A Guide To Cake sizes and servings
A Cake Sizes and Servings Guide
Let’s Celebrate! With cake
This cake sizes and servings guide will help you choose what size and type of cake you require for your event based on your requirements and budget.
There are a few things to consider before using our Cake Sizes and Servings Guide:
- What event are you planning? This will usually determine portion sizes e.g. birthdays usually serve ‘party portions’ or ‘dessert portions’ but weddings usually serve ‘coffee portions’.
- How many guests will my cake be serving at my wedding party or birthday party?
- Will my wedding cake be served as dessert or is the cake more for the cutting ceremony to be served with coffee?
- Am I serving other treats or desserts at my event?
- Will my birthday cake be served as a dessert?
- What is the adult vs. child ratio? Adults and elders tend to have less of a sweet tooth but children & adolescents generally want larger slices or more helpings.
- Who will be cutting the cake?
- The venue’s kitchen staff will almost always provide the perfect size and number of serves. A family member or friend, on the other hand, may not know proper cake-cutting methods or portion sizes. This can affect how many portions you get from a cake.
- Would you like some cake left over for later?
FAQ: What is a dessert versus a coffee portion?
Different events traditionally have different requirements for cake sizes and servings. Traditionally you would serve coffee portions for weddings and dessert serves for parties. Dessert serves are a substantial portion served as a pudding or dessert whereas a coffee serving is a finger portion, a delicate treat, usually with coffee, after a dessert has already been served.
Coffee serves are 1 x 1 inch slices and dessert servings are 2 x 1 inch slices.
But who says you have to stick with tradition? You can serve your wedding cake as the dessert after a two-course meal and go with larger portions. This may also help you to save on your catering budget. You can also cut your celebration cake into smaller, coffee-size portions and get more servings from a smaller cake. So whether you are sticking to a convention or blazing a trail it may affect the size of your celebration cake or wedding cake.
Cake Sizes and Servings Guide for Weddings:
The wedding cake-cutting ceremony is an important part of your wedding day. As the cake cutting is traditionally done in the evening, when the evening guests have arrived, it is usually the only ceremonial aspect that all of your (daytime and evening) guests get to enjoy. And the cake will go on to fuel the evening’s festivities and dancing.
The number of servings, and therefore the overall size and number of tiers, your wedding cake has is the primary factor in determining the price of your wedding cake.
Photo Credit: Yeah Mike Photography
We provide a comprehensive cake size and serving guide as well as a wedding cake portion cutting guide with every wedding cake delivery and set up. This is usually given to your caterers so that they can cut your cake into the correct amount of servings ordered.
FAQ: How do I stick to my wedding cake budget?
The best way to stick to your wedding cake budget is to reduce the overall number of servings and size of the wedding cake, as most wedding cakes starting prices are based on this number.
We suggest catering for 90%, 80% or even as little as 70% of your overall guest numbers if you have a strict budget and are looking to reduce the overall cost of your wedding cake. This is an option if you have a large guest list, usually of 90 plus, and would like a smaller cake for the cake-cutting ceremony but prefer not to cater for every one of your guests.
Buttercream / Ganache Wedding Cakes
| Tiers | Servings | Starting From |
|---|---|---|
| 2-tier | 52 | £370 |
| 3-tier | 62 | £450 |
| 3-tier | 85 | £590 |
| 3-tier | 110 | £710 |
| 4-tier | 120 | £770 |
| 4-tier | 154 | £1,000 |
*Prices are for standard buttercream or ganache finishes. Final costs may vary depending on design complexity, delivery, and any added decoration or floral elements.
Please note: I have a £500 minimum order on some busy Summer weekends,
If you think that not all of your guests will eat a slice of cake then you could cater for 90%, 80% or even as little as 70% of your overall guest list.
Photo Credit: State of Love and Trust
The Cake Cutting Ceremony
Your cake-cutting photos are a great photo opportunity. They can make for some of the most informal and fun photos from your big day. However, catering for a percentage of your guests can help you stick to your budget and still have a cake that reflects your personality and style.
Cutting The Cake
Different events traditionally have different requirements for serving sizes. Traditionally you would serve coffee portions for weddings and dessert serves for parties.
You can also cut your celebration cake into smaller, coffee, servings and yield roughly 1/3rd more portions from our cake-cutting guide.
Photo credit: hopelessromanticsimagery.com
I have written a helpful blog post advising on how to make the most of your wedding cake display and cake-cutting ceremony. The wedding cake can be a really fun way for a couple to show their unique individuality and style.
Cake Size and Serving Guide Suggestions for Celebrations:
FAQ: What size and type of cake do I require for my celebration?
Single Tier Cake Portion Sizes:
| Cake Size | Layers | Dessert Servings | Starting From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 inch | 4 | 12-14 | £120 |
| 8 inch | 3–4 | 26 | £117 |
| 10 inch | 3 | 38 | £171 |
| 12 inch | 3 | 56 | £252 |
FAQ: Why are wedding cakes more expensive than celebration cakes?
Celebration cakes are priced lower, not because wedding cakes carry an inflated “wedding tax,” but because they’re simply less complex to produce.
Wedding cakes typically involve weeks — sometimes months — of design development, detailed planning, and coordination with venues and other suppliers. This bespoke, full-service approach is calculated as an average and then reflected in the overall cost. Celebration cakes, while still made with the same level of care and quality, usually require less admin, design time, and logistical planning, which naturally makes them more affordable.
See our guide below for cake-cutting tips to use alongside our Cake Sizes and Servings Guide
Alternatively, please contact Luisa with your enquiry and details of your event for a personalised quote or further guidance on cake sizes based on the number of guests at your event.
A Cake Cutting Guide
FAQ: How do I cut the correct portions from my celebration cake or wedding cake?
The following guide shows how to cut the correct amount of 1 x 1-inch, coffee-size portions traditionally served at weddings. You can cut larger 2 x 1-inch dessert servings for celebrations and events where the cake will be served as dessert. Depending on your requirements, you can request a quote based on coffee serves or larger dessert servings.
To check availability for your wedding date please see our wedding cake section and fill out the enquiry form for wedding cakes or get in touch to order a celebration cake. I will get back to you with my availability and a quick quote promptly.
Want to order a sensational celebration cake without any fuss? Why not try our signature BouCake?
BouCakes From £85
Signature styled BouCakes serve 10-12 dessert portions From £85 for signature designs in Seasonal colours
