Choosing the correct size tiers - so that they look balanced

by Liz
(Bathurst, Australia)

The Finished Wedding Cake

The Finished Wedding Cake

Hi Everybody - I am making my first wedding cake and am having trouble deciding which size tiers would look the best.


My bride would like to feed 100 guests, with a three tiered round cake (center tier being square)

I have chosen the following sizes and am hoping it will look balanced and would like some advice.

Bottom tier (round) 12 inch Wilton
Middle tier (square) 8 inch Wilton
Top tier (round) 8 inch Wilton (I felt the 6 inch looked too small)

For decoration there are four things that she definitely wants on the cake;
- One tier to be quilted and have diamond accents

- One tier diamond embossed 'B & L' (bride and grooms initials) on the side of the cake - individually placed diamond

- some sugar paste roses (doesn't mind how many)

- Borders around all cakes to be either ivory ribbon or diamond ribbon

Flowers and fondant - ivory

I can't picture what tiers to choose for the decor - this is my first wedding cake and I am nervous - the bride said she doesn't mind - please help?! :)

Hi Liz, I just checked my pans and found that you will need a 14 inch round bottom tier in order for a 8 inch square cake to fit properly. If you use a 12 inch the 8 inch square will hang over slightly and will not look balanced. The 6 inch round looks great on top of that size as well.

If you already purchased the pans then you could possibly trim down the center tier so that it fits onto the 12 inch bottom. But The 14 inch base will look better. I will see if my Facebook cake decorators have any more ideas or suggestions for you. Good luck with your first wedding cake and please feel free to add it to the site on the sharing pages.






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Jan 09, 2012
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Thanks
by: Anonymous

Thank you - that is so helpful! I will definitely do 14" bottom :)
I will crack on with it and post a pic when done
Thanks again,

Liz

Jan 09, 2012
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Correct size tiers
by: DebbieCattivera

Hi and congratulations on your wedding cake! I always use Earlene's charts. Her site is great no matter what skill level you are. Here's a chart (with instructions) on how to choose the size pans and how many servings you can expect to achieve. http://www.earlenescakes.com/ckserchart.htm

I have this printed out and laminated, then when someone inquires, I can refer to the chart and tell them exactly what size the tiers will be and how many servings they'll get. Hope that helps!

Jan 09, 2012
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Correct size tiers
by: DebbieCattivera

Oops, I forgot one comment and it's important!

Bottom tier (round) 12 inch Wilton - serves 45
Middle tier (square) 8 inch Wilton - serves 24
Top tier (round) 8 inch Wilton - serves 15

Those dimensions will only give you 84 servings, so you're going to have to rework your pans. It might be as simple as switching your bottom tier to square as you will be able to get more servings from a square cake. Look at the chart, I think it will be very helpful, plus according to that chart, you can either do a cake for 95 or 115. You'd look on Column F and find the closes to the number of servings you want to use (95 or 115), then go to column H and see what size pans to use. It's not as complicated as I'm making it seem. Good luck, I can't wait to see pictures! That first wedding cake is very scary, but so awesome when you realize you're making a memory that will last a lifetime :)

Jan 10, 2012
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Thanks
by: Anonymous

Thank you so much, you have been SO helpful!
I will definitely post a photo :)
I am getting less nervous and more excited.
x

Jan 27, 2012
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FIRST WEDDING CAKE DONE!!!!
by: Anonymous

Hi to everyone who helped me, it was very much appreciated!

SOoooo happy I have finished my first wedding cake order without any disasters.

There are lots of things I am not happy with, but the bride was very happy and that's what counts! :)

I am not sure how to upload a photo but below is a link to my facebook page, I just put some pics on there.


http://www.facebook.com/pages/One-of-a-Kind-Cake-Design/160852820678611

P.S Nobody told me how stressfull this could be!
x

Jan 28, 2012
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Congratulations!
by: Lorelie

Hi Liz, Great news about your cake. Here is the link to the form to add your photo and a story about your cake, or some tip, advice, bloopers, or recipe you used.

The directions take you through the upload. If for some reason you can't upload a picture, email me it to me. The only reason it will not work is if your file is too large.

You can resize a photo with a photo editor. I use Paint (it came with my computer) Picasa is another, picnik... there are a lot of them online. 800 pixels wide or less

Jul 14, 2017
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How to balance cake
by: Anonymous

Can I put a for a 2 tiers 12in/with 8in top and a sheet cake to serve 200 people.

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