When you look at the cake serving guides that tell you how many servings you will get from a cake, it says: ie: Round 6" x 2" (OK height of pan), 2 layers or 6" x 3", 1 layer. Why does the deeper pan only get one layer? I tort mine to make 3 or 4 layers of cake in a 3" deep pan. Wouldn't the slices be smaller because you are getting more cake with the 3" cake, thus yielding more servings? I feel like I'm going to have a "Duh" moment when someone graciously answers this ridiculous question. I just can't seem to get past it. I need to make a graduation cake for a friend's son, and it must feed 120, and she doesn't want a sheet cake. Thanks so much.

The footprint of each slice is the same, regardless of height. For example, if you cut a sheet cake into 100 squares that are 2" x 2" in size, that cake is still going to yield 100 cuts whether each slice is 3" tall or 6" tall.

When reading serving charts, it is expected that a cake baked in a 3" deep pan will be torted at least once.

Hope that helps!

The way I have seen it, when baking in 2" rounds, you will tend to use two layers (cakes). This may mean that you just stack those two cake layers with one layer of filling, or you might torte the two layers, making four 1" tall layers and three layers of filling.

When you use a 3" pan, unless you want a really tall (6") cake tier, you will tend to only use one cake. it is pretty common to torte it one or more times, for example, to make 3 1" layers. You're still using only ONE 3" layer, you're just torting it into thinner layers and adding filling.

At least that's what I have thought it meant.

Both of you are exactly right. The amount of the total cake would be either 3 inches of cake or 4 inches of cake, then torted as much or as little as you desire. The servings would therefore be different. The footprint would be a bit different as well. I believe the wilton charts do have the size for each height to get the servings as listed.

Great question!! I can never seem to 'get' those charts intuitively either!!

I think the charts are a bit of hogwash anyways. I know, I am about to be stoned, but they don't make a realistic chart in my book. The do not consider the dowels for support and the one chart I had says a 6 inch cake serves like 10 to 12. I cut one tonight and got a comfortable 8 out of it but that was a bit tight. I can only imagine what it is like on the larger cakes with several tiers requiring lots of dowels (as a cake with no doweling).

No stones coming from my direction........I agree with you 100%. The dowels (especially the sps and wilton plastic pillars) take a pretty big hole out of the cake, so when you're using 4 per tier, in my opinion that's 4 slices that are compromised.

LOL...........I have a little great niece (is that the correct term for my niece's daughter? ) oh well, anyway..........she loves to eat the cake out of the pillars, she sticks her little fingers in as far as they'll go and scoops out the cake.

dkelly, my kids think they are straws and try sucking the cake out or using them like blow darts! I use the sps because it does only use the 4 dowels per cake where before I was using lots of straws. The bakery swore that sps would never hold up but straws from the dollar store are great! Thank you for not stoning me

Thanks, guys. I appreciate it, although I still think either the charts are confusing and inaccurate or I just can't seem to reconcile my servings to theirs.

I have made the cakes and then marked them for my own serving charts. I then served friends and family the cakes in the size "I" saw fit. I kept in mind the dowels and any support and the like. Still working on it. I also do not understand the difference between wedding and party servings. A wedding is a party on a grand scale. At our birthday parties, we bbq and serve as much as you would at a wedding. A punch and cake reception, are you supposed to serve a larger portion? IDK, but they usually seem to be women at those that always ask for a smaller piece please. I think if you justify your serving for you, your clients will be happy. This same reasoning makes my question the pricing is done by the serving. I know how much each cake serves and therefore, a 10 inch cake costs X amount in the decoration you selected. I'm not in business yet, but even at the bakery I worked at, this was a lot easier for the muggles to understand.