In the past, when I’ve made wedding cakes, the number of guests have been small(ish) and 3 tiers (6,8,10) have provided plenty of cake.

This time, the guests are going to be around 120.

To be honest, I’m working off of two books - the Cake Bible and also Dede Wilson’s book. (I hope that’s ok to say here

It seems like the Cake Bible says that a 6/9/12 tier will serve 150… when Dede’s book doesn’t even come close to that and says that will serve 60-80 people.

I can’t figure out if I am just confused or what!

Does anyone have any feedback on this?

Thank you

Is Dede’s referring to actual wedding cakes?  I ask becuase if DeDe is adding up serving sizes for 6/9/12 layers of cakes not intended to be served at weddings, that would account for the discrepancy, as wedding cake portions are counted as much smaller pieces.

I have both books and it really depends on how the cake is intended to be served.  In cases in which there is a provided dessert and/or other sweets, Rose’s portions will be more than adequate—for all of the weddings I’ve done the cake has been served with the midnight lunch (a big thing here—as part of the dance) and usually (but not always) there are other sweets.  Even when the cake was the only sweet, I had extra left.  I think Dede’s portions are for full sized dessert portions (ie: going out for Dessert).  I find many people skip cake and/or prefer small portions.  I’d check with the couple to get a sense of what kind of crowd you have.  Having said that, I think a 6-9-12 would be fine for that size of group.  You will likely have extras which could be offered as seconds.

I think Dede specifies in the intro that her portions are regular dessert-sized portions.

Thanks!

Hi Anne, yes, it’s her wedding cake book. Sherrie - that helps a lot! I must of missed that part in the intro, but that makes sense. 

This blog is so helpful, I appreciate such quick and helpful replies.

In my experience, a 12/9/6 round will serve 80; you can never quite be sure who is cutting the cake and it is best to have extra than to run short.  The most I’ve ever gotten out of a 12” round is 50 servings and I consider those to be polite dessert servings. I like to use the serving chart found on Earlene Moore’s site, http://www.earlenescakes.com.  Usually I am assembling cakes that are three layers of cake and two layers of filling; and are about 4 inches tall.

Make sure that when you do your consultation that you explain to the person the size of the portions. If you do tastings, have a portion cut to the size of what your cake will serve or have a picture comparing sizes= normal (served at home), dessert size and wedding size. I have a couple of sizes to show people and that helps them determine their choice. If the venue is providing someone to cut the cake, they usually know how to serve- and I say usually. If they are having a friend or relative, they will slice things larger like they do at home. After explaining all of this, once you deliver, it’s not your fault if what you gave them is not what someone ends up serving. Earleen’s serving chart is the most realistic.

Colleen