Anybody have a better serving size chart than Wilton? 2" pieces are bigger than what I would expect people to cut, and 1" wedding size pieces are too small. Everybody seems to have a different formula for figuring this out and I am totally confused!
I'd like a chart based on 1.5" pieces. Anybody got a link????? 
I use Earlene's cake serving chart:
http://www.earlenescakes.com/ckserchart.htm
Multiply the width x length x height of the serving size you wish to have to find the volume of your serving. For example, 1.5 x 1.5 x 3 = 6.75
Multiply the width x length x height of square/rectangular shaped caks to find the volume of the entire cake. For example, 9 x 13 x 3 = 351
Divide your cake volume by the serving volume to determine the number of servings, rounding down any decimals. Using the figures from the examples above: 351/6.75 = 52 servings
Round cakes are a bit trickier. To find the volume of a round cake, take the diameter (that's the size of the cake from one side to another) and divide by 2 to find the radius. Multiply the radius by itself, then multiply by pi (that's 3.14), then multilply by the height of the cake (giving a formula of radius x radius x pi x height).
For a standard 8" round cake (I'm sticking with a height of 3 just to make things simpler in this example) that would look like this:
8/2 = 4 (so 4 is the radius)... 4 x 4 x 3.14 x 3 = 150.72
so, dividing our cake volume of 150.72 by our serving volume (from above) of 6.75 gives us:
150.72/6.75 = 22.328 since there is a partial serving (the .32
we round down and say 22 servings
Hope this helps!!!
I use Earlene's cake serving chart:
http://www.earlenescakes.com/ckserchart.htm
I looked at that online, but I never saw the measurements for each serving size. Is it a 1.5" piece?
Now this is confusing to me, lol. I wish I was able to figure it out better.
Thanks for this information. I am saving it for future use.
prterrell
All I can say is . . . 
Thanks for that formula - now I can figure out servings based on the size I want . . . my customers always want bigger than the 1" size. This formula will help me calculate my costs correctly too - customer's might get a bigger slice but they'll be paying more for it too.
And it's not 2" *OR* 1" .... it's 1x2x4. People hear "one inch" and tend to think "paper thin". It's not.
Here's pics of 1x2x4 pieces of cake. It's about the size of a folded over peanut butter sandwich.
http://www.cateritsimple.com/id10.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1156785
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/3856884667/
A serving chart is used to determine your pricing, and coincidentally, it CAN be a guideline to how many pieces you can get from a cake.
Campbell's soup has determined that a small can of soup will yield 2.5 servings. Not in my world it doesn't but that doesnt' mean that Campbell's is going to make me a bigger can or give it to me cheaper. If I want a larger serving, I have to buy more cans of soup .... or in cake world, I have to buy a bigger cake.
indydebi, thanks for reposting those pics. I was just thinking I needed a refresher on how you cut your cakes. I think that is a totally reasonably serving size.
Just came across this forum as I was searching to figure out what size cakes I need for a 3 tier to feed 125 people. I'm even more confused than I ever was. First, the formula given doesn't make sense to me because I thought height of cake doesn't affect serving size and therefore would be irrelevant in the calculation....which is another thing that confuses me because you would think that a 6 inch high (or taller) cake should make a difference. Also, I've looked at so many different charts and all having different counts. Wilton's chart is for 1.5x2 (with heights 3-6 inches not making a difference)...I didn't find a chart by Wilton for 1x2. I also was wondering for what size cake is Earlene's chart...and her numbers are odd to me as well. Since the last post last February, has anyone found a truly accurate chart? Maybe I just have to make a bunch of cakes and just start cutting and make my own chart ;P
First, the formula given doesn't make sense to me because I thought height of cake doesn't affect serving size and therefore would be irrelevant in the calculation....which is another thing that confuses me because you would think that a 6 inch high (or taller) cake should make a difference.
You are correct, the height doesn't matter on the charts because it's assumed that it will be cut through all layers and served hanging off a plate that's too small. If you're separating a 6" tall cake with a cardboard in the middle at 3", then it would serve double (just 3" tall servings, of course).
