Square And Round Tier Cake

Decorating By rnoullet Updated 26 Aug 2011 , 4:43am by Cosima

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rnoullet Posted 24 Oct 2009 , 12:08pm
post #1 of 16

I have a bride that wants her tiers to alternate square round. I was looking over some photos and noticed that the sizes she has selected may not work. I am trying for a 14" square, 12" round, 10" square and 8" round. Will these not fit on top of each other?

15 replies
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indydebi Posted 24 Oct 2009 , 12:29pm
post #2 of 16

Measure your pans.

A 10" square is 10" from side to side, but it's like 14" from corner to corner. You'll have overhang on the 12" round. If she wants that configuration, she'll most likely need to go to a 16" square, 14" round, 10" square (and that might be tight).....

Get out your pans and stack them up to see what works. I usually find that brides who want a mixed cake like this end up buying more cake tan they need to get the look they want.

REmind her it's simply geometry on what will work or not.

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dynee Posted 24 Oct 2009 , 1:17pm
post #3 of 16

I got on my trusty Google Sketch-up (free by the way) and did a quick size comparison. As you can see, a 12 inch round fits comfortably on the 14 " square, but the 10 inch square does not fit on the 12 inch round. Just like Indy said.
LL

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CarolAnn Posted 24 Oct 2009 , 2:17pm
post #4 of 16

dynee, Thanks for queing me in on the Sketch-up program. I'll be looking into that.!

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dynee Posted 24 Oct 2009 , 7:29pm
post #5 of 16

CarolAnn, my brother the engineer showed me that program. Just do a search on Google and it will come up. I think there is a newer version than I use and of course there is an even better one you can buy. I just use it to make a blank template for sizes and shapes and then sketch onto that. I have to scan the picture of the model and then copy it to Paint and save it as a JPEG file.
LL

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CarolAnn Posted 25 Oct 2009 , 3:24am
post #6 of 16

Wow, that looks great in sketch form. I'll be wanting to see pis of the real thing!! I'll check out the sketch up for sure.

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TheBlonde Posted 25 Oct 2009 , 11:37am
post #7 of 16

Thank you so much Dynee. I've been looking for a program like that for a while. Downloading it right now!

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MikeRowesHunny Posted 25 Oct 2009 , 11:59am
post #8 of 16

Yup, basic rule of thumb for putting squares on top of rounds is that they must be AT LEAST 4in smaller in size. How many servings do you need? You may find that you need to start with a square on top. The sizes you quoted will give you 226 servings. If you do a 6in square, 10in round, 12in square, 16in round, you will have 228 servings (or do the smaller cake suggested in the above sketch by PP and then a kitchen cake for the rest of the servings).

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Price Posted 25 Oct 2009 , 12:26pm
post #9 of 16

Dynee, Thanks, Wow! I was just looking at sketch up. It's amazing. I'm going to do the tutorials and then give it a try! Looks like fun.

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Doug Posted 22 Nov 2009 , 10:46pm
post #10 of 16

easiest way to figure if a square will fit:

the Pythagorean Theorem -- the Csquared (the diagonal measurement) of the square cake is the DIAMETER of the round cake.

so ....keeping the example simple

a 10 inch square as a diagonal measurement (the hypotenuse, the C) of 14.14 inches (before shrinkage and application of frosting/fondant).

so it will be tight if not a bit too big fit for a 14 in round and will fit nicely on a 16" round.

and just because I know you all will not want to whip out the calculator or Excel --- here's a handy little chart of squares and their diagonal measurements (the diameter of the matching round)

SQR....RND....Fits on:
4.........5.66.......6"
6.........8.49.......9"
8........11.31.....12"
10......14.14.....16"
12......16.97.....18"
14......19.80.....20" (barely -- 22 safer)
16......22.63.....24"
18......25.46.....26" (barely -- 28 safer -- golly that's a big round!)

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cylstrial Posted 23 Nov 2009 , 1:46am
post #11 of 16
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug

easiest way to figure if a square will fit:

the Pythagorean Theorem -- the Csquared (the diagonal measurement) of the square cake is the DIAMETER of the round cake.

so ....keeping the example simple

a 10 inch square as a diagonal measurement (the hypotenuse, the C) of 14.14 inches (before shrinkage and application of frosting/fondant).

so it will be tight if not a bit too big fit for a 14 in round and will fit nicely on a 16" round.

and just because I know you all will not want to whip out the calculator or Excel --- here's a handy little chart of squares and their diagonal measurements (the diameter of the matching round)

SQR....RND....Fits on:
4.........5.66.......6"
6.........8.49.......9"
8........11.31.....12"
10......14.14.....16"
12......16.97.....18"
14......19.80.....20" (barely -- 22 safer)
16......22.63.....24"
18......25.46.....26" (barely -- 28 safer -- golly that's a big round!)


Thanks Doug! That is fantastic! icon_biggrin.gif

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Loucinda Posted 17 May 2010 , 5:28pm
post #12 of 16

keeping this one!

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emiyeric Posted 17 May 2010 , 5:51pm
post #13 of 16
Quote:
Originally Posted by cylstrial

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug

easiest way to figure if a square will fit:

the Pythagorean Theorem -- the Csquared (the diagonal measurement) of the square cake is the DIAMETER of the round cake.

so ....keeping the example simple

a 10 inch square as a diagonal measurement (the hypotenuse, the C) of 14.14 inches (before shrinkage and application of frosting/fondant).

so it will be tight if not a bit too big fit for a 14 in round and will fit nicely on a 16" round.

and just because I know you all will not want to whip out the calculator or Excel --- here's a handy little chart of squares and their diagonal measurements (the diameter of the matching round)

SQR....RND....Fits on:
4.........5.66.......6"
6.........8.49.......9"
8........11.31.....12"
10......14.14.....16"
12......16.97.....18"
14......19.80.....20" (barely -- 22 safer)
16......22.63.....24"
18......25.46.....26" (barely -- 28 safer -- golly that's a big round!)

Thanks Doug! That is fantastic! icon_biggrin.gif





LOL! Leave it to Doug!!! As someone who walks around all day with a calculator in her breast pocket, I love love love these breakdowns. icon_smile.gif

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dynee Posted 17 May 2010 , 6:16pm
post #14 of 16

I had forgotten about this thread. I had the western wedding cake cancelled, so since I had already made some of the decors, I decided to do a dummy cake. Although this is not a mixed shape cake, here is the pic.
LL

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jamesab9151 Posted 8 Jun 2011 , 8:56pm
post #15 of 16

I have looked through it but I don't find cakey stuff there. Help! Could someone respond to [email protected]?

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Cosima Posted 26 Aug 2011 , 4:43am
post #16 of 16

Great information on this thread!

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