I swear sometimes people dont know what 6 inches are and what 8 inches are... for that matter they dont know what any measurements are...
i delivered a 6 and an 8 and the DH of the lady tells me... thats not for 36... uuuuuuuum yes it is... just bc you can eat it in 1 bite you fat-so....
GRRRRRR... sometimes people are so ignorant... has this ever happened to u?
Not in a negative sense, but an office called for a birthday and said, "And we LIKE cake!". They wanted it for 35. I said, "Well, in standard servings, a 10" serves about 35 ...." and I was about to suggest she go for the 12" when she interrupted me and said "oh, we plan to cut them bigger, so we'll need a bigger cake.
An 8/6 serves exactly 36 (24+12), so on future ones, maybe you can point out "this size will serve exactly 36 if you cut it exactly like the serving chart. If you think you'll be cutting it a little bigger, maybe we should go up a size ... what do you want to do?" That way you've got the "I TOLD you!" under your belt! 
I have to say that I always "worry" about cake sizes and how many they will feed. Because in my experience, I don't really know anybody who will cut a cake the "way its supposed to be cut" and the pieces they cut are always bigger. So for me, I always worry about that.
I have to say that I always "worry" about cake sizes and how many they will feed. Because in my experience, I don't really know anybody who will cut a cake the "way its supposed to be cut" and the pieces they cut are always bigger. So for me, I always worry about that.
Sounds like it's time for a KFC review! 
A bucket of 16 pieces of chicken says it will serve 8 people. Now in my family, 2 pcs of chicken is a snack you eat as you're walking thru the house on the way to the dining room table, so even tho' it's DESIGNED to serve 8 people, if you "cut the pieces", Uh.... I mean serve the chicken twice as big (4 pcs per person instead of 8 pcs per person), then the only way to feed 8 people is to BUY MORE CHICKEN!! Because KFC is not going to throw in extra pieces just because my family eats like Jethro Bodine. KFC has PREDETERMINED that a serving size is 2 pcs. If you eat more than that, you need to buy more chicken.
We as cake decorators have determined that a serving size is 1x2x4. If you cut them bigger than that, you need to buy more cake.
It's really that simple.
I have to say that I always "worry" about cake sizes and how many they will feed. Because in my experience, I don't really know anybody who will cut a cake the "way its supposed to be cut" and the pieces they cut are always bigger. So for me, I always worry about that.
Sounds like it's time for a KFC review!
A bucket of 16 pieces of chicken says it will serve 8 people. Now in my family, 2 pcs of chicken is a snack you eat as you're walking thru the house on the way to the dining room table, so even tho' it's DESIGNED to serve 8 people, if you "cut the pieces", Uh.... I mean serve the chicken twice as big (4 pcs per person instead of 8 pcs per person), then the only way to feed 8 people is to BUY MORE CHICKEN!! Because KFC is not going to throw in extra pieces just because my family eats like Jethro Bodine. KFC has PREDETERMINED that a serving size is 2 pcs. If you eat more than that, you need to buy more chicken.
We as cake decorators have determined that a serving size is 1x2x4. If you cut them bigger than that, you need to buy more cake.
It's really that simple.
Indy, your family eats like mine!!
I had a customer order a cake to feed 15 people, so I made a tiered cake; 6" and 8". She looked at the cake and said, "is this gonna be enough?"
My hubby was like, "is she serious?? How big does she want the dang slices??"
I love the KFC analogy! It makes perfect sense! I have heard of some people having styrofoam pieces cut to show what a serving piece will look like so the customer can determine if they would like more cake.
I will include the Wilton cake cutting diagram for a large round like 12" and up, printed on a label and stuck to the box! This way they have a handy guide when they are serving!
I
pinklesley, I think your attitude was a little uncalled-for there. It's true that many people do not know what measurements are unless they can see them, but it's equally true that wedding-sized servings and birthday-sized servings are usually pretty different. I don't care what a serving chart says, I don't think a tiny stick of cake is a "serving," so I agree that I don't think an 8" and a 6" will serve 36.
Maybe you should make some little styrofoam blocks to use as reference. "This is a serving. If you want more cake than this in a serving, you'll have to order more cake overall."
If I were eating a 6-inch cake for a party of my own or whatever, I would only count like 4 pieces or 5 at the most. I'm not fat at all, either!
I agree with Indydebi that letting people know the serving size up front is a good idea. Some people just like to eat bigger pieces. You could get a totally physically fit person who's saved up all their extra calories for the week to eat a big piece of cake. I do that. If I know there is something I want to eat really bad, I kind of save up my calories so I can really chow it!
How many people on this board truly cut cake according to the serving charts before they started selling them.
I sell cakes and till this very day would never serve such small pieces at home. The slice on the cake box and what people are use to getting in resturants are no where near the sixes on the charts.
It's common knowledge that most people aren't aware of the standard serving size. So everyone could save themeselves a ton of aggrevation and confusion if they just informed the customer when the place the order.
When I found out that a pint of ice cream was suppose to serve 4 people intead if 1 I almost died 
pinklesley, I think your attitude was a little uncalled-for there. It's true that many people do not know what measurements are unless they can see them, but it's equally true that wedding-sized servings and birthday-sized servings are usually pretty different. I don't care what a serving chart says, I don't think a tiny stick of cake is a "serving," so I agree that I don't think an 8" and a 6" will serve 36.
