A custom cake is quoted in two parts: the base cake, at your price-list cost for that size, and everything the order adds. What it adds is design and decorating time, special ingredients you buy only for that order, toppers, a special box and delivery. Every line has a cost, the total carries your margin, delivery goes on separately, and before you buy anything you take a deposit that covers what you are about to spend.
Start from your base cake
If you already have a price list by size, half the work is done. If not, build that list first with the method in how to price a cake by size, portions and decoration: sponge, filling, frosting, decoration, box, your time and oven, each one per size.
For a custom cake, use the base cost without the standard decoration, because you are replacing it with the one the customer wants.
What a custom order adds
- Design and decorating. Time spent messaging the customer, sending references, sketching, then modelling figures or painting. Time yourself on the first few orders; it is almost always more than you think.
- Special ingredients. Fondant, gel colours, edible glitter, modelling chocolate. This is where minimum purchases bite: if you buy 1 kg of fondant and use 700 g, the 300 g left over, already dyed lilac, rarely gets used again. Count the whole kilo.
- Toppers and bought pieces. An edible image, a custom topper, special candles, figures.
- Special box. A tall or sculpted cake needs a taller box. Count the difference from your normal box.
- Delivery. Fuel or mileage there and back, and your time away from the kitchen. The guide on the real cost of delivery has the full calculation.
- Rush. An order for tomorrow makes you move other work or buy at the expensive shop round the corner. If that happens, add it as a line.
Worked example: an 8-inch dinosaur cake
A customer wants an 8-inch chocolate cake covered in green fondant, with a modelled dinosaur and an edible image topper with the child's name, delivered across town.
Base cake without the standard decoration. Your 8-inch cake costs $74.00, of which $5.20 is the standard berries and drip: 74.00 − 5.20 = $68.80.
What the order adds:
| Line | Working | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Base cake without decoration | 74.00 − 5.20 | $68.80 |
| Fondant | whole 1 kg tub, you use 700 g | $14.00 |
| Gel colours | $5.00 | |
| Edible image topper | $12.00 | |
| Tall box | difference from your normal box | $5.00 |
| Design and decorating | 4 h × $15.00 | $60.00 |
| Subtotal | $164.80 |
The 4 hours are 1 hour of messages and sketching plus 3 hours of covering and modelling.
- Price at a 50% margin: 164.80 ÷ (1 − 0.50) = $329.60, rounded to $330.00
- Delivery at cost: fuel and mileage $12.00 + 1 hour of your time $15.00 = $27.00
- Total to the customer: 330.00 + 27.00 = $357.00
Compare it with what you might have charged: your list price of $148.00 plus "something for the decoration". The custom cake costs 164.80 − 74.00 = $90.80 more than your standard cake, in cost alone. If you added $50.00 to the list price, you lost money on the decoration.
To check the price from the cost without percentage mistakes, the markup and margin converter gives it to you directly.
The deposit
On a custom order, your money goes out first. In the example, before you bake anything you have spent 14.00 + 5.00 + 12.00 + 5.00 = $36.00 on things that only work for this cake. If the customer disappears, you are left with a green dinosaur.
- Take a deposit when the order is confirmed, by card or bank transfer. In the example, half the total is 357.00 ÷ 2 = $178.50, which more than covers the $36.00 of purchases.
- Buy the special ingredients only after it arrives.
- Collect the balance before or at delivery, never days later. A birthday cake is not a wholesale order with payment terms; if you sell to shops and that question comes up, see selling on credit and setting payment terms.
Put your cancellation policy in writing: until which date you refund the deposit and from when you keep what you have spent.
Last-minute changes
Two days before delivery, the customer wants blue fondant instead of green. You have already coloured it. The change costs you:
- New fondant: $14.00
- Time to recolour and recover: 1.5 h × $15.00 = $22.50
- Cost of the change: $36.50
- Price of the change at the same margin: 36.50 ÷ 0.50 = $73.00
Put it in the quote from the start: "Design changes free until 5 days before. After that, materials and time are charged." The customer decides knowing the cost.
Quote template
Copy this structure into a message or a note and fill in the numbers for each order:
| Line | How it is worked out |
|---|---|
| Base cake (size, flavour, filling) | List cost without the standard decoration |
| Special ingredients | What you buy whole, even if some is left |
| Toppers and bought pieces | Price paid |
| Special box | Difference from your normal box |
| Design and decorating | Hours × your rate |
| Rush | Only if it makes you move other work |
| Subtotal with margin | Subtotal ÷ (1 − margin) |
| Delivery | Fuel or mileage + your time, separate |
| Deposit | On booking, before you buy anything |
| Changes | Free until a set date; after that, materials + time |
Do it with the calculator
In the food cost calculator, save your base cake by size and add each special ingredient and the design hours for the order; it gives you the cost and the price at your margin so you can send the quote in minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How much deposit should I ask for on a custom cake?
That is your call, but it should at least cover what you buy only for that order: fondant, toppers, a special box. One option is half on booking and the rest before delivery.
Should I charge for the time spent messaging the customer?
Yes, when it adds up. Sending photos, adjusting the sketch and answering questions can take an hour. Put it in the design line of the quote.
What if the customer cancels after paying the deposit?
Write your policy before you take the deposit: until which date you refund it and from when you keep what you have already spent. If it is in writing, there is nothing to argue about.
Should delivery carry a margin?
You can charge it at cost, covering fuel or mileage and your time, as a separate line. The customer sees what they pay for and you do not lose money on the trip.