There are so many different ideas, charts, websites, etc. as to how many servings a particular size will serve. I made a 2-tier cake for a friend this week and I'm asking her to tell me exactly how many it feeds so I can keep that as MY reference, but for now - I just got an order for a cake for a school function; a tiered cake for 50-75. Help? I like tall cakes so for instance an 8-inch cake, I bake 2 pans and stack them both with one layer of filling between the two.

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

This is the chart I use for everything. It is based off of 1X2X4 pieces.

This is one I've looked at too, but that seems like such a tiny piece of cake. Maybe not for wedding cakes, but how about birthday cakes? Thanks!

There is a party cake cutting guide & wedding cake cutting guide on Wilton's site. Though the pieces may seem small, trust me, its the best way to slice up a cake.
Most cake muggles just hack in and have no idea how to cut a cake properly. Everyone ends up with whacked out slices, some with more icing than others, some with more cake Drives me batty!!!
ITS CAKE MURDER, I tell'ya.......
It's better to have the right size cake to the amount of servings needed. So if you need 50-75 servings (that is a big difference though, like a whole cake difference) I would aim at 75 servings than 50.

Your better off following a guide or if your not cutting the cake, supply a guide for them. I do that with my cakes.

I'm looking at the party cake guide on Wilton - but it doesn't show how big the pans are. Am I not looking at the right thing?

here's what I'm thinking.... 6", 8", and 9" tiers.

6"= 12 servings
8" = 24 servings
9" = 32 servings according to wilton wedding cakes
= 68 servings

Sigh..... Sometimes I think I dont know what I'm doing.

Thanks for the link indydebi. I have been struggling for a while on what is a true serving as Wilton just seems unreal and never could get that number. Then again, I have never cut a cake like your link suggests.
At my nieces wedding I cut them to about these sizes as it was square and I had a comment from a cousin that asked if I was putting them all on a diet. He suggested they were too small. I think or KNOW that the general public has a much bigger picture of what a slice should be. But then again, the slice served at a restaurant is bigger. Also, sizes of ALL foods are way too much as we know. This seems large enough to me. Like the idea of a cut piece of wood or styrofoam to show the size.

Here is a chart I recently discovered here on CC and it actually shows the number of pieces in each size cake and a good visual on how to cut, she also has charts for square and rectangle. This is using indy's cutting method. There is probably a better way to link to it but I am not very computer savvy. http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1300478

I'm supposed to make a baby shower cake for my friend's daughter this weekend and they're expecting between 40 and 45 people. According to the charts that have been posted, I should make either a 10" tier cut into wedding cake-size servings, or a 12" and 10" cut into party-size servings. Hmmm . . . .

I was originally going to go with 10" and 6" rounds but that probably won't be enough, will it?

Pianodiva,

I recently made a bridal shower cake with a 6" top and 10" bottom for 45 people and cut it according to Indydebi's instructions and they didn't even touch the 6" tier.

It is very important to ask if the cake will be the only dessert because more of it will be eaten in that case. I made another cake 7" top and 10" bottom for a bday party for 45 people and it was the only dessert and there were still leftovers. As long as Indydebi's instructions are followed, you'll have plenty with a 6" and a 10", IMO.

Thanks, Tsal. I'll make the 10" and 6" rounds--chocolate with strawberry filling on the bottom, white with strawberry filling on the top. I'll cut them according to Indydebi's chart for the guests and cut a BIG piece for myself!

Will attempt to post a pic of the cake when I finish it on Saturday.

A[quote name="denetteb" url="/t/702023/how-many-servings-i-know-again#post_7014205"]Here is a chart I recently discovered here on CC and it actually shows the number of pieces in each size cake and a good visual on how to cut, she also has charts for square and rectangle. This is using indy's cutting method. There is probably a better way to link to it but I am not very computer savvy. [URL=http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1300478]http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1300478[/URL][/quote]

Thanks for sharing this link. I will be making my first wedding cake this summer and I wasn't sure on the size of cakes I needed to make in order to have enough servings. I have it all figured out now :)

All these threads about serving sizes make my head spin.  I rarely do wedding cakes, and this is partly the reason.  I feel bad charging a bride the same price for a wedding size piece of cake, as I do for a party size piece for a birthday customer.

Anybody else have this issue??  I can't in good conscience, use the Wilton wedding cake chart for birthday cake portions.  Maybe if they were cutting pieces for small children, but adults definitely expect a bigger piece.

*pulling hair out*

Just use the wedding servings for all your cakes.  Keep it simple.  It really doesn't matter what the occasion is, the wedding serving is fine.  Even at birthday parties, showers, etc there are other foods and snacks.  I brought a 9 inch cake to a college class.  Wedding servings are 32.  There were a dozen people there that had cake, each had one, some had two.  There was no other food or beverages for these college kids. I cut 1 by  2 inch slices  with Indydebi's cutting method.  I took half home.  So it worked out pretty accurate even with no other food.  The big thing to keep in mind is that if the customer wants bigger or more slices they can just go up in size.  There is nothing to say that they have to limit themselves to the Wilton serving size, they can choose a larger cake.  The point is that you don't have to subsidize that some people want larger servings. 

AThe problem isn't the serving chart or size. If you feel that your party servings are bigger than the wedding servings and wish to be fair to the bride, price by cake tier. If for example an 8 inch round (20 servings party, 24 servings wedding) sells for $60 then charge the bride $60.

If you display pricing per serving then you'd have $3/serving for party cakes or $2.50/serving for weddings; both lead to the same price. Can get confusing, but that's what you get for using different serving charts so you might be better of to just stick with the price per tier and keep things simple.

The problem is, that a cake LOOKS like so many less servings than individual slices.

If someone wanted two dozen cupcakes, that would be for 24 people.  That same amount of batter makes ONE layer of 9 x 13.  A double layer 9 x 13 serves 48! Many people balk at that, but it is true.  It is the exact same amount of cake. 

I find the cupcake comparison works for people since it is such an accepted serving size.  If you can tell them how many cupcakes they would be getting, it is more understandable than a "serving".