Bespoke is not exactly a new term, but it seems to be gaining in popularity. It means the opposite of off-the-rack. Bespoke clothing is custom-made clothing. It is not made to measure, as featured by many good clothing vendors. A made-to-measure item is a standard one customized at the factory in certain measurements and details. Bespoke is made from scratch to your specifications.
My cakes are bespoke, they aren’t factory made and adapted to your requirements. They are homemade, you can decide on the design, flavour, height, width and colour. No two cakes are the same, if you order a cake I’ve made previously it won’t look exactly the same.
Why do you pay more? I spend my time helping you with the design, picking colours, sourcing the finest ingredients, paying for training to keep skills up to date, specialised equipment and then there’s my time to actually bake and decorate your cake.
Time
I spend upwards of 30 mins discussing designs with my clients. Then there’s shopping for the items for your cake, board, box, ribbon and ingredients. Mixing, lining, cutting, filling, crumb coating, washing up, approximately 2hrs spent on a single tier cake.
Making decorations, sugar flowers take upwards of 1 hour depending on complexity and quantity. Sugar models are also upwards of 1 hour, again depending on complexity and quantity. Final coat of buttercream/ganache and covering 1.5hrs.
Decorating and assembling upwards of 1.5hrs. Boxing up and clearing away 30 mins.
Admin, yes your cake requires admin. I submit a tax return every year, I have to keep a cleaning schedule, a record of my fridge and oven temperature and a record of costs. As you can see this all adds up, what you may think is a simple cake with a flower on top, will actually take me a minimum of 7.5hrs.
Price
Ingredients including, sugarpaste, board, box, ribbon (the basics required for your cake) cost a minimum of £20 add on to that my 7.5hrs time spent.
This isn’t set in stone but will hopefully give you an idea of what bespoke is and why it costs more.
Next time you order a bespoke cake, blind, suit whatever it may be, remember the time, care, love and attention that goes into it. We do what we do because we are passionate about our art. X
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