When you tell a customer you price on 1"x2"x4" slices and your tiers end up 5" tall is that weird? When YOU bake with 2" deep pans how tall are your finished tiers? I don't put that much filling in. At least it isn't squishing out. 5" tiers makes a really tall cut for a piece of cake. It's hard to put on a plate I think.

I dunno...my tiers never end up 5 inches. I bake my cakes in 2 inch pans and after I level, torte and frost, they are about 4 inches in height. 5 inches would mean I used a ton of frosting I would think. I don't know how palitable that would be or how a 5 inch cake woould be to work with...I am sure it can be managed but probably not too much fun. I guess to each it's own!

If your cake is truly 4" tall then you add filling (say 1/4" at least), 2 cardboards on the bottom (1/4"), and icing on the top (1/4")... well then yes you are already up to 4.75". If you want to add all those extra things and get a perfect 4" finished cake, you will have to trim the cake a bit.

same here...even though I bake in a 2 inch pan, once I level it its rarely still 2 inches. (maybe closer to 1 7/8s?) Even if I torte both layers and fill them, its maybe a little over 4 inches..

I bake in 2 inch pans.. my cake bakes over the pan a little .. I level the cakes while in the pan.. add fillings... add the top layer of cake then ice...well my cake is almost 5 " also LOL and I don't have TOOOOO much icing in the middle or the top.. I think it is just everything put together makes it higher

I often get cakes that tall.. I don't trim. I usually try to balance it with the height of another tier. Stylisitically, it works.