Ok, I surrender. It has taken me over four years, but I finally give in to the inevitable fact. Cakes at school cake sales only sell if they have an abundance of icing. Preferably with a sweet balanced on the top.
I’ve tried the cakes that give a nod to healthy.
I’ve decorated with dried fruit.
I’ve tried drizzling the minimal icing approach.
Today, heavy heartedly, I made pink butter icing and filled the piping bag. While gently piping the icing on to the cakes, I contemplated that I would spend the rest of my children’s primary school years over-icing cakes for cake sales.
Then the bag split.
Maybe not then. I think my talents lie elsewhere. Just got to figure out what to do for the next cake sale. (Musing whether I should volunteer to fund the initial cash float instead.)
Any ideas?
{We left before the end but my cakes were definitely selling faster than at previous sales.}
Mmmmm, it’s a tricky thing this balance between eating healthy and making what sells. Perhaps you could make your cup cakes with wholemeal flour, then at least you know it’s partly healthy. Kids will see all that icing and never think about the flour they are made from. 🙂 Do you have lollies made by The Natural Confectionary Company in the U.K.? They make the jelly babies, snakes and other lollies without artificial colours and sweeteners. Just a thought you could decorate the cup cakes with those. Good luck.
Anne xx
I like the idea of the wholemeal flour. I’ll have a look at the alternative sweets. I daren’t do the costing, but I suspect that it would be more cost effective, all round, if I just handed over the money!
Ah yes, I think you are right. I’ve not baked for ours myself – there are always many more volunteers with icing bags in hand though and yes, they sell first.
No ideas, except maybe experimenting with icing recipes – maybe with cream cheese, yogurt, honey ??? Not tried but it might be worth a challenge to reduce the sugar content. I wonder if you could do something with a fruit puree in there, or would it become too soft and sloppy?
Good luck finding an alternative xxx
I’m toying with fruit or veg dyes instead of the shop bought food colouring. Different ingredients are a good idea, but I suspect that after the icing is removed, most of the cakes are left anyway.
I know just what you mean the more icing and the pretty colors of it and cherrys, and sprinkles the better kids just love them. I say your only young once and a little bit of what you fancy does you good. dee x
The pretty colours make them more eye catching, which I suppose is what you want at a cake sale. Good job we don’t have a sale every week!
I work at a senior school but things are the same. I have to say that healthy cakes wouldn’t sell at all. The kids just want a treat. I often just go the whole hog and use a blob of melted chocolate, either milk or white(it sets and you can pile more cakes into tins…)with sweets on top. I use the Haribo sour cherries a lot and they go mad for them. Having said that flapjack is very popular as well, especially if it has chocolate drizzled over it and/or contains choc chips…
I had the problem of how to transport them. I ended up with a big box with only one layer of cakes. I’m sure the people setting up the tables must have been fooled by the size of the box! Like the idea of melted chocolate. I don’t think my piping skills are really up to scratch.