes, swirls or any other pattern she prefers. The straight sides also allow her to pipe in a skirt at the foot of the cake right kn the serving tray, which makes the cake look much more finished and it's very easy to do and you can fuck it up, scrape it off and do again.If she has little practice with piping, she can beat some cisco and veg shortening, whatever is cheapest with confectioners sugar and make practice buttercream, which she can pipe on a plate or platter, scrape, stuff in a bag and store in the fridge, then just re-mix it when she wants to practice again.
>>22194215>>22193766what is the interior like on these is it just plain white cake?
>>22193992>>22194289Also be careful of French buttercream, it's not very heat resistant so keep on mind how hot the venue will be. But it's usually fine. As to the design, I think the chocolate has too many dollop, it's too uniform. She can use those dollops as the skirt I mentioned and it'll look very nice. The consistency on the chocolate cake is much better and a lot less dry, you can see how the piping doesn't leave broken ragged edges, which the French star tip tends to do. A very classic decoration for sheet cakes is to do a skirt, flat sides and top, with a piped line in some design along the edges of the top and then rosettes or flowers on the corners or center, she can also absolutely cover the entire top in dollops and swirls, but I think doing the top AND sides on the same pattern makes it look less special and finished.
>>22194289>>22194304Solid advice, very well thought out. I'll share your insights with her tonight. She is by no means a professional, still very much developing her skills, learning what works and doesn't, etc. Isn't afraid of taking risks either>>22194300The vanilla is a strawberry shortcake i guess. It has cream, strawberry reduction, and sliced berries. The chocolate is the same but with chocolate cream
>>22192949>this person is also her boss.so you're going to cum in the batter, right?
>>22194289Not OP but thanks for the practice piping tip, I need to work on my skilz (which are terrible lol)
>>22194332Np, I know a lot about cakes so I can answer any question she may have or at least point her towards some resource that does>>22194609Np as well, the nice thing about it is that it also teaches you good piping consistency for different things and you can re use it and store indefinitely as you'll never really eat it and all it needs is some whipping up each time.
>>22192949Shieeeet, cakes? I dunno mayne.
>>22193943I guarantee she will because those cakes suck. Icing is real shitty
>>22194917>)>>22194917For 1/8th of the price they work
Final cakes are being made tonight for the events tomorrow and Saturday. Will update thread with pics later. In the meantime time here is a cake she made this morning for a client
>>22195131Hard disagree>>22195367Looks nice, what is it?
>>22195418>Looks nice, what is it?pepperoni pizza
>>22195450HAHi thought the same thing before i opened it!
>>22195418Lady finger sweet cake with mixed berry reduction, strawberry and blueberries on the inside
>>22195614YummmmPresentation tip from grocery store bakeries (not the standard but it does look pretty) Pic related makes it shiny and has a little citric acid for freshness. I always thought it was kinda yummy but mostly pretty. When looking for this picture i saw a bunch of recipes online for similar things too. That might be more up her alley.
>>22192949>My girlfriendGet out normie.
>>22194591Haha no. Her boss is a woman and a nice person >>22195674Thanks for the tip ill have her check it out. She really appreciated the advice from the cake anon about the styling tips. The bridal shoeer cake is going to follow alot of those suggestions primarily with the flat top and skirting around the edges. Will post the final results tomorrow but the birthday cake should be done tonight
She is good. Did she learn on her own, family, or due to working in some sort of bakery? Also, be honest. Is the taste really good or just fine?
>>22196021Oh that looks so yummy
>>22196053This looks like my little puppy who is 15 now..
>>22192949is your girlfriend your mom?
>>22195733Back to /r9k/ with you
>>22196244No thst would be chris chan
>>22196053She is mainly self taught. Her family owned a restaurant growing up and her aunt has her own catering business that she helps out with.
Bridal Shower cake is finished and delivered to the venue by myself this morning. 3 layer vanilla mixed berry cake. Inside is cream with a mix of raspberry/blueberry reduction with cream and diced berries. Design inspired heavily by cake anon. I think it turned out great
>>22197068Those flowers look gorgeous, really great work! Flavors sounds good too, very cool.
2/2
>>22197084Thanks anon! She will really appreciate reading that. Wish we could both try it for ourselves!
>>22197068Looks like a pro cake to me, I doubt anyone would be disappointed
>>22197068>>22197089This looks really nice.
>>22197068Cake anon here, it's great! Good job to her, really. I'm glad she corrected the texture on the buttercream, it piped perfectly there with no ragged edges at all. The flowers look really great and the wide leaf tips look very nice. The overall design is much more cohesive and it's honestly a big jump in quality compared to the test cakes.Is it still French Buttercream or did she change it up? Also can we get a close up on those roses?With that level of piping and some zhuzhed up filling combos she can start charging pretty premium rates for them honestly.Also of she enjoyed piping those roses, she might enjoy the effect that a curved petal tip might yield, that way she can play around with roses in different bloom stages.
>>22192949I hate sheet cakes.The office I used to work in brought a huge, garbage-tier sheetcake to the breakroom everytime someone had a birthday .... whether you told your co workers it was your birthday or not ..... I think the HR people got off on telling everyone. Fortunately it was usually gone by the time you got to it .....all the nigger women that worked in the call center would come down from the third floor and take it all
>>22197970Thats the shitty vegetable oil and icing cake they're bringing from k mart. THIS, this... SHEET... is a whole nother level.
