Hi everyone,

I've been on Wilton's site for cake cutting guides and serving sizes, but I've never been to a wedding (or cut a cake myself) with such small pieces. Does anyone know where a more realistic guide is?

I'm trying to make a cake for around 250-300 and wondering if 9-12-15 would be big enough (6 inch on top for bride and groom) and there will be a grooms cake as well.

Any advice is much appreciated!
Thanks!

define "realistic"?

A 1x2x4 is the standard size piece of wedding/dessert cake. It's about the size of folded over peanut butter sandwich. I've cut my personal cakes (birthdays, holidays, family get togethers) this size and it's perfect for all.

no, it's not the huge, honkin' wedge of cake we slap on a plate and chow down on while watching tv, but it's not intended to be. A piece of cake after a nice dinner at a wedding is not suppose to be a meal. It's a piece of dessert.

How to cut a cake into these sizes is shown in my signature link below.

Here are pics of cut pieces of cake so you can get an idea of the "realistic" size: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1156785

Thank you for your reply and the picture...it's very helpful.

I'm not really sure how to define "realistic" other than not a dainty little piece and not a honkin' piece, but right in the middle. I just don't see how to get 24 servings out of an 8 in. round cake or 32 servings out of a 9 in. round cake, which is what Wilton suggests. I'm sure the math adds up to get that many...I just imagine those being tiny little pieces, I guess.

It really is a fine portion of cake. And it what EVERY caterer cuts to, so if your cake is being served at a venue you might as well plan on those sizes. It's easy to get 24 servings from an 8" cake.

That said, a 6/9/12/15 using all four tiers serves 185.

Your client needs to pick a number. You can't make a cake for 250-300.

Using this chart,
http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-wedding-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm
I figure it will only serve 177, so unless the groom's cake will serve the other 123 people--it won't serve enough.

(not including the 6", of course.)

it is hard to visualize getting 24 pieces from a cake that we normally cut into 8 wedges at home, but it's done easily. Really. Most venues cut cakes into the 1x2x4 size.

who is going to be cutting the cake? family? you? caterer? Many have told me they print out my 'how to cut a wedding cake' and leave it on the wedding cake table as a 'how-to' for the cake cutter.

I actually get about 10% more pieces when cutting the cake this way (I get 40-42 pcs from a 10" round, which is suppose to serve 38 ) and I STILL get people asking me for to cut them "a smaller piece, please!"

Many folks hear "one inch" and they think "paper thin". This is not the case at all, as you can see by the pic posted above.

I think a lot of confusion comes from the HEIGHT of the cake. If you are making cakes that are only 2 inches high...then there is no way you will get that many servings out of them. But if you make them the standard 4" high, that's plenty of cake.

Awesome, awesome...ok...I'm understanding! Thank you

Absolutely... Wilton wedding chart is by far the best serving chart. It allows for a nice piece of cake and you as the baker will get the most bang for your buck.

I use the wedding chart for all cakes and have never once had a client come back and say that they ran out of cake. I give them an illustraction of how to cut their cake (like Debi's method) and more often than not I have people saying they had leftovers.

It can take some time to get used to not thinking a slice needs to be on the larger side... especially for weddings.

someone posted this on another thread but it may help you. it's a cake calculator. u select all the pans you are using and it will tell you how many servings it will be. you can play around with it and find the configuration you want HTH!

I appreciate all of the responses. Thank you!!!

Hi,

I'm probably a little late on this post but I'd recommend using the slicer calculator/app on www.bakingit.com. You can put in your cake and it will show you how to slice it and how many slices you will get. This site is brilliant and I'm using it all the time now when I bake. Hope this helps you for future baking projects. 

Katecupcake,  thank you for your response!  the calculators on www.bakingit.com looks really good!!!

I which I could learn to type -- three about?

Eh, I gave up on caring much about minor typos awhile ago. I go over correspondence with clients with a red pen, and give my self a break when chatting on forums. I understood what ya meant. 

AHaha! Howsweet, I had to read you post over three times looking for the error before I saw it!

Good! That spammy stuff is obnoxious. I love how they try to act all non chalant about it too. "Oh, I just happened to come across this, have you ever heard of this miracle product?" Pfffffft.