I made a 12 x 18 sheet cake and it is 2 layers and stands a little over 2-1/2" high. For wedding servings, would this size still provide 98 servings?
if it was wedding servings it would be 4" high. I would still consider this a sheet cake with 54 servings.
Standard for wedding is 4"-6" high. 3" is kind of a minimum, but I don't know anyone who makes a wedding cake that low.
You are in sheetcake territory.
In order to get 108 servings from a 12x18 sheet cake, you must make a 12x18x4 LAYER cake (two 2" layers, filled & frosted). The slices will be 1x2x4 and will look like the main wedding cake except for the decorations (there will be none).
If you wish to serve 2x2x2 slices, you will need to make two 12x18x2's but everyone who gets a slice of this will know they didn't get a piece of the "real" wedding cake....
Doug does the math for wedding sheet cakes:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-591535-.html
Everything you need to know to make, decorate and assemble tiered/stacked/wedding cakes:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-605188-.html
Above superthread contains popular CC recipes for crusting American buttercreams, several types of fondant and doctored cake mix (WASC with other flavor variations) - and so much more!
HTH
I'm glad I asked! I don't even really need as many servings from the 12 x 18 but I like to provide extra. It is for a wedding of 165. I am doing a square tiered 10" 8" and a 6" that is not accounted for for servings as the bride will take this home. THe sheet cake I'm making for the bride to save her money to provide the extra servings. I can make another layer and incorporate that into the cake I already made to get the 4" height, it shouldn't be a problem. THanks for your input everyone.
I don't even really need as many servings from the 12 x 18 but I like to provide extra.
From what I've learned from Indydebi, never do 100% of the guests show up even though they've RSVP'd saying they'll be there. So if the bride ordered 165 servings for 165 guests she's already paying for "extra" cake.
And do you really want to become known for providing "extra" cake at no charge.... Could see this becoming a marketing nightmare.
THe sheet cake I'm making for the bride to save her money to provide the extra servings.
Most CC members charge the same price per slice no matter what shape the cake is, or what the occasion since making a separate sheet cake is more work than making a larger tier. (And who decides who gets a slice of real 4" wedding cake and who gets a slice of not special 2" back-up cake.)
Some members do offer kitchen cakes which look exactly like the wedding cake (same number of layers and fillings) in a rectangular shape minus the decorations for slightly less per serving.
As the cake decorator, you can't allow yourself to be caught up in the hype generated by bridal magazines on how to get your wedding cake cheaper. One of the biggest myths is that sheet cakes cost less. Don't know how that's going to happen since cake/frosting ingredients don't cost less because of the shape of finished product.
Just trying to offer some (hopefully) helpful advice so that you don't shortchange yourself now and set a precedent of providing free cake that costs you in the future.
HTH
....since making a separate sheet cake is more work than making a larger tier.
Yep! I can make a 3-tier cake for 150 people by using a 8/12/14 cake. That's 6 cake pans that need filled and washed and 3 tiers that need iced and decorated.
But a bride wants a 3-tier to serve 100 plus a sheet cake for 50. I now have 6 round pans PLUS the sheet pan to fill and wash. I now hae 3 tiers PLUS a sheet cake that needs iced and decorated. I now have to use 2-3 extra sheet boards PLUS another box PLUS it takes up more room in the van (when you have multiple weddings to deliver PLUS some caterings going on, space in the van *IS* an issue) ......
She has just caused me extra work and she wants it cheaper WHY ......???? 
I'm doing my part to kill that rumor. I don't charge for the decoration of a cake ... it's all built in. So a plain sheet cake is the same cost as a plain 3-tier cake. I'm not taking less money for more work.
You ladies are so right. I guess because I'm so new at the business part of caking I am constantly short changing myself. THe sheet cake is actually Macsmom recipe (very delicious) for the red velvet cake. It is actually a gourmet flavour cake and definitely cost me more to make than the tiered cake is going to cost. It uses 3 cake mixes, flavoured coffee creamers, everything but the kitchen sink. I was looking at my sheet cake thinking, this must be bigger than 2-1/2 inches and so I used a tape measure and sure enough it measured over 3 inches... at 1130 pm last night I convinced myself it wasn't big enough. I will refer back to this thread when devising my business plan which I don't really have. I'd be embarrased to tell you how much I charged for these cakes...
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