I didn't find a chart by Wilton for 1x2.
Here is the 1x2x4 chart:
http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-wedding-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm
The industry standard is 8 cu. in., so one-layer cakes are cut 2x2x2 and two-layer cakes are cut 1x2x4. HTH.
But I found Wilton's to not always be accurate even when cutting them to 1*2*4 (which I'm a firm believer in that size cake - that's all anyone needs!).
I finally got tired of it all and measure each pan myself. I turned it upside down, used a marker and tape measure and figured it out.
Ok, so is there a guide to cut cakes using the Wilton portions? I've always seen the serving sizes chart, but never a guide to actually cut the cake. I know there are some to cut around the outside all the way around first, but I prefer to cut straight across. What does everyone else do, and what is easiest?
Thanks,
Karen
Ok, so is there a guide to cut cakes using the Wilton portions? I've always seen the serving sizes chart, but never a guide to actually cut the cake. I know there are some to cut around the outside all the way around first, but I prefer to cut straight across. What does everyone else do, and what is easiest?
Thanks,
Karen
IndyDebi is the Queen of the cutting/serving guides. The link to her "how to" is in her signature:
http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/cake%20comb
Cutting ALL cakes in a rectangular grid is far simpler than the circle/pie cuts on the Wilton site and yields the same or more servings.
HTH
Kristy
Ok, so is there a guide to cut cakes using the Wilton portions? I've always seen the serving sizes chart, but never a guide to actually cut the cake. I know there are some to cut around the outside all the way around first, but I prefer to cut straight across. What does everyone else do, and what is easiest?
Thanks,
Karen
this one is for wedding cake cutting
http://www.wilton.com/cakes/cake-cutting-guides/wedding-cake-cutting-guide.cfm
This one is for party or sheet cakes
http://www.wilton.com/cakes/cake-cutting-guides/party-cake-cutting-guide.cfm
both from wilton hope this help
I have another with instructions but it won't let me attach a file & I can't remember which site I got it from.....
I used to think that Wilton's charts didn't yield enough cake either. So I experimented for a couple of months with others, Earlene's and a couple of others I found on-line.
I found that they yielded TOO much cake. I bake for friends/fam, so I wasn't concerned about giving away too much cake to a paying customer, but I did hear A LOT that there was a huge amount of cake left over.
I've since gone back to Wilton's charts lol .
But I found Wilton's to not always be accurate even when cutting them to 1*2*4 (which I'm a firm believer in that size cake - that's all anyone needs!).
I finally got tired of it all and measure each pan myself. I turned it upside down, used a marker and tape measure and figured it out.
Did you discover that your results show the servings actually yield more than the Wilton chart shows in most cases?
If everyone does the math using the formula, you'd find that the Wilton guide is fairly accurate and conservative...
Rounds:
6" = 14
7" = 19
8" = 25
9" = 32
10" = 39
12" = 57
14" = 77
16" = 100
18" = 127
here's a cake serving calculator. if you want to do it via Wilton's charts, go here:
http://shinymetalobjects.net/cake/calculator/cake_calculator.cgi
if you want it by volume, go here:
http://shinymetalobjects.net/cake/calculator/cake_calculator_byVolume.cgi
hurray for technology!
[quote="CWR41"]
If everyone does the math using the formula, you'd find that the Wilton guide is fairly accurate and conservative...
That's just it - it's way too conservative. When Wilton's chart I always have way too much cake left over and actually have customers ask me what are they supposed to do with all this cake.
Are you using the wilton wedding or the party chart?? The wedding is what I use. It's the perfect amount of cake.
I only use Erlene's guide, as posted earlier in this topic. It takes into account the "interior" pan dimensions, and is free to print from her website. She lists "wedding" dimensions (1x2) and party dimensions. 
Thanks for sharing Are you using the wilton wedding or the party chart?? The wedding is what I use. It's the perfect amount of cake.
But I found Wilton's to not always be accurate even when cutting them to 1*2*4 (which I'm a firm believer in that size cake - that's all anyone needs!).
I finally got tired of it all and measure each pan myself. I turned it upside down, used a marker and tape measure and figured it out.
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