Can someone please help me out! I am new at the whole cake decorating thing and I just got my first two cake orders. I am kind of lost for cake serving amounts. I have looked at wilton and other sites and just think it would be better if I got some other opinions on servings. I need to make a sheet cake 2 inches tall for 30 people, so what size would I use? 11 X 15 or 12 X 18? Also for my second cake I need to make a snowman cake for 45 people, so what size round pans would I use?

Hi there Jessica!

Standard serving size for a single-layer sheet cake is 2x2, or 8 square inches of cake. An 11x15 pan serves 35 when cut in this manner, so a double layer would be 70 servings cut in the 1x4x2 standard.

A 12x18 single layer serves 54, so if you did a double layer, you would yield 108 servings.

You should look at the available serving charts in the industry and pick one to use as your standard. Here are a couple:

Wilton's (most common):
http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-wedding-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm

Earlene's (larger portions):
http://earlenescakes.com/ckserchart.htm