What size cake should you consider for your upcoming event?

One Sunday night, I had a conversation with a close friend of mine about birthday cakes when we grew up back in the 1990s. Like most children or parents of that era, either there was a local baker in the street who baked all the children’s cakes, or my mom baked a sheet cake and frosted it with buttercream icing in the pan. It was nothing fancy: just icing, Jelly Tots, or sweets arranged to resemble the theme.

I remember my brother didn't have much of a sweet tooth; he would simply cut a square slice of the cake without icing, pour a splash of milk over it, and enjoy it as an after-school. Over the years in the baking industry, we have noticed that it is actually quite rare to see men with a massive sweet tooth. My dad doesn’t like a lot of icing on his cake either: just a thin layer. Personally, for me, I absolutely love icing or buttercream. I want to be able to see my teeth marks in the icing!

This brings me directly to the article that I was aiming for: how do you know if you have enough cake for your party or event? There is nothing worse than being the host of an event and getting the message that there wasn't enough cake or dessert. On the flip side, I have also been at events where we see the cake cut up into such tiny pieces just to make it stretch.

We have thought long and hard about that question here at the bakery. This article aims to shed some light on this problem. While a lot of bakeries have answered that question, and you will find a lot of information about it in forums and online platforms, we want to bring our specific view to the party.

From the Manly Baker Boutiquery point of view, this article aims to clarify how we work out our portion sizes. When we do a cake tasting consultation with clients, one of the most common comments we hear is, Is the cake really necessary? People don’t eat cake, or we don’t want to sit with so much cake left over. Alternatively, we hear stories about people saying, We had so much cake left over, we just left it at the venue or gave it to the kitchen staff.

In the case of a function or wedding, most venues or caterers already offer some kind of dessert to the guests. With that said, our portion sizes are worked out to be just enough for a guest to have enough sweetness, or perhaps go and get another piece of cake.

Our standard wedding portion size, or the size used if there is already some kind of dessert provided, is 3cm x 3cm x 10cm. That equals about four bites. Because all our cakes are a minimum of 20cm tall, the client really gets excellent value for money. Portion sizes are not cut in wedges like we used to do at home. Rather, the knife is placed vertically, allowing the cake to be cut straight down, letting the slice fall onto a cutting board, and then cutting it in length and vertically again. When we cut the next vertical slice, we let that one fall on the board and cut it up again.

If the cake forms the main dessert for the event, the cake portions are designed to be slightly larger. Then, a standard portion size is 5cm x 5cm x 10cm. This gives a guest a bigger portion to enjoy some sweetness worth having with a cup of coffee or tea. When someone opts for a larger cake, like a two-tier or multi-tier cake, we suggest that the client pick different cake flavours per tier. This spreads out the options a little wider for the guests.

Cake Portion Reference Guide

We have put together this reference table to help clients easily understand how tier sizes translate to actual portions:

For a more comprehensive look at our cutting charts, layout diagrams, and visual portion graphics, you can visit our complete Cake Serving Sizes and Visual Guide.

If a client wishes to add dummy tiers to get a dramatic, grand look without the waste of all that extra cake, they can absolutely request this option. To complement the display, they can ask for a matching kitchen sheet cake that will remain behind the scenes, allowing it to be cut up directly in the kitchen and served efficiently to the guests.

Timing is Everything: When Should You Cut the Cake?

The next thing that we need to consider is when the cake is being cut. Most of our clients have not thought about that timeline. As bakers, we will always discuss this with you during the consultation.

Normally, clients are just advised that the cake must be cut and then served later at night, most probably after dinner with the rest of the dessert. While that is not a bad thing, just think quickly of what has happened up until now. The ceremony took place, the guests had canapés, speeches were delivered, toasts were made to the couple and the parents, everyone important let the guests raise their glasses and drink, the first course was served, the main course followed, there was some dancing, and then finally the dessert arrived. It is rare that there is an official announcement that dessert is being served; you will usually just see that the waiters start bringing out some dessert placed on the guest's plates or placed on the buffet table when everyone is already full.

During our consultations, we suggest to the client to move the cake-cutting ceremony forward to the canapés. By that time, the guests have sat through the ceremony, they are hungry, and if they travelled far to the function destination, they might be starving. Bringing the whole cake-cutting ceremony to the beginning of the event, cutting the cake up, and serving it with the canapés works beautifully. Most people will eagerly take a piece, and it serves as the perfect sweet part of the canapés.

Should the couple opt for keeping the cake for later in the night, they are most welcome to advise us on their choice. However, we would suggest that we could rather quote you for 75% to 80% of the guest count. This will result in fewer portions, but will result in less cake that the client has to give away or throw away afterwards. Additionally, if the couple wants to keep the top tier for their first anniversary or the birth of their newborn, that specific tier's portion count can simply be subtracted from the total allocation.

Something that most people do not know is that you can hire our services for the evening to attend the event and cut the cake for you. We can dish it for the guests and/or place the pieces in individual dessert containers for the guests to take home. Should someone wish to acquire our services, they are welcome to contact us on 073 107 9719 or email us at order@manlybaker.co.za.

We hope this article left you with food for thought!