Hello Board,

I am baking a wedding cake for July 14th.  The cake consists of 4 tiers (5” round @ 4” high to be saved by the bride and groom)/8” round @ 2 1/2” high/11” round @ 4” high and 14” round @ 5” high.  This cake will serve approx 130-150 ppl, but I’d rather be safe than sorry and go with the 130 figure.

From there, I will obviously need more cake!  So the bride would like sheet cakes.  if I do the math, 300-130=170.  So my questions are:

1.  What size sheet pan would be best to use?

2.  The cakes will need to be filled with BC; therefore, should I use a 1” deep or 2” deep?
    If 1”, I realize I"d have to bake 2 pans and stack them
    If 2”, then I would have to torte and fill

3.  What serving size should I go with (2x2x2 1.5x2 or 1x2) - this is where I get confused??

4.  Depending on the serving size I choose, do I make sure to tell the cateror to please cut same that size?

5.  Sheet cake temps and times are another question as I’m getting conflicting answers?

6.  Can or should I make these ahead of time (week before wedding date) and freeze?  refrig? 

7.  I have a spreadsheet (Sheet 1 is each cake detailed with amts and Sheet 2 is total amts) that I need someone to review to check for any errors or miscalculations, but I can’t attach to this post…...

All advice/ tips would be so much appreciated!

Feel free to email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Thank you,
Lisa

Hi talobx,

Welcome!  First off, when/how is the cake being served?  When I’ve done cakes, they have usually been served with a midnight lunch and are not the main dessert after supper.  Even though many people find Rose’s cake portions small, I have always found I’ve had far too much cake left even when using her portions.  Unless the cakes are the main event (say a wedding with only a dessert reception) or perhaps the only dessert after a meal, I think Rose’s portions are fine.  Perhaps check with your clients and they would know more about the guests and what size of portions they think would be adequate.

As far as sheet cakes, I always like to have them layered similar to the wedding cakes, then there is no real difference in the pieces except for (perhaps) decoration.  Depending on the cakes/frostings you choose, freezing can be an option.  It’s a great way to make cakes ahead of time and still have them taste delicious!  When I baked cakes for my cousin’s wedding (I think it was to feed around 300 people) I made 5—9 x 13” by 4” high cakes for serving (I baked 10 9"x13"cakes and used 2 layers per cake).  I think we used about 1/2 of the cake.  That said, it was served later in the evening and some people had already left.  I used the portions as suggested in TCB—1"x2"x4” the surface area of a piece of cake for a 4” high piece of cake is 2"squared and the volume is 8 cubic inches.  If you were to serve a 2” high cake, you would want to do a 2” x 2” square which yields 4 square inches and still 8 cubic inches.  The actual display cake was a smallish cake composed of 3—8” round cakes.  It was not served for the guests. 

So, you can get about 60 servings out of a 4” high 9” x 13” cake, and half that (or 30 servings) if it is 2” tall.  so…you will probably need about 3 sheet cakes (2 layers) in addition to your stacked cake for the wedding.  If you are keeping it all the same, then this should be more than enough.  If you are using different flavours, it’s wise to budget a little bit more in case people decide to try other flavours, but even then, I’ve found I’ve had more than enough cake using her serving guidelines. 

Another word on freezing ... I have made and assembled entire cakes and frozen if the components will allow.  I find if I use a butter cake, it can’t hurt to syrup to ensure optimal moisture.  I don’t think I would freeze an assembled wedding cake—but you could freeze all of the the components up to and including the crumb coat and do the final frosting/decoration/assembly without freezing. 

As far as baking times, if you have TCB Rose has times indicated in her wedding cake section.

Good luck and let us know more about your components/fillings/cakes/etc.

Thank you so much for such a quick response to my questions…..great advice….I think the 1x2x4 is what I’ll go with; found a superb way of torting a sheet cake (you’ve prob already seen it) - I may post it if I have the time.  You actually split the top layer as normal but only go as far as the CENTER point (ex: 9x13 pan - cut only 6.5 of the top, lift that piece off, fill and replace.  Then move on to the other half 6.5 and do the same…..certainly looks easy and much easier than trying to handle one large 9x13 thin layer!

Thanks again and I may have LOTS more to ask…....

You’re welcome.  FWIW, I’ve handled 9 x 13” layers without issue.  Just have a piece of cardboard to slip between and good to go…A 14” round layer is the one that makes me panic a little   Particularly the flipping over and releasing from the pan!