I have 2 different charts for serving size they are so different! I usally make way more than I am paid for but since I am in "business" now I need to get a better handle on this. One chart I have says an 6 inch cake will feed 8 and the other says 12 and for the 8 inch one says 15 and the other 24 that is a big difference. I belive one is wiltons and one is erlenes.

So what size cakes would you make for a 30 serving cake! Normally I would do a 8 and 10 which is way more than they are paying for. Thanks

I use the Wilton wedding chart for every cake I do.

Is your cake 2" high or 4"? This could be part of the discrepancy.

http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-wedding-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm

I use the above charge for serving amounts and for pricing.

If you are looking for tiered cakes then I'd say a 6in (12 servings) and an 8in (24 servings) would give you 36 servings. (Remember they pay for teh 36 servings they get not just the 30 they ask for.)

If you do a 8 and 10 then they would need to be paying for 62 servings. Which is twice as much cake as they want, and if you just charge for the 30 they asked for you just gave them 32 servings or half a cake for free.

Which if your serving price is $2 you cheated yourself out of $64 dallors. If your serving price is $2.5 then you lost $80. If your serving price is $3 then you paid them $96 dallors to let you do there cake.

My cake tiers are 4 inches high.

Wilton's chart is industry standard. Earlene's has larger servings, which really just means you're making less money for the same amount of effort.

I use wilton wedding for all cakes (4" tall cakes).

Key to correct pricing is pick ONE serving chart and stick with it. They can cut it in however many pieces they want but your pricing is based on this one chart.

I also used Wilton's.... DH once said to me... that seems like such a small piece of cake... r u sure that little cake can feed what u r stating?

I said... this is pretty much an industry standard.... now once they have the cake... they can cut it any way they want....

as said before... pick one... and stick with it... don't use one for X and another for Z... that's why u r getting things mixed up...

I use the Wilton (industry standard) size serving. I thought about using a larger slice but since almost everywhere a bride goes, this will be the serving size, I felt like it would be a waste of my money to make them larger pieces. If always explain just how large the slice is so they are aware of what they're getting. So if they feel like people need more cake they can order more. But I've come to realize that a 1x2x4 slice is really a pretty decent size slice of cake.

I use Wilton's serving chart for weddings because most of the time they will have someone there who knows how to slice the cake correctly. I use earlene's for birthdays, because most people are going to cut pie slices. I'm not saying my method is correct, this is just what works for me. In the case of a birthday, and the way people slice the cake... I would rather give up a few servings to have a satisfied customer.

I did the actual math, calculating surface area and volume for cakes and servings and for the most part, Wilton's is right on the nose with the number of 1x2x4 servings. To maximize your profits, this is the chart you should use.