For a birthday, a morning tea at work or a wedding table. The price of cake across Australia over ten years, and what to look for and ask at every bakery you try.
The price, ten years on
Cakes and biscuits, across Australia, from the ABS Consumer Price Index. The class holds biscuits as well as cakes.
June 2016$100
June 2026$132
$136Everything a household buys, over the same years
Up over ten years, roughly in step with everything a household buys.
$90$100$110$120$130$140$132$136
20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Cakes and biscuitsAll groups CPI, everything a household buys
Ordering cupcakes in Sydney. The first half is what to look for yourself. Put the second half to each place you try.
Look for
Pictures of their own workCupcakes they have made themselves show the finish you can expect.
How much notice a large order needsCheck it against your date before you settle on flavours.
Delivery or collectionWhere and when you would pick them up, or whether they come to you.
What goes into each flavourUseful when someone at the table avoids an ingredient.
Sizes on offerRegular and mini, and which flavours come in each.
Ask
01Which flavours and decorations can you do for my date?Bring a picture of the colours or theme you have in mind.
02What does the price include, and what costs more?Boxes, toppers, colour matching, a stand, delivery.
03What goes into each flavour?Name any ingredient you need to avoid, and ask how the kitchen handles it.
04How should they be kept until they are served, and for how long?Some icings soften in the heat, so ask about a warm day.
05By when can I change how many I need, or the flavours?Write down the date they give you.
06Can I taste a flavour before I order?Ask whether you can buy a single one first.
From cupcakessydney.com.au, a concept page.
Choosing a bakery
Start with the look you want and work back. A bakery whose own pictures already match your theme will find it easier to get the details right than one stretching into a new style.
Taste where you can. A single cupcake bought over the counter tells you more about the sponge and the icing than any description.
Asking every bakery the same questions
Print the questions or keep them on your phone, and put the same ones to every bakery. The answers sit side by side, and the right one is usually plain by the third call.
Note the date you were told for changes and the time you agreed to collect. Those two lines save the most worry on the day.
Shows whether a business's ABN is active or cancelled, its business type and its GST status, and the Register says the public can use it to check a business before buying.