What size of cake do you recommend?
by Dessert Trends

The number of expected guests compared to the respective number of required servings are as follows: (explanation to these suggestions are below)

If you are having less than 60 guests you may want to consider a larger cake and keep one of the tiers for yourself or for your family and friends. A larger cake is usually only nominally more expensive and the cake will have a more impressive presence. In some cases a fancy cake with 70 servings will be less expensive than a comparable cake serving 60 since it is more time consuming for the Chef to decorate the smaller cake.

If you are using the cake for the main dessert then you will need the cake to have the same servings as the number of guests, plus an additional ten servings just to be safe (since some guests will want a second slice!).

The rule of thumb is that if the cake is to be used for the late night dessert table you will only need servings for about 75% of your guests. If you are planning an unusually extensive sweet table then you will need even fewer cake servings.

For large weddings you may want to consider having a large cake with an additional slab or half slab cake. A slab cake usually has 80 servings and you can usually choose a second flavour for no additional charge. If more than one flavour is chosen then you should plan for more servings in your cake since some guests will want to taste both flavours. Slab cakes can be up to half the serving-cost of the wedding cake though have the same taste.

Example: If you are expecting 400 guests then a wedding cake serving 140 and two slabs (each serving 80) will give you the desired 300 servings. Another option would be to have a cake serving 180 and 1 slab cake and a half slab cake.

Another consideration is to substitute one of the slab cakes for a groom's cake. A groom's cake, is often a surprise to the groom, and is usually a flat rectangular slab cake that is decorated with things that are of interest to the groom (sports team, cars, hobbies). It could be comical or formal and may contain scanned images on the top. This cake is usually not displayed until the late night sweet table.

You should consider a larger looking cake if you have a large wedding and the reception is in a large hall. It may appear awkward to have a disproportionately small cake in a large reception hall.

Another recommendation for really large weddings is to have a four or five tiered cake that is separated by flowers. It will be tall and appear to have more servings than it actually has.

Several reception halls report that quite often more than half of the cake is disposed of since too big of a cake was ordered. This is often the case when there are servings for every guest and a commercial plain flavour is used.

The price of the cake depends more on the design than on the number of servings, especially if there is considerable detail involved. Consequently, a simple elegant cake with say 120 servings, will not usually vary in price whether it has 3 or 4 tiers. There will be a price difference if there is a notable difference in design between the different tiers.

Most places, especially if they specialize in fine cakes, will not decorate fake tiers to make the cake appear larger.

Cake tiers can usually be frozen. Do check with your cake supplier to see if the flavour you are using is freezable. As a caution, a frozen cake containing fruit, should be eaten within two days after thawing for best taste.

Dessert Trends