Hi all,

I need help. Somebody order me a cake for 120 people. they wanted the cake in diferent levels. each one in different stand.
first of all I have never done a cake that big. since they are sepereted, I guess that is really easy, because I do not need to stack the cake together. But I do not have the stands. What kind is stand do I have to get? Do I have to charge for the stand (like a renting price?) and a deposit as well for the stand?
Also which sizes should I go with?

Thanks for your help!

Biviana

Hi - This is just my opinion, but, if you were thinking of getting a stand, or if you thought you would get a lot of use out of a stand, then I'd say, go ahead and get the stand, but ABSOLUTELY charge a rental fee, PLUS a security deposit to make sure you get it back.

That being said... you shouldn't feel obligated to provide the stand for her cakes unless that was specifically part of the cake order. You can make them and she can do what she wants with them. She can rent her own stand or put together something to put the cakes on to make them different heights. That should really be up to her.

When I was first starting out, I didn't have a lot of display options for the cakes, but I made sure the customers knew what I had and didn't have. Your customer needs to understand that she's going to be responsible for the setup of the cake (unless you implied you were going to take care of it - in which case you might be investing in a new cake stand!)

A quick solution for the customer... she can use boxes, cans, bricks, miscellaneous other items of varying heights... put them on the table and then cover the whole thing with a tablecloth. Works good in a pinch and no one is out any extra money. Good luck!

Thanks for your help.
I already talk to her and we agreed that I am gonna buy the stand. I hope I can use it again and she will pay $60 for rental fee. that would help with the cost.

I wanted to ask if I deliver the cake with the stands, do I have to decorate the table as well? How that works?

also can anyone help me with the sizes of the cakes (pans) to get 120 servings? I usually do:
8 inch = 20 people
10 inch = 30 people
12 inch 40 people

14 inch how much people feed? which convination would work for 120 people? Thanks in advance for any help.

I'll make decorating suggestions to my customers, but I make it clear that the decorating AROUND the cake is their responsibility.

What stand are you buying? The stand may limit the size cakes you can do. Once you know what stand you'll be using, maybe we can offer a few other size suggestions.

Not sure what serving chart you use or how you determined your servings for the 8, 10 and 12" tiers. According to my chart, a 14" will serve between 50 and 77 depending on whether it's party servings or wedding servings. HTH

thanks j-pal,

Can I ask you which chart are you using? I do not use any. I started with 20 for a 8 inches and did the others deppending onthe batter that I use.
I have never baked a 14 inches. Do I need more that 1 flower nail, or is better to get a heating core ( I am not sure of the name of it).

Thanks again.

I use the Wilton chart for wedding servings. The math is right, and while it's technically difficult to cut them exactly, I've never had a cake run short. Plus, other charts that say the cake serves less, means you're getting paid less when it's a per-serving price.

For "party servings" I just estimate about 12-15 servings per "batch" or "mix". Since I use 2 mixes per 14" pan (4 total), that gives me at least 48 party servings - 60 on the high end.

I do 14" cakes all the time without anything in the middle. I've done them in the past with a flower nail, but I really haven't seen much difference in my bake-time for that size. I get a very moist cake, that's done all the way through without over-baking. That being said, it doesn't hurt to bake with the flower nail. I don't believe a cake core is necessary at all for this size. IMHO

here is a link to Earlene's serving chart... http://www.baking911.com/cakes/numberofservings_guide.htm