Does the cake size - 6", 8", etc include the frosting or is it just the cake? 

AJust the cake size

Thanks, I know it was a dumb question, but I've got pans that are 7 1/2" measured from the bottom and 8 1/2" from the top.  With the frosting it would be about 9"...  So I was left wondering, "What size cake is this?".

You might want to save up your pennies to buy cake pans that have straight sides. Then it's much easier to make a cake with straight sides. My favorites are Magic Line, but they are not cheap.

 

And it wasn't a dumb question.

I'm not sure I understand the question. Maybe this will help...or not.   A 6 in cake pan is 6 in, but after the cake cools, it shrinks. You put it on a 6 in cake board which is slightly larger than the cake at this point and then when you ice it, the cake will be 6 in again. Some people might add more icing (or fondant) and it will be a little bigger.

AThe cake shrinkage thing is a whole other issue I don't know how to account for! I do have a couple of sets of straight sided pans that are 5 1/2" and 9" so that seems straight forward enough, but usually when people talk about cakes they are in even numbers - 6, 8, 10. So that made me wonder if that was including the frosting. I assume they make slope sided pans just for ease of storage and cake removal. Thanks all for trying to help clarify for me.

6, 8, 10, 12 are common sizes, but I also have 9-inch straight-side pans. I kind of like 6, 9, 12. A little squat but lots of room to put thingies on tops of the tiers.

A

Isn't it though? I can't believe how huge and vast a 6" tier looks. I know I'm crazy, but it just seems so gigantic. I almost always top a tiered cake cake with a 4", so maybe that's why. I'm sure if I never used those pans, a six inch would be perfectly normal looking.