Bespoke Cake
Price Guide

What a Bespoke Cake Costs

Most cake makers will not put prices on a website, which is why you are probably reading this after a lot of dead ends. The reason is genuine: a bespoke cake is priced on size and detail, so there is no single number. But that is not a reason to tell you nothing.

These are real starting points, not teaser prices.

• Birthday and celebration cakes from £60 for a single tier
• Wedding cakes from £200 for two tiers
• Cupcakes from £30 for a box of twelve
• Dessert tables from £200 depending on guest numbers
• A £50 deposit secures your date and delivery slot

Delivery is charged separately based on distance. Collection is free.

What Actually Drives the Price

Two cakes the same size can differ by a hundred pounds, and it is worth understanding why before you brief anyone.

• Size, meaning portions. The single biggest factor. A cake for forty costs roughly twice a cake for twenty because it is roughly twice the cake.
• Hours of decoration. Hand piping, modelled figures, sugar flowers and sculpted shapes are all measured in hours of one person's time. This is where most of the variation lives.
• Fondant versus buttercream. Fondant takes longer to finish sharply, so it usually costs more than a buttercream design of the same size.
• Tiers. Each tier adds structure, baking, filling and finishing, so tiers add more than their size alone suggests.
• Ingredients. Fresh flowers, gold leaf, good chocolate and fresh fruit cost what they cost.
• Notice. Rush orders are not always possible and take priority over other work when they are.

How to Get More for Your Budget

There is almost always a way to get the look you want for less, and any decent cake maker would rather tell you that than lose the order.

• Say your budget up front. It is not a weakness, it is the fastest route to a good design. Paulina will tell you what it buys and where it is best spent.
• Buttercream over fondant. Textured buttercream is very much in favour and costs less to finish than sharp fondant.
• Fewer tiers, more cupcakes. A smaller centrepiece cake with matching cupcakes feeds the same room for noticeably less than a large tiered cake.
• Fresh flowers over sugar flowers. Sugar flowers are made by hand and take hours. Fresh ones cost a fraction and look just as good in photographs.
• Concentrate the detail. One heavily decorated tier with two simple ones costs less than three detailed tiers and reads just as well.
• Avoid peak dates where you can. Summer Saturdays and December book out first.

Why Cheaper Quotes Are Sometimes Cheaper

If a quote comes back dramatically under everything else, it is worth asking what is being made and what is being bought. Wholesale sponge decorated to look bespoke is a real thing and it is much cheaper to produce.

That is not always the wrong choice. If you need a cake to look right on a table for an hour, it may be perfectly fine. But if you want it to taste like something, the difference is not marketing.

Getting a Real Quote

Send Paulina four things and you will get an accurate price rather than a range: the date, roughly how many people you are feeding, the occasion, and any picture that is close to what you have in mind. Dietary requirements too if there are any.

She replies personally with a design and a full price including delivery, before you commit to anything.

Common Questions

How much does a bespoke birthday cake cost?
Single tier birthday cakes start at £60 and rise with size and detail. A simple buttercream design for twenty people sits near the lower end. A themed cake with modelled figures for forty costs considerably more, because both the size and the hours of decoration increase.

How much is a bespoke wedding cake?
Wedding cakes start at £200 for two tiers. Three tiers with sugar flowers and hand piped detail costs significantly more. The two biggest factors are the number of guests you need to feed and how many hours the decoration takes.

Why do custom cakes cost more than supermarket cakes?
Because one person spends hours making it rather than a production line spending minutes. The sponge is baked to order, the fillings are made rather than bought, and the design is created for your occasion. You are buying someone's time and proper ingredients.

Do you charge for delivery?
Yes, based on distance from the kitchen. Collection is free and always welcome. Delivery is quoted with your cake price so there are no surprises later.

How much deposit do you need?
A £50 deposit secures your date and your delivery slot. The balance is due before the cake is collected or delivered.

Can you work to a fixed budget?
Yes, and it is the easiest way to work. Tell Paulina the number and the occasion and she will design something that fits it, rather than quoting for something you then have to cut back.