What goes into a cheesecake's cost
Start with the ingredients, measured the way you buy them. Here's the 9-inch blueberry cream cheese cake from the calculator above:
| Ingredient | Amount | You pay | Cost in this cake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cream cheese | 32 oz | $2.99 / 8 oz | $11.96 |
| Fresh blueberries | 12 oz | $4.49 / 18 oz | $2.99 |
| Graham crackers | 7 oz | $4.29 / 14.4 oz | $2.09 |
| Large eggs | 4 | $4.99 / 12 | $1.66 |
| Unsalted butter | 5 oz | $4.99 / 16 oz | $1.56 |
| Sour cream | 8 oz | $2.49 / 16 oz | $1.25 |
| Vanilla extract | 0.33 fl oz | $9.99 / 4 fl oz | $0.82 |
| Lemon | 1 | $0.79 each | $0.79 |
| Granulated sugar | 0.6 lb | $3.99 / 4 lb | $0.60 |
| Cornstarch | 1 oz | $2.29 / 16 oz | $0.14 |
| Total ingredients | $23.86 | ||
Example prices. Use what you actually pay; your receipts are the best source.
Cream cheese is half of the ingredient cost here: $11.96 of $23.86. That makes it the first thing to watch. When it goes up, your profit takes the hit before anything else.
Count your time, or you're working for free
The most common pricing mistake is adding a markup to the ingredients and stopping there. Compare the same cake priced both ways:
Count the hands-on time: making the crust, mixing the filling, setting up the water bath, the topping, boxing and cleanup. The bake and the overnight chill don't need you, so leave them out unless they stop you doing other paid work. Pick an hourly rate you'd accept for any other job.
Overhead and waste
Cheesecakes bake low and slow, then sit in the fridge for hours, so they use more oven and fridge time than most bakes. A couple of dollars per cake covers power, gas and cleaning supplies.
They also crack, sink or weep more than most cakes. A waste buffer of 5–10% of the ingredient cost spreads the cost of the occasional failed cake across the ones you sell.
Markup, margin and food cost
These three numbers are easy to mix up:
- Markup is what you add on top of your cost. A 30% markup on $54.55 gives $70.92.
- Margin is your profit as a share of the price: $16.37 out of $70.92 is 23.1%. A 30% markup is always a smaller margin.
- Food cost is the ingredients as a share of the price: $23.86 of $70.92 is 33.6%. Many bakeries aim for 35% or less, and cheesecakes sit near that line because cream cheese is expensive.
Whole cakes or slices
Selling by the slice earns more per cake, but each slice needs its own container, and cutting and boxing take time. Set the calculator to 12 items, $0.40 of packaging per slice and 1.5 hours of time, and the same cake comes to $6.70 a slice, or $80.41 for all twelve, compared with $70.92 whole.
When cream cheese prices go up
A price that was right in the spring can be wrong by the holidays. In our example, cream cheese went from $2.99 to $3.99 a block and blueberries rose too. Still charging $70.92, the margin on this cake fell from 23.1% to 15.9%.
The app keeps your recipes and ingredient prices. Update a price once and every cake that uses it gets checked, so you know when to re-price.
Common questions
How much should I charge for a 9-inch cheesecake?
It depends on what your ingredients cost, how long it takes you and the markup you want. In our worked example, a 9-inch blueberry cream cheese cake uses $23.86 of ingredients and 1.25 hours of hands-on time at $20 an hour. With packaging, overhead and a 5% waste buffer, it costs $54.55 to make and sells for $70.92 at a 30% markup.
Should I charge more for toppings or decorations?
Yes. Add the topping ingredients to your ingredient cost and the extra decorating time to your hours. A fruit topping or piped decoration can add both, and the calculator prices them the same way as the cake itself.
Is it better to sell cheesecake by the slice or whole?
Slices earn more per cake but cost more to sell, because each slice needs its own packaging and the cutting and boxing take time. In our example, the same cake sold as 12 slices comes to $6.70 a slice, or $80.41 for the cake, compared with $70.92 whole.
What food cost percentage should a cheesecake have?
Food cost is your ingredient cost as a share of the selling price. Many bakeries aim for 35% or less. Our 9-inch example sits at 33.6%. Cheesecakes run high because cream cheese is expensive, so check this number whenever cream cheese prices go up.