Maybe you should make some little styrofoam blocks to use as reference. "This is a serving. If you want more cake than this in a serving, you'll have to order more cake overall."
Varika,
In that case, you'd need to order larger cakes like indydebi suggested because a 6" and 8" serve 36.
I just went through this with a customer Tuesday and pointed out the difference between the "industry standard size" and how she might cut the cake. I gave her an option for "industry standard size" and party size. She was none to happy to have to get the bigger cake because she was on a budget... then serve wedding slices! 
mcelromi1,
People "know" what wedding sized slices are... they just want to serve bigger slices. The lady above said she wanted to serve "bigger slices than those little pieces you get at wedding".
OP, I've been telling people for a couple of months the number of "party" vs "wedding" servings. I got a chart with realistic servings for both types from here. PM me if you want it.
also check out Earlene Moore's website. She has created her own charts for the simple reason that everyone is talking about here. Wilton "standard" servings are not usually what gets sliced!
http://www.earlenescakes.com/ckserchart.htm
Varika,
In that case, you'd need to order larger cakes like indydebi suggested because a 6" and 8" serve 36.
I just went through this with a customer Tuesday and pointed out the difference between the "industry standard size" and how she might cut the cake. I gave her an option for "industry standard size" and party size. She was none to happy to have to get the bigger cake because she was on a budget... then serve wedding slices!
Yeah, when I went to get the cake for my birthday party last year, the baker we went with showed me the sizes and told me that these things would feed this many people. I kind of went, "....no, no, they won't. Not the people I know. We'll go with these sizes that I like here, and I don't object to leftovers. Just let us have a couple of nice big cake boxes."
I think that the problem is that people don't have a visual of what a 6" or 8" cake is, and they're kind of smaller than you imagine when people just say it, which is why I suggested the styrofoam visuals of what constitutes a "serving." (The food industry is really crazy that way; I'm sorry, there's NO WAY three potato chips is a "serving" in the real world, whatever that bag says to keep their calorie count down...)
...also, I was objecting to the "fatso" comment mostly, to clarify that. That's the part I felt was uncalled-for.
So I think that the bottom line is we know that most of us don't cut cakes according to charts ( I know I don't!!)and I have to get more chicken for my family too.!! LOL. But as I always say..I would rather throw a little cake away then not have enough for everybody.
oh heck, mary, one night my 15 year old and I were craving cake. Grabbed a cake mix out of the cabinet, baked it in a single layer 10" round pan, took it out of the oven, grabbed two forks and dug in!
So .... how many servings does a 10" round single layer yield at our house?
Two. Just two. 
The wedding serving size was realistic when we American's weren't so overweight as a nation. I just saw on tv yesterday that by 2030 ALL of America will be overweight. Myabe we should get back to the smaller servings (Note: I'm saying this as I'm eating a big plate of pasta with homemade - superfattening - alfredo sauce 
)
For the record, I'm technically overweight along with the rest of America.
I agree that having a dummy 6" and 8" on hand is a good idea.
oh heck, mary, one night my 15 year old and I were craving cake. Grabbed a cake mix out of the cabinet, baked it in a single layer 10" round pan, took it out of the oven, grabbed two forks and dug in!
So .... how many servings does a 10" round single layer yield at our house?
Two. Just two.
In all seriousness, I'm so glad you posted this....I just made a (heck I don't know 6 or 7 ) inch one layer WASC cake....and ate like half of it...I'm having such a horrible day. 
This made me feel better.
The wedding serving size was realistic when we American's weren't so overweight as a nation.
I remember as a kid, that when we went out to eat, a regular meal was a hamburger, french fries and a coke..... and what we got then as a regular meal is now sold as the kid's meal!
In the quest for "bigger is better" (which I think is a buncha crap!), look where we've come!
I have actually never had a problem using the Wilton "wedding" serving chart when I make cakes for a family members birthday. We always have 12 or 14 of us there and I always make either a 6" or a 7" round. The cakes are 4" tall and to me, it's the perfect size, not to big, not to small. We always serve cake with ice cream though so I'm sure that helps. I think the slices you get at restaurants are huge... we always share. As long as people know how big the slices are they should be able to decide if they need more cake or not.
by 2030 ALL of America will be overweight
Yay, so our supermodels will look like me???!!! Yes!!
Anywho, when I got married I ordered a larger cake than necessary (my loving MIL wondered why), but I knew I wanted enough to give everyone enough, seconds if they wanted plus I wanted leftovers for days after that (heck, I got married, I didn't need to watch my figure anymore 
!!)
...when we American's weren't so overweight as a nation. I just saw on tv yesterday that by 2030 ALL of America will be overweight...
So I guess we should all move to Europe or the Figis or something.
I have actually never had a problem using the Wilton "wedding" serving chart when I make cakes for a family members birthday.
Ditto here. Just out of habit, I cut all cakes this size and trust me, I'm watching the reactions of the guests to see what they think. For kids, it's a perfect size. For the adults, they are happy with it .... if they want more, they are welcome to it.
I've gone baking 6" cakes for the family or one 8 inch square splitting it and turning it into a two layer 4" by 8" cake. The full two layer 9" or 8" square is just too much cake. I guess the over 55 crowd just doesn't scarf up cake like they used too. I've gone to Indydebi method of leveling so my cakes are tall so you get 8 or more generous servings out of either one.
Indydebi, you are hysterical. My husband and I are laughing so hard right now about the KFC bit!!!! I actually have tears in my eyes!
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