I do use the wilton chart and it has not failed me yet. I wouldnt mind another one though.
I'm betting the 54 serving chart is for "party" servings on a 2-layer cake. I know the 35 servings is for the industry standard 2x2x2 on a single layer cake.
On a rectangle cake, it's easy to do the math to figure servings.
11x15, when cut in 2" by 2" pieces, means the cake will be cut in approx 5 rows (11 divided by 2 = approx 5 rows) by 7 columns (15" divided by 2" = approx 7 columns). 5x7=35 servings.
If you were going to cut them 2x3x2" for example, then the 11x15 would be cut in 5 rows by 5 columns = 25 servings.
if you can get 2 different servings from a single cake, how do you price it out?
You pick one chart and stick to it. Example: A 10" cake serves 38 per the wilton wedding chart, which is what I go by to determine pricing. I like to work in round numbers, so 35 x my per-serving-rate = cost of cake. I tell customer, "This cake serves 25-35, depending on how you cut it. The price is $xx.xx."
My 11x15, single layer, serves 35. I tell the customer, "This cake serves 25-35, depending on how you cut it. The price is $xx.xx."
*IF* you choose to have party pricing and wedding price (I, and a number of other CC'ers, strongly advise against it), then it just becomes semantics.
A 2-layer cake, industry standard piece for a wedding is 1x2x4 = 8 cubic inches. If you go by party serving, 1.5x2x4 = 12 cubic inches. The party serving is 50% more cake per serving, ergo the price should be 50% higher per serving.
6" square, cut in 1x2x4 = 18 servings (6 rows by 3 columns) x $3/serving = $54.
6" square, cut in 1.5x2x4 = 12 servings (4 rows by 3 columns) x $4.50/serving ($3 + 50% more) = $54
It's all the same price per cake. YOu're just letting the customer know the range of servings they can get. But you PRICE by the maximum number of servings the cake is DESIGNED to serve.
Some people would cut a 6" square into 4 pieces, but that has nothing to do with how you price it.
Here's a couple of charts to get you started:
Earline's tend to allocate larger pieces: http://www.earlenescakes.com/ckserchart.htm
Wilton's is the industry standard, 1x2x4: http://www.wilton.com/wedding/wedding-cakes/wedding-cake-data.cfm
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