The average store-bought sheet cake costs between $20 and $50. But custom gourmet cakes can cost hundreds, thousands, or even millions of dollars. So, what are the most expensive cakes in the world, and why are they so costly?
The most expensive cake is the Runway Cake by Debbie Wingham. This 6-foot-long premium-quality Belgian chocolate cake weighed about 1,000 pounds. It was decorated with thousands of diamonds and cost $75 million in 2015. That equates to about $90.9 million today when accounting for inflation.
Let’s take a deep dive into the world of luxury desserts to discover which decadent cakes fetched the highest prices!
Here Are the 10 Most Expensive Cakes in the World (all prices adjusted for inflation to 2022 U.S. dollars):
- The Runway Cake – $90.9 Million
- The National Gay Wedding Show Cake – $64 Million
- The Pirate’s Fantasy Cake – $43.8 Million
- The Diamond Gala Cake – $38.3 Million
- The Luxury Bridal Show Cake – $28.5 Million
- The Luster Dust Cake – $1.7 Million
- The Diamond Chocolate Cake – $1 Million
- The Platinum Cake – $180,000
- The 2011 Royal Wedding Cake – $99,695
- The Davis-Ka’oir Wedding Cake – $87,968
10. The Davis-Ka’oir Wedding Cake – $87,968
In 2017, rap artist Gucci Mane (Radric Delantic Davis) married Keyshia Ka’Oir, a successful entrepreneur, model, and actress. Their wedding was a lavish event, which becomes evident when you see images of their wedding cake.
Technically, this cake consisted of four distinct levels. However, more than two dozen individual cakes went into creating this incredible dessert.
Standing at more than 10 feet in height, the cake towered over the happy couple and their guests. This wedding cake was so large that it had to be cut with a special sword! But the cake’s size wasn’t its most impressive quality.
The Davis-Ka’oir Wedding Cake was decorated with thousands of painstakingly-crafted sugar flowers. Its 2,000+ Swarovski crystals shimmered brightly, giving the cake an ethereal, almost heavenly look.
Why It’s Expensive
The couple spent $75,000 on the massive fairy tale wedding cake. Accounting for inflation, that would be more than $87,000 today, making this cake pricier than many of the world’s most expensive ice creams!
This comparatively high price tag stems from labor and adornment costs. Edda Martinez (of Edda’s Cake Designs) spent three days baking nonstop to create this incredible wedding cake.
She also handmade each sugar flower. Considering how many were on this cake, it likely took several days or weeks of labor to create them all. Then, of course, the addition of thousands of pricey Swarovski crystals was the metaphorical cherry on top of this expensive wedding cake.
9. The 2011 Royal Wedding Cake – $99,695
No royal wedding would be complete without a massive luxury-quality cake, and the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton featured one of the priciest cakes ever created. Originally valued at $80,000, this cream-colored cake would be worth more than $99,000 if made today.
Consisting of eight tiers, a multi-platform bottom level, and almost 1,000 handcrafted sugar details, this cake was elegant enough to make any royal wedding complete. But it only stood at about three feet in height, making it one of the shortest modern royal wedding cakes.
This begs the question, “Why was this cake so costly?”
Why It’s Expensive
Though interest in royal families has waned over time, royal weddings are still internationally-recognized affairs that draw millions of spectators and hundreds of guests. The cake served at these high-profile weddings must be grand and decadent to match the majestic mood of the event.
In the case of William and Kate’s wedding cake, the high price has everything to do with the amount of labor that went into making the cake and the high-quality ingredients used to make it.
8. The Platinum Cake – $180,000
This platinum-covered cake is slightly controversial for several reasons. Firstly, it contains platinum flakes.
Like gold leaf, these tiny shavings of precious metal aren’t harmful when ingested. However, they also don’t add much to the cake’s flavor profile.
Secondly, Nobue Ikara (a Japanese pastry chef) covered this cake with platinum jewelry, including necklaces. So cutting into this cake was probably challenging, as solid platinum chains aren’t easy to cut through.
Created in 2007, this unique (but slightly questionable) initially cost $130,000. However, when you consider inflation, that price rises to about $180,000.
Why It’s Expensive
Hands down, the primary reason why the Platinum Cake featured a $100,000+ price tag is that it was made and decorated with a significant amount of platinum. This precious metal is one of the most expensive in the world, often fetching higher prices than gold or silver.
7. The Diamond Chocolate Cake – $1 Million
Unfortunately, this expensive cake was designed to be eaten. Instead, it functioned as an attractive window piece, drawing in potential customers shopping in Osaka, Japan.
