What Size Tiers Do I Need To Make?

Decorating By msulli10 Updated 22 Aug 2009 , 1:39am by msulli10

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msulli10 Posted 21 Aug 2009 , 7:05pm
post #1 of 11

I need to make a 3 tiered birthday cake to feed approx. 75 people. All my cakes are 4"in high. Is 12in, 10in, 8in too much. Should I do 10in, 8in, 6in? I'm a bit confused since the serving guides seem to vary a bit.
Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

10 replies
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mcdonald Posted 21 Aug 2009 , 7:16pm
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http://cakecentral.com/articles/74/cake-baking-cutting-serving-guide-2-in-deep-pans

this is the chart I always use.

I don't know if you are using square, round, etc.. this should help though

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__Jamie__ Posted 21 Aug 2009 , 7:25pm
post #3 of 11

6, 8, 10, you're right!

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prterrell Posted 21 Aug 2009 , 7:29pm
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With 3"x1"x4" size servings, a 6-9-12 will serve 67 and a 6-10-14 will serve 86 (this is for round cake, counting the servings in all 3 tiers). Personally, I won't do tiered cakes with less than 3" diameter difference between the tiers as less than 1.5" around the top of the cake looks odd to me and leave very little room for decoration. If you are comfortable with only having the 1" space, then an 8-10-12 will be sufficient cake, giving 79 3"x1"x4" servings.

HTH!

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msulli10 Posted 21 Aug 2009 , 7:46pm
post #5 of 11

Thanks for your responses, but I think I'm even more confused icon_smile.gif
According to the chart that mcdonald uses, 6, 8 ,10 pans would yield 74 servings.
If I go with prterrel's suggestion of 6,9,12 it would yield 100 servings.
However, if I use Wilton's chart, the smaller set of pans would give me 60 servings and the larger combination would give me 76.
That's quite a difference according to which chart you use! pterrel which chart do you use?

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kakeladi Posted 21 Aug 2009 , 7:46pm
post #6 of 11

It is not always possible to come up with exactly the # of servings wanted. A 3x1x4 slice is really bigicon_smile.gif I stick to the 1x2x4 serving. If they want to serve larger pieces then let them order more cake.

I agree w/prterrell about not doing 6,8,10 - it just does not look right to me; makes the cake top heavy for delivering and does not give much room for decorations.
6, 9 12 is what I would suggest........but make sure you charge for *all* 88 servings (not including the top tier) 105 if you include it.

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LaBellaFlor Posted 21 Aug 2009 , 7:52pm
post #7 of 11

If they only need 75 servings and you decide to make 6,9,12 cause you think it looks better, but has a lot more servings then they asked for, and you charge them for the extra, thats just wrong. I would explain it to the client and leave it up to them if they want to pay more for cake they're not asking for. 6,8,10 looks quite nice when done right.

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__Jamie__ Posted 21 Aug 2009 , 7:53pm
post #8 of 11

I do 6 8 10's allllll the time and they look fine. I can see needing a bigger ledge for some things, sure.

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msulli10 Posted 21 Aug 2009 , 7:58pm
post #9 of 11

I would not charge more if I decided to do a larger cake. I already gave a price and I will stick to it. I just don't want to deliver this huge cake. I really want to stick with the 6,8,10 since I don't really need the extra ledge space for decorations. I just don't want to skimp on the servings. This cake is for a child's 1st birthday party. I think just the sight of a 3 tiered cake will be fairly impressive and most people have a small piece of cake, but you never know......

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indydebi Posted 22 Aug 2009 , 1:34am
post #10 of 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by __Jamie__

I do 6 8 10's allllll the time and they look fine. I can see needing a bigger ledge for some things, sure.




Totally agree.

As far as the extra servings ..... you wouldn't just make extra and charge them extra. This would be something you talk about ahead of time. "Do you want just enough, 74 servings, or do you want to order a little extra?"

If it's for a child's birthday, then the 1x2x4's are PLENTY of cake. I watch the serving sizes at all of the family events, and especially at my grandchildren's birthday parties, this is plenty of cake for a child. The adults are very happy with the size, also. Cake is not a meal.

Insert KFC analogy here. If they want more chicken, uh, I mean bigger pieces of cake, then they need to order and pay for more cake.

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msulli10 Posted 22 Aug 2009 , 1:39am
post #11 of 11

All of you have helped me make my decision. I am going with the 6, 8, 10 sized pans. Even though the customer did not ask me for this, I will make cupcakes with the extra batter (if I have any) and send them along with the cake.
Thanks again.

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