Cake Serving Guide
There is no such thing as “too pretty too eat”! I can appreciate cake as an art, but let’s dig in (pun intended). In the cake serving guide illustration below, you will find what size cakes yield and how many servings. Super helpful but when it comes to actually cutting the cake many people don’t know how to go about doing it to yield the most servings for their event.
Dessert Slices:
Dessert slices are the most popular portion size for birthdays, dinner parties, and bakery portions. Dessert slices are typically 2” x 2” portions for 4” high cakes. However, for weddings you typically want to yield more servings so you might cut the cake into smaller portions such as 2” x 1”. It all really comes down to what you want to do and what you can afford.
Let’s talk knifes…
Most cakes should be cut with a chef’s knife. Use a long serrated knife for cakes with fresh fruit filling or anything “crunchy”, like a nut filling. Most cakes are best served at room temperature, unless they have a custard or whipped cream component. For all other cakes, be sure to remove the cake from the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before serving.
Tip: 1. Keep your knife clean in between slices. Your knife will probably start to pick up frosting and crumbs along the way, but be sure to wipe the knife down to keep slicing smooth as you go. 2. If you find the frosting of a buttercream or ganache frosted cake a little solid, run your knife under hot water to slightly warm the metal of the knife. Be sure you dry the knife with a clean kitchen towel before slicing.
Wedding Servings:
As mentioned above, wedding serving sizes tend to traditionally be smaller; however, this is personal preference in my opinion. If you don’t have any other desserts to offer you may want to serve traditional dessert sizes but couples should keep in mind not everyone may like the choice of flavor, have health considerations, or they are just simply too full to eat dessert. After cocktails, dinner, and dancing, it's no wonder these portions are a bit smaller. Thankfully most caterers and wedding venues will take care of the cutting for you, but it does not hurt to know a little bit of what's going on behind the scenes.
Here at Fantasy Cakes we always are happy to assist in helping you order the right size for your event but here is a helpful chart to get you going.
Elizabeth C.
Co-Owner & Partner
Fantasy Cakes Bakery
Bellflower, CA