I have had my 3rd request recenlty for a 3 tier topsy turvy to serve like 15 to 30 people. I have been telling people who want the 3 tiers look that it serves more like 100 peope because I normally do a 6/9/12 inch as the smallest TT I do. I've only ever tried once before to do a 4/6/8 TT and it did not turn out well. Does anyone have a minimum or smallest size they do for TT cakes? I had to laugh today at a custmoer who wanted a 3 tier specifically "to only serve 15"!! I just haven't figured out how to make mini TTs. LOL! I have been telling them so far if they want it to feed a small number to get a 2 tier or to just plan on having a lot of extra cake.

I haven't done a three tier mini topsy turvy but I do tons of two tier 4"/6" ones (I think there's one in my photos with cupcakes around it). I love doing little baby whimsies. I would think a 4"/6"/8" would be fine? What was wrong with the one you did?

Could you go smaller by using a cupcake size for the top tier? That would make the top tier about 2" size. I want to do a topsy turvey, but my taste testers/design critiquers (don't know if that's a word) are my co-workers - and we are a small group. The 4/6/8 is too much cake for us.

The smallest top tier I will do is 5". so a 5-7-9 would be the smallest three tier I would be willing to do so... 50 servings. 4" is too small since it woudl taper down to 2" at the base and it's just not stable enough at 6" tall. Maybe you could do a true mini version though and make the tiers 4" rather than 6"? Then you could make it smaller and keep it stable. I would tell people who want a TT cake for 15 people that they can settle for a single tier or order the extra cake. I like two tiered TT's too... you could do a 5-7 and get 20-ish servings.

Thanks everyone! Yes, I tried a 4/6/8 once and it didn't fall, but it sure acted like it wanted to. I was very nervous about it. It was for a friend and I transported it myself and watched it through the party. I had done it for free and had told them it was an experiment, but if it was for a paying customer, I would have been too nervous to send it out the door. So after that, I haven't felt comfortable doing anything other than a 6 inch top tier.

FromScratch, I ended up telling this customer kind of the same thing you mentioned about doing a 1 tier or a 2 tier, but she was set on a 3 tier to get those angles and make a big presentation. At the end of the conversation, I politely just said she has 2 choices then, order enough cake for the people she is serving or ordering a large presentation cake and sending people home wiht a lot of extra cake! She said she'd "think about it and call me back." Haven't heard from her yet, but we'll see.