I usually make 11X15 sheet cakes for things like baby showers (if they request a sheet cake that is) and I use 2 doctored cake mixes for that size pan. However, my cousin is concerned that it will not be enough for a baby shower with maybe 30 people...is she right? Am I being cake stingy?

I checked the cake guides and they show square, oval, round, petal, hex, etc etc....but not sheet cake sizes....have I just not found the right place to look?

I would definitely say that a 11 X 15 (1/2 sheet) cake would feed 30 people. I usually tell my customers that it will feed 30-40 people, depending on how big of a piece you want. For my family, we like bigger pieces and I still would make that size of cake for 30 people.

If she wants more cake, is she willing to pay for more? Or is this a gift to your cousin?

Do the math:

11x15 sheet: pieces cut in 2"x3" pieces = 5 columns by 5 rows = 25 pcs
11x15 sheet: pieces cut in 2"x2" pieces = 5 columns by 7 rows = 35 pcs

This is assuming a 1-layer cake. It all depends on how big you want the pieces to be.

well I dont charge much of anything for cakes.....I am doing this one (a clothesline cake with fondant accents) for $15........so I am thinking perhaps I should do a 12X18 just so she feels better.

Can you use only 2 mixes for a 12X18?

thanks for the responses (I meant to say that in the above post).......... I think I will just do a bigger cake...I would hate for her to run out.

you can use 2 mixes for 2 9 by 13's but you won't have the height. I would use 3 and split the 3rd one between the 2 pans.

Really, I would just use an 11 by 15 - should be plenty of cake for 30!

Good luck!

yeah I thought about that, but she wants half chocolate and half white, didnt want to have to use 4 mixes as then I probably wouldnt even cover my costs...........(not like i havent done that before).

You could make the 11x15, and do it half choc/half white, using only 2 mixes. If you do the 12x18, I use 3 boxes to fill the pan, and you would end up doing 2 & 2 to get a good height with choc/white.

Hope that makes sense.

I use 3 mixes for the 12x18 and when I do 1/2-n-1/2, I use 2 white and 1 chocolate. Chocolate rises higher (and spreads more in the pan) than white cake, so it ends up being almost 1/2 white and 1/2 chocolate. I've always done them this way and no one has said anything about it not being exactly 1/2-n-1/2.

indydebi.........I think that is what I am going to do.....glad to know someone else has already done that!

my son's 3rd birthday had about 20 people. I ordered a half sheet cake by *gasp* Walmart (hey, no one else had the "cars" toppers and a lot of the reason I wanted to learn to do it myself). I had more than half the cake left and ended up throwing a great deal of it out. I think 1/2 sheet would be fine.

You could also use the cake mix extender recipe from this site. Use it on each box and you should have plenty! For example, 1 cake mix using the extender recipe yields 3 9" rounds instead of just 2! PLUS...IT TASTES LIKE SCRATCH!!

recipe:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1977-Cake-Mix-extender.html

question how do you use the extender with chocolate cake....do you add cocco powder?

When I use the extender with Devils Food or Chocolate Cake I don't add any Cocoa Powder and it's still plenty chocolaty.

Make sure that if you do want to add Cocoa to make it stronger, don't use more than 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder or the cake will become dry.

good to know...thanks

What type (brand) of cake mixes do you use? Do you add anything additional to your mixes?