What do Birthday parties, baby showers, holidays, and weddings all have in common? They are a special occasion usually celebrated with cake. It'
s just cake, right? So why is it so hard to decide where to buy? Is there really a difference between Supermarket and Home custom cakes? Read below and decide for yourself.
Super market cake
Some pros about supermarket cakes are that its a quick and easy choice when in a pinch. Stores have pre designed images and plastic figures that can quickly be added to the cake size you desire. You can walk in place your order, and have it ready the next day. Better yet if you pick one of the cakes on the shelf you can have it ready that day. One thing that makes supermarket cakes a hit is that they are much cheaper! Supermarkets are able to get large amounts of products at wholesale and/or rock bottom prices, which helps to keep their products that they sell much more affordable.
Some cons about supermarket cakes are they usually come with a very long ingredient list. They most of the time are mixed and baked with the cheapest ingredients possible (it's a supermarket remember, they need to make a profit.) Margarine is cheaper than butter, which do you think they will choose? Most cakes are processed in another facility with the possibly of added preservatives to extend shelf life. The process of making a cake for them: bake, flash frozen, send off to the store. You make your order, they take it out of the freezer, use packaged frosting from a tub, print off a design, lay it on top, add a couple characters and poof you have a cake.
While supermarket cakes give you the ease of having a cheap quick option in a pinch, you are still limited to what designs and ingredients they have available at the time you order.
Homemade Custom Cake
Birthday or celebration time comes around. Yay! You pick a theme, look around for decorations, and now time for the cake. You want it to fit the theme, taste good, and be a centerpiece for the party. You start looking around at specialty home custom bakers to see if they can match your desires. Woooow….. It cost how much?!?! It can be a little bit of sticker shock when you first look into a home custom baking business for your cake needs. Why are they priced so much you might ask? It's just cake, so why the high price tag?
Pros of buying a custom cake. You have more options about what kind of design you would like. You have a baker who with experience and who is able to help make and design the cake to closely fit what you would like. Ingredients are not a mile long. Custom bakers can let you know right up front what they have in their products and don't have to look at a manufacturing label to see if something is or isn't in the cake.
One of the biggest Cons is the price, but I hope with a little bit of explanation you can see that even though the price tag is bigger, you are paying for experience and quality that you wouldn't be getting with a supermarket. When you order a custom cake you are not just paying for a cake. Think about what all goes into making a idea go from a idea into a slice on your plate.
Custom cake orders involve:
-Someone to help design your cake.
-Someone to drive to the store and/or order supplies online for your cake.
-Someone who has taken classes, and learned special techniques to make your design.
-Someone who has the skills, and has practiced, practiced, practiced to perfect and create edible pieces of art into the design you desire.
-Wear and tear on expensive equipment (mixers, oven, etc.), and tools to help make your cake.
-The cost of utilities to make the cake: Gas, electricity, water, trash.
-Self-employment taxes.
-Insurance costs.
-The hours and hours spent to mix, bake, cool, frost, decorate, and finally last package your cake to get it ready for you the customer.
-Gas plus wear & tear on the bakers vehicle to shop for supplies, and make deliveries.
-Last a little left over to go towards paying for rent, mortgage, supporting a family and/or whatever the home custom baker has need of.
It takes time to design and figure out what supplies will be needed for a cake. You have a picture from Pinterest? Great that helps, but to go from cake in a picture, to one for your celebration, it takes materials plus a lot of time and effort. That is why it cost so much more than cakes you get in a supermarket.
Ask yourself some questions the next time your in need of a sweet celebration dessert.
1. Can they make the design I want, and do I want it to be remembered?
2. What kind of ingredients do I want my guests and myself to eat?
3. What product will work best for my budget?
4. Is there time for details or do I need a cake quickly?
Both supermarkets and home custom bakers have their positives and negatives, but in the end both supply you with a cake and that's a win win in my book. Whichever type of place you choose to have your cake made, make sure you choose one that fits what your wanting, and will provide you something you will enjoy.
