Cakes for School Fair - how to wrap/present?

~Yorkshire_Belle~

Sorry if this is the wrong place - wasn't sure if it should be here or on special occasions
I'm going to make some lemon loaf cakes for the school fair and wondered - how far in advance can I make them (would keep in a tin) and how is it best to wrap them or present them for the sale?
Nothing seems to last long enough in my house normally to worry about these q's!
Thanks in advance
Belle

gingin_2

I buy the Asda value "smartprice" foil platters. They tend to look pretty smart and present the cakes nicely and it is not a disaster if they go walkabouts at the end. If you can risk losing a tray then an oblong household tray covered with foil looks pretty good with all your baked goodies lined up on them. I just cover them in cling film.

At our school most are served straight out of cake tins. The kids don't seem to mind and I hve never seen a stall not sold out.

hex2

Hi Yorkshire Belle,

My suggestion is check with the school as to how they sell cakes. Ours just charge 20p an item regardless of what it is! The first year I made lovely little marbled belgian chocolate bars, wrappped in cellophane bags with pretty ribbons etc. Cost me more than 20p each to make, sold at 20p. I was not impressed! Since then I have just made iced buns and flapjacks on the day and sent them in a cardboard box.

You could make and freeze your cakes now, and then defrost and ice as appropriate on the night before?

I bought cellophane bags from Yellow Moon by mail order, and parcel tags etc from Ikea. I wrote what it was on the front of the tag in gold pen, and the ingredients on the back. Stiff cardboard covered in foil also springs to mind for a solid base?

HTH

~Yorkshire_Belle~

Thank you so much for replying. Have taken all on board and am gathering all I need ready for a big bake tomorrow!
Thanks for the tips re labelling and wrapping too.
I have made a trial cake today and it's already been wolfed down by hungry DS's so will have to make sure they know that the can't eat the next few lots I bake!
Thanks again
Belle

Lynn11

Good luck with your baking day tomorrow. I have to do the same in a few weeks time for a BB coffee morning as hubbie is a BB officer so I have been making a few things and putting them in the freezer such as scones, carrot cake, sponge cakes and will be doing muffins, biscuits, rock buns and traybakes nearer the day. Good luck and I am sure that it will work out.

THIRZAH

Lakeland do cellophane bags too.

Zziggi

hex2 wrote: »

My suggestion is check with the school as to how they sell cakes. Ours just charge 20p an item regardless of what it is! The first year I made lovely little marbled belgian chocolate bars, wrappped in cellophane bags with pretty ribbons etc. Cost me more than 20p each to make, sold at 20p. I was not impressed! Since then I have just made iced buns and flapjacks on the day and sent them in a cardboard box.

This is the problem I have always found. Now I don't make anything but when I go to the fayre I just stick a few quid in the tin without buying cakes. Let's be honest, that's what the school wants & it saves me time. Nothing worse the giving up your time to make cakes only for them to be sold for less than the materials cost.

flea72

hex2 wrote: »

My suggestion is check with the school as to how they sell cakes. Ours just charge 20p an item regardless of what it is! The first year I made lovely little marbled belgian chocolate bars, wrappped in cellophane bags with pretty ribbons etc. Cost me more than 20p each to make, sold at 20p. I was not impressed! Since then I have just made iced buns and flapjacks on the day and sent them in a cardboard box

i think the problem with home-made cakes, is most people dont know the costs involved in making them, so just base prices on Mr Kipling RRP. like you , ive spent ages making 'posh' cakes for school that go for pence, or dont sell at all because the kids just want krispie cakes, or jaffa cakes (yes some people do send in boxes of jaffa cakes for a 'cake' stall)

also, as the cakes are donated they dont have to factor in the production costs, as the school hasnt had any outlay. their only concern is that everything sells and they make their money

I recently had a work colleague ask me to make them a victoria sandwich, which they would pay for. so for the first time ever i costed it up, using my normal ingredients. it came to just over £4 - i was astounded, as ive always thought it cheaper to bake for myself than buy from the shops

But back to the OP, if selling as whole cakes, then just putting on a paper plate, with clingflim over, and a label saying what flavour it is, is quite acceptable

if cutting into slices, again, just put on a paper plate and cover with film

F

LJM

i always tend to send things down in my cake tin as they always at my girls school plate it all up themselves

charliee_3

hex2 wrote: »

Hi Yorkshire Belle,

My suggestion is check with the school as to how they sell cakes. Ours just charge 20p an item regardless of what it is! The first year I made lovely little marbled belgian chocolate bars, wrappped in cellophane bags with pretty ribbons etc. Cost me more than 20p each to make, sold at 20p. I was not impressed! Since then I have just made iced buns and flapjacks on the day and sent them in a cardboard box.


HTH

yes.. i learned this lesson, for my son's nursery fete i made some lovely fancy cupcakes, they were big and had glitter and nice decoration, prob cost me at least £3 or more in ingredients to make them, I thought people would pay maybe £3 for 4 of them, but they sold all their cakes for 30p each so making them a grand total of £3.60 for the dozen... aaagh... id rather have given them the money!! so at xmas i will make some more on the proviso they sell them for more than that-or i will make less fancy ones...

redfraggle_2

I buy pretty china plates from charity shops (usually about 20p-25p each) and plate them on those. That way if they go walkabouts its not too expensive.

I tend to do this when I give cakes to friends or family as I dont have to worry about getting my plates back then!