Created by Chef Masami Miyamoto in 2015, this chocolate ganache confection had lighting elements, handcrafted chocolate details, and a solid chocolate base decorated in sparkling diamonds. But it’s a shame to think that no one ever got to try a bite!
Originally valued at $850,000, this unique creation would be worth about $1 million today.
Why It’s Expensive
The staggering number of diamonds made this display cake a costly dessert. However, the unique lighting effects and sculpture-like pieces of chocolate also made it a luxurious treat.
6. The Luster Dust Cake – $1.7 Million
While the previous cake might have only been for show, the Luster Dust Cake was designed to function as an exhibit and a ready-to-eat dessert. This cake was a collaborative effort between the Dallas Gold and Silver Exchange and the Dallas-based bakery, Delicious Cakes.
The Luster Dust Cake was a red-and-silver cake delicately decorated with lines of edible pearl dust (luster dust) and several dainty diamonds.
Created in 2010, it initially had a value of about $1.3 million. But if you recreated this cake today, it would be worth about $1.7 million!
Why It’s Expensive
This iconic cake was primarily expensive due to its uniqueness, size, and ingredients. Jewelry purveyors rarely collaborate with cake makers, so this dessert was one-of-a-kind. And it weighed more than 150 pounds, making it heftier than the average cake.
But the combination of diamonds and luster dust decorations helped push this cake’s price tag up into the millions.
5. The Luxury Bridal Show Cake – $28.5 Million
The 2006 Beverly Hills Luxury Brands Bridal Show was an opportunity for wedding vendors, outfitters, and caterers to show off their best products and opulent wares. But the cake that designer Nahid La Patisserie Artistique created for the event may have been one of the most breathtaking parts of the show.
It resembled a flowy, ruffled wedding dress with expertly crafted fondant details and contours. The Luxury Bridal Show Cake was a collaboration with Mimi So Jewelers, so it was infused with millions of dollars worth of diamonds.
Though this cake would have fetched $20 million in 2006, it would be worth more than $28 million today.
Why It’s Expensive
This cake was debuted at a luxury event on Rodeo Drive. That alone could make it an expensive treat. However, the detailed work that went into creating this textured wedding cake, plus its diamond-infused icing, were likely the primary reasons it was worth millions.
4. The Diamond Gala Cake – $38.3 Million
In 2011, Buddy Valastro (better known as the Cake Boss) created a $30 million cake for Devorah Rose, the editor-in-chief for Social Life Magazine. This tiered cake featured seven levels, each one decorated with expensive gems like sapphires, diamonds, and rubies.
The Diamond Gala Cake was featured in the Cake Boss series finale. So, if you’d like to explore the labor that went into creating this dessert, you might want to check out that final episode.
Why It’s Expensive
This $30 million cake (valued at $38.8 million today) was expensive for two significant reasons. Firstly, it was made by one of the most famous TV cake designers, Buddy Valastro. Secondly, it featured a dazzling array of precious jewels.
3. The Pirate’s Fantasy Cake – $43.8 Million
Upon first glance, it can be challenging to understand why the Pirate’s Fantasy Cake (created by Chef Dimuthu Kumarasinghe) was such a pricey dessert. It wasn’t a huge cake, standing at about two feet tall and three feet long.
Shaped like a weathered boat (or treasure chest, depending on your perspective), this cake’s fondant work was impressive but nothing that your local gourmet baker couldn’t replicate.
However, this cake was littered with some of the world’s most expensive birthstones: sapphires. It also featured several layers, each one more decadent than the next. A single slice of this cake would have contained pistachio, cinnamon, and coconut flavors.
Created in 2012, this unique dessert initially cost $35 million. That would come to more than $43 million today.
Why It’s Expensive
The primary reason why this cake was so expensive is that it was covered in precious gemstones. However, the high-quality ingredients and spices used to make each layer also contributed to its staggering price tag.
2. The National Gay Wedding Show Cake – $64 Million
In 2013, Liverpool, England, hosted the second annual National Gay Wedding Show, a celebration of marriage in all its many forms. Naturally, this event featured an elegant wedding cake. But no one could have guessed that the cake would steal the show!
This white cake consisted of eight massive tiers, handpainted fondant banners, and exquisite ivory-colored details. It was also covered in thousands of diamonds, giving it a refined shimmer that turned heads.
Valued at $52 million in 2013, this cake would cost about $64 million if it were recreated today.
