Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

I really love designing and decorating cakes and all the aspects of the decorating side and have done quite a few for friends now. My main worry is always the baking side and that things can go wrong! I was considering a cake decorating/design business and wondered if this is possible by just doing the cake decorating and design side by purchasing ready bought cake to the clients choice or they could provide their own to be decorated…possibly! Can professionaly made plain/chocolate or fruit cakes be bought in various sizes and can a business be run in this way do you think… so that i just do the design and decorating? And is this a viable way of going about running a cake decorating and design business or not? Thanks : )

There are ways to specialise in the design aspect of the business. This can be more profitable too although your cost of ingredients would be considerably higher, but give you more time to decorate allowing you to take more orders.

You can speak to your local baker (making sure that the taste is in the same class as the design). Most will bake to order. There’s also Sweet Success an online company who you can order from direct – but must stress how important it is to get a delicious moist cake.

Kind regards,

David

Hi Sahra, when I started out I was only interested in the decorating side and used a basic Madeira recipe but I was disappointed with the taste. I figured that no matter how beautiful my cakes looked I wouldn’t get repeat orders if they didn’t taste delicious too, so I spent weeks researching recipes and testing them on friends and family. Now I get as much satisfaction from baking the cakes as decorating them as its lovely getting a text a couple of days later to say its all gone and it was yummy!

Thank you for this useful info…I will have a look at Sweet Success online and also research locally for quality bakers who would possibly do the baking side! Do you have any info on costing a cake out to a client and how best to do it as it can be quite daunting telling a client how much the cost of designing a cake is and justifying the price!!!

David and Paul run their own course on cake pricing and how to make a profit. If you click on blog in the top right hand corner of the home page, go to the bottom and click on 3, there is information there which may be useful to you. Good luck with your project.

edit: here is the link – http://www.cakeflix.com/blog/what-should-i-charge-for-cakes (Paul Doffman customer support)

hi ive looked at the same option , but have found that its difficult to find someone to do the baking and icing , sweetsuccess sell ready baked cakes but they are not iced , marks and spencers are the only other i could find that do chocolate and sponge although its in the wedding range and that costs from £9 to £40 something £ , the £9 is a very small cake . hope this helps /

Sweet Success were at an exhibition and I sampled their cakes.  My friend and I were disappointed and were not keen.  Ask for samples before using.  Squires Kitchen sell fruit cake but again sample before buying.  People on ebay sell fruit cakes.  I had a sample sent from one lady (a long time ago) and it was very nice.

Jx

Jx

Thank you all for your input it has really helped…I am quite happy to ice the cakes but just not the actual baking side! We do have a local company that makes fruit cakes so I could speak to them and I will have a look on eBay too. Another thought was a business just to just make the flowers or decorations to go on cakes and do them by order to people’s requirements…any thoughts. thanks for costing tip : )

Sahra, also have a look at the answers in Recent questions ‘What do I need to start a cake business’.

Hiya – I have a cake decorating business and I have a friend who bakes my cakes for me and also I have  a local bakery I also decorate for. Im not sure about getting cakes from different companies – fruit cakes probably ok as they will last for ages – where as a sponge cake I would want as fresh as poss.  its worked for me and keeps me very busy. Hope this helps x

Thanks for your reply… great food for thought. I have a friend who is good at baking cakes! : ) Will look into this as a definate possibility….fab!

Best wishes to all

Sahra

my son is a chef and makes all my cakes if you live anywhere near edinburgh maybe i could see if he would be interested in doing them for you

Hi thanks everyone for all your great answers… i live in North Yorkshire not near enough to Edinburgh but thanks for the offer. I will take a look at Mrs Jones perhaps thats the answer and if i keep practicing my baking skills will improve : )

thanks all

Sahra

xxx