I am going to be ordering my first set of dummies (excited ) but the options I have for thickness are 3", 4" or 5".

I am doing the cakes simply to add pics to my portfolio and not for display. What size thickness should I buy? The difference in price of the 3" and 5" is about a dollar and money is tight so do you think a 4" would work?

What size do you recommend?

Thanks in advance guys!

Most cake dummies folks use are all 4" - so you should be good to do ordering those. (all of mine are 4")

I use 3" and 4" but I really like the look of the 4" ones better. The price here is a lot more for the 4" so I use the 3" most of the time.

I prefer the 4" dummies. I have a couple sets of the 3" and never use them.

I just ordered some and got the 4in.

Do you bake any 3in cakes? If so, then you may want to get some of those to show, but other wise most of your cakes are probably 4-5in tall.

Most people bake their cakes in 2" pans and level them to just under 2". A tier is usually two of these layers plus a little filling in the middle and the icing on top. This brings the each tier to about 4" overall. That's why everybody's recommending you use the 4" dummies. Other thicknesses are for very specialized cakes and indeed, if you're just looking to build up your portfolio by using them over and over (I hear you, because I'm in the process of doing that myself), you'd probably be best off with the 4" ones.

I also vote for 4". It's great when showing a bride "your cake will only be 12" tall" (3 tiers at 4" each). Sometimes brides have an illusion of a six foot tall cake and are surprised when the standard wedding cake is only a foot tall. Just Do the Math!

Showing them 3 tiers of 4" each is a GREAT way to slap 'em into reality.

Thanks so much guys. I just went ahead and purchased a set of 5 tiers (6, 8, 10, 12 and 14) at 4" thick for $17.50 and that included shipping. Thought that was a pretty good deal. Can't wait for them to get here so I can get to work

Another vote for 4". I ordered some a few months ago & I went with the 4" because it seems to be the 'standard' size for most bakers. Also, a lot of stencils work best on a 4" surface.

Have fun playing with them when they arrive!

Where did you end up ordering them from if I may ask?

I just ordered 2 sets from www.dallas-foam.com I ordered 4" and got a 4 tier set of round and a 4 tier set of square for $25 with shipping.

I just got them to do some new cakes for my website without having to make actual cakes. My family hardly ever eats cake anymore, hahhahahahaha and like IndyDebi said it is nice to be able to show people an approximate size when they order. They always thing a 4 tier cake should be HUGE!

I never thought to use dummy cakes to build up my portfolio, great idea! Though I've been so busy with real cakes, that I probably wouldn't have time anyway! My vote would be for 4" as well! Best of luck. =)