In my house my children expect fancy cakes for their birthdays and this year has been no exception. Their ideas about what they want on their next cake become more and more elaborate each year. Every cake is a challenge but this year all my children had a cake they were proud of. The look on their face said it all and that alone makes me feel like I have achieved something. This year I have made a make up bag cake, a batman signal cake, a 80’s themed cake and a Lightning McQueen cake. All completely different just like my children.
I have not only made cakes for family but for other people to. My favourite cake to make has probably been a “Spongebob Squarepants” cake whilst my most hated cake to make was probably the Lightning McQueen cake. I find that my children like to make special cakes for my husband and myself. One year they made him a sandcastle cake. I carved the cake and the children butter creamed and covered it all in crushed biscuits. What an enjoyable mess was had by all. 🙂 I find my cakes are usually of a scary theme as my birthday falls near Halloween.
As the years have gone on, I have less and less to do with my cake. Now I just make the sponge to the size and flavour which my husband and children want and then I leave the room for the design team (husband and children) to complete their task. One day I won’t even have to make the sponge. I have no idea what they are going to create but they always sound like they are having great fun. Some of their best creations have been a graveyard, a witch on a broomstick, a spider in a web, to name just a few. I think my creativity has rubbed off on my children and it helps that my husband has an engineering background for the fiddly bits of structure etc.
For the general public working out what to charge is the problem and one which I still have difficulty with now. Not only are you charging for the ingredients used but the hours it takes to make the sponge and decorate the cake. Cake makers and decorators charge all sorts of prices for their creations and at the end of the day, the customer makes the decision based on what they are willing to pay for the cake they require. At the end of the day what you charge has to reflect the time and effort which has gone into the cake as it is a homemade cake not a shop bought, mass produced cake. Very important point here.
Thought I would share some birthday cake pictures with you of cakes I have made over the years.
These are just a few of my most recent cakes which I have made. I would love to see some of my readers cake creations on here. Please feel free to share your own homemade cakes in the comments below.