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And what makes them worth the extra money?
You're getting married, or you've got a big birthday coming up, so you need a cake that tastes amazing and looks even better!
But what makes these cake makers so special and why are their prices higher than others? Read on to find out more...
Ordering bespoke
When you order a bespoke cake, the process should feel personal to you. You should expect to build some form of relationship with the person you're working with, either because they're making the cake for you, or they're a big part of the process.
You shouldn't feel as though they're selling you a cake.
It should feel professional - they should have detailed, but balanced, terms and conditions, accurate sketches or design images, detailed notes, some kind of order form or contract. They will bake the cake fresh for you - no mass production here! The design should be perfect for you - it doesn't have to be individual to you, but it should be exactly what you want it to be.
Why are they more expensive?
Each element that goes into creating a luxury cake, and the whole ordering process should be professional and positive. It's quite easy to understand why they cost more than other bespoke or high street cakes - creating perfect cakes takes time and experience - especially in the straight sides and intricate details. But what are you really paying for?
Often, a completely unique cake! The design will be completely bespoke to you - your colour scheme, flavour, size, design, and might sometimes include making custom stencils or moulds for your cake. A cake artist will sit down for at least a few hours to draw together everything you've told them and sketch up a design that perfectly captures your ideas.
A freshly baked, handmade cake, that has been made individually specifically for you. There are no ready-made sponges or packet mixes here! Your cake will be baked freshly that week, never frozen; and each tier of your cake will be baked as an individual batch. Each buttercream, jam, ganache, filling will be made especially for your cake, and each cake will be individually cut, stacked, filled and covered. The whole process of trimming, filling, stacking and covering a cake can take anywhere from 1-5 hours, depending on the size and finish, so you are really paying for someone who will take the time to make your perfect cake.
The highest quality ingredients. Every cake artist is different, but you can generally expect luxury cake makers to use high end ingredients, like butter and chocolate, and they might make their own jams and fillings from scratch.
The time someone has spent learning and improving - this could be taking classes with other cake artists (most of which are more than £300 per day), practising making different design elements (and the time and materials to do that), and making mistakes! It takes a lot of trial and error to make a perfect finished article.
Reliable, good reputable customer service. Getting to know a couple well enough that they trust you to create their perfect cake takes time! There will be initial emails to learn about them and their wedding, meeting them in person and providing delicious cake samples, and continuing to liaise with them in the months leading up to their wedding. No one with poor customer service will be able to survive in the cake world! Every cake artist in the industry has delivered an absolutely stunning cake, every time, because they care. They are the types of people who are still awake at 2am when the cake isn’t finished and needs to be delivered in 8 hours. When they know the weather will be unseasonably hot, they do everything they need to, to ensure that your wedding cake is as perfect as it should be. No melting, no sagging and no disasters. They work hard to make sure everything is perfect, even if that means re-doing things completely.
Everything that goes into running a professional business - accounting, marketing, shopping for ingredients and materials, admin! We'll also be fulling registered and insured, so check with your cake artist to make sure they are!
Tools, equipment and materials required to make luxury cakes. Some things might not be too expensive, but everything adds up, especially when we want good quality pieces of equipment that don't break!
When you start looking at different cake artists, and comparing options, it can be pretty overwhelming! Each artist will have slightly different styles, flavours and approaches, there are also quite wide-ranging price brackets.
But even if you have a limited or set budget, it’s always worth speaking to a luxury cake maker - you get what you pay for. So if perfection on the inside and outside is important to you, they’re the people to speak to.
If you’re looking for a luxury cake artist in Yorkshire or neighbouring counties, please do get in touch - and keep an eye out for my next blog in a couple of weeks!
Happy wedding planning!
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