Why It’s Expensive
This pricey cake was primarily expensive due to its 4,000+ high-quality diamonds. However, this cake was also several feet tall and took an exceptional amount of effort to assemble and decorate.
So, high-cost jewels and labor costs are the two factors that made this cake so pricey.
1. The Runway Cake – $90.9 Million
The most expensive cake is the Runway Cake, created in 2015 by designer Debbie Wingham. This cake might not have had multiple tiers, but it’s one of the most enormous luxury cakes ever made, weighing in at an incredible 1,000 pounds.
This rectangular cake was also incredibly long, sitting at a sizeable six feet in length. It featured a poured chocolate runway, unique handmade fondant fashion show guests, and glittering diamond runway ‘lights’ that sparkled brightly.
The Runway Cake was also adorned with a handful of multi-carat diamonds with a total value of $45 million. Originally valued at $75 million in 2015, this enormous cake would be worth about $90.9 million today (accounting for inflation).
Why It’s Expensive
There are many reasons why this is the most expensive cake in the world. Firstly, this cake was massive, and it was made of premium ingredients like Belgian chocolate, chocolate truffle cream, and Madagascar vanilla beans. The base cost of these ingredients alone makes this cake worth several thousands of dollars.
Secondly, the Runway Cake was covered in thousands of multi-color diamonds. Some of these precious jewels were valued at more than $1 million. Not
Thirdly, it took more than 1,000 hours to bake, assemble, and decorate this cake. That’s equivalent to more than 27 weeks of full-time labor, but it was condensed to only a few days to ensure the cake remained fresh. That kind of labor doesn’t come cheap!
Why Are Some Cakes So Expensive?
The average grocery store cake might only cost about $40. However, custom-made cakes from reputable bakeries are pricier, with prices typically starting at $100. But why are some cakes worth millions of dollars?
Typically, four factors influence a cake’s price:
- Size
- Ingredients
- Adornments
- Labor
Let’s take a moment to explore these factors to understand how they can affect the value of a cake. After all, if you’re eager to order a luxury-quality gourmet cake, it’s an excellent idea to know what goes into making it a show-stopping dessert.
Size
Cakes that are several feet tall or weigh hundreds of pounds are bound to cost a pretty penny. That’s because massive cakes require more ingredients and can be more challenging to build and stabilize.
Several of the world’s most expensive cakes are far larger than the average store-bought birthday cake. For example, the Runway Cake was six feet long and weighed about half a ton.
That’s enough cake to feed a small army! Additionally, this cake was made of exceptional-quality ingredients, including three types of Belgian chocolate. As you might suspect, higher-quality ingredients result in higher prices.
Ingredients
The ingredients used to make a cake also influence its final price. After all, cakes made of high-quality cake flour, chocolate, or gold leaf cost far more to make than those made of boxed cake mix.
Many of the priciest cakes on the planet feature rare and most expensive spices, including hand-ground vanilla beans and truffles. Some cakes are even topped with dollops of top-notch caviar!
But while these elements can make a cake far costlier, they’re not always the priciest part of a gourmet cake. The inedible pieces placed on top of a cake often make up the bulk of the cake’s final price.
Adornments
Rare spices and the most expensive chocolates aren’t the only components that make some cakes incredibly expensive. Adornments like jewels and precious metals can also raise a cake’s base price.
Many of the cakes included in this ranking are excellent examples of this trend. For instance, the Runway Cake by Debbie Wingham was studded with about 4,000 diamonds.
Masami Miyamoto adorned the Diamond Chocolate Cake with 50 carats worth of sparkling diamonds! These inedible elements typically cost thousands of dollars, so you can imagine just how much value they can add to a high-quality cake.
It’s also worth noting that the designers and bakers who make these cakes spend days or weeks carefully planning and crafting. Naturally, this labor also impacts a cake’s price.
Labor
Simple sheet cakes are relatively easy to bake and decorate. But multi-tier cakes can be a pain to assemble. They can also be challenging to transport, especially if they’re heavy.
The labor required to bake, decorate, and put together a massive gourmet-quality cake is nothing to laugh at. For that reason, many of the world’s top cake designers charge premium prices that cover the costs of their labor and time.
What Is the Most Expensive Cake?
So, what is the most expensive cake? The honor goes to the Runway Cake, a 6-foot-long birthday cake created by Debbie Wingham in 2015. Originally priced at $75 million, this cake would be worth almost $100 million today.
In addition to being massive, this cake was adorned with multi-colored diamonds and dozens of handcrafted fondant figures. Hopefully, the lucky birthday girl who received this cake enjoyed every bite.
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