Hello fellow bakers,
I recently started selling wedding cakes after a few months baking mostly birthdays.
So I naturally adjusted my serving chart, using the "wedding" size of most of the charts I saw.
But my last bride told me the cake portions at are reception were really small and she wishes she had more, although she should have had plenty with 84 portions for a party of 60.
So here are my questions :
-when stacking cakes, do you deduct the center portion where your dowels are of the total number of servings?
- what chart do you use with wedding cakes?
And any other advices on wedding cake sizing would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
I go by Cake Avenue's chart and have never had anyone say there was too little cake. I don't use a centre dowel, just three to five dowels in each tier.
I think most charts consider a wedding piece to be 1x2", with the diagram of cuts possibly resulting in slightly different serving counts. But regardless of what serving chart you use, it all comes down to how the caterer cuts the cake. They might cut it bigger or smaller than you intended.
Also, some people might not realize that wedding slices are typically smaller than party slices. Be sure to explain that to your customers when discussing the size of the cake needed for the event.
I am thinking the bride just didn't realize that wedding slices are much smaller than what you would normally buy in a food store or cut yourself. So for future orders I would explain the size of slice that you use when you determine the overall serving amount (maybe even have a slice on hand because a visual is always helpful). Also, each caterer could cut cakes differently so providing a cutting guide with the cake could be a good idea. Even if the caterer ignores the guide at least you have covered your butt with your customer.
I am also not sure how large your dowels are but the amount of cake they take away is most likely insignificant.
i will sometimes bake a 12x9x6 in a 13x10x7 sized pans so that i can be assured of a few extra servings -- i shave the sides of any extra crust anyway -- and the cakes usually lose 1/2 inch in the baking process -- then we add it back with icing but still i sometimes do that because i want to ensure enough --- because i add around 10% or ten to fifteen additional servings because a dowel actually can cause a slice or two to be miss cut or fall apart when it's picked up --
so i always try to err on the side of plenty although i never told the bride -- just kept it in reserve against the time i might get the message that you got, gateauxenfoliemtl, -- and there's a few slices dropped and stuff -- some people get seconds when they really shouldn't --
i mean you had 30% more cake than they needed -- you should have been fine -- but yes i tell my brides that a serving of cake is about a cupcake size with fillings -- i think that always gave enough of a visual -- i never had an issue -- and at the same time i cautioned them about letting aunt louise's twelve year twins in charge of the slicing and serving -- if she was going to do that i suggested buying more cake -- and surprisingly no one ever did -- ahahahaha
The 'industry standard" size of a tiered cake serving (NO MATTER what the occasion!) is 1"x2"x4". This is a portion just smaller than the average cupcake. Don't let customers tell you they want 'bigger' slices! The only answer is to tell them to buy (& pay for!) a bigger cake - then they can make the servings as big as they want. I had one customer who wanted a 14" round cake for a b'day to serve 10 people because they were "big cake eaters" :)
You ask........ do you deduct the center portion where your dowels are of the total number of servings? NO - dowels don't cause the loss of cake really - unless you are use super large dowels &/or many more than needed.
You ask........what chart do you use with wedding cakes? Wilton's wedding servings.
ONE pizza slice is a "serving". How much is served is up to the host...... just like cake.
I like a previous thread where someone had blocks of wood cut to represent the cake servings. Painted too---cute. An excellent visual for anyone ordering a cake.
in the 70's, a cake mix box made an 8" layer cake that was considered 8 slices, yet made 24 cupcakes. Your safest bet, and as compared to other bakers, is "industry standard" for that reason. A "serving" is not a wedge of cake (unless my son is cutting it---lol).
Juste looked at your link and it's more generous then my chart. And I love the visual you get. Thanks for sharing!
I go by Cake Avenue's chart and have never had anyone say there was too little cake. I don't use a centre dowel, just three to five dowels in each tier.
Juste looked at your link and it's more generous then my chart. And I love the visual you get. Thanks for sharing!
I go by Cake Avenue's chart and have never had anyone say there was too little cake. I don't use a centre dowel, just three to five dowels in each tier.
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