Cake Serving Guide
Cake serving size can vary depending on the shape of your cake and who’s in charge of cutting! Party serving amounts are based on cake slices that measure about 1½ x 2 inches in size.
When deciding on the cake size for your event, you should review a cake portion and serving guide before deciding on the perfect cake size. This will give you a general idea of what size cake to order to achieve the desired number of servings needed.
As a rule, plan on one serving per guest. But, if you’re looking to cut your costs you can always go with a fewer number of servings since not everyone will eat cake, especially if you’re having other types of desserts.
A single-tier (2 or 3 layer) cake has set number of servings. However, this can vary based on the shape of the cake. For example, a square 8 inch, 2-layer cake will give you more servings than a round 8-inch 2-layer cake. If you need to feed a large number of people, a tiered cake may be the best option.
Tiered cakes give more flexibility in their number of servings. However, the height of each tier will also have an impact on the serving size. Tall cakes (cake tiers with 3 or more layers per tier), as well as specialty shapes, can make cutting and serving the cake a bit more challenging. The height of a cake can be influenced by many factors, including the number of cake layers, the height of the layers, and the amount of icing between each layer.
The height of a cake can be influenced by many factors, including the number of cake layers, the height of the layers, and the amount of icing between each layer.
Please keep in mind there are many different options for tiered cakes that aren’t included here. Since different sized tiers vary in serving size, you can combine them in a ton of ways, so don’t feel limited by the serving guide chart. These are simply the most common sized tiered cakes.
Round and square cakes are by far the most common cake shapes. With that in mind, these shapes in the shapes used for the chart below. It includes the number of servings, based on the cake layers and diameter:
Party Cake Serving Guide
5 inch round - 2 layer cake serves 4/5 people (3 layer 5/6 servings)
6 inch round - 2 layer cake serves 6/8 people (3 layer 8/10 servings)
7 inch round - 2 layer cake serves 10/12 people (3 layer 12/15 servings)
8 inch round - 2 layer cake serves 15/20 people (3 layer 20/25 servings)
9 inch round - 2 layer cake serves 20/25 people (3 layer 30/35 servings)
10 inch round - 2 layer cake serves 25/30 people (3 layer 40/45 servings)
12 inch round - 2 layer cake serves 35/40 people (3 layer 50/55 servings)
