If you're tackling baking a tiered cake for the first time, it can be difficult to know where to start in deciding the size of the cake. Inexperienced bakers often choose a recipe, select frosting and fillings, and design the cake's decorations without considering how big the cake needs to be. Fortunately, deciding what diameter to make the tiers of your cake doesn't require any special skill or knowledge. Also, it rarely impacts the cake's external decorations in any substantial way. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Estimate the number of people who will be eating the cake. You want to ensure you have enough cake for everyone, plus last-minute guests and second helpings.
Choose a serving size. Most round, tiered cakes are served in slices 4-inches high and 2-inches wide, but you may choose to serve smaller pieces, particularly if the cake is being served after a meal.
Decide how big you want the top tier of your cake to be. Then decide how many servings that tier will provide. Reference cake pan serving charts or estimate based on the size of the pan. For instance, a 6-inch round pan yields 12 two-inch slices, while an 8-inch yields 24 slices.
Determine how many tiers your cake will have by subtracting the number of servings each tier will yield from the number of servings you need, beginning with the top tier. Note that the next tier should be 3- to 4 inches larger than the one above it.
For example, if you need 100 servings of cake and your top tier is 6 inches in diameter (providing 12 servings), your next tier can be 9 inches, which is three inches larger and provides 32 servings. Subtract 12 and 32 from 100, which reveals you need another 56 servings. Since the next tier down should be 12 inches, serving 56 slices, you will have exactly 100 servings of cake.
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