It’s time to dispel some confusion. Layers versus Tiers. One of the things I love the most in creating treats for my clients is truly customizing their visions.
What is a Cake Layer?
Let’s get down to basics. The Cake layer is basically the bread of making a cake. If we are thinking of sandwiches as an analogy for cake making. A sheet cake is an open face sandwich. (One layer of cake/ bread + /frosting/toppings. A Layer Cake is a traditional Sandwich with at least 2 pieces of bread + any number of toppings.
All of my cakes are 2-inch layers of cake. Whether they are 1,2,3, or 4 layers of cake. This creates a nice uniform size. Cakes can have thicker or thinner layers of cake, but I use this standard measurement so each cake is baked the same and I can achieve consistent results.
Between each layer of cake there is at a minimum a layer of frosting. It can be the same frosting as on the outside of the cake, a different color of the same frosting, or a different flavor all together.
Additionally, fillings can be added. Fruit, nuts, candy, caramel, chocolate etc. I pipe a dam of icing around the edge (to seal in the topping) and then fill the inside with extra delicious flavors.
Tiers are when you have smaller cakes stacked on top of larger cakes. We’ll get into tiers more in future posts.
The Process of Ordering a Custom Cake
Here are some of the first questions I will ask.
- What is the event? (birthday, Wedding, Celebration, Anniversary)
- How many people are you anticipating at your event? (So I can guide the sizing)
- What flavors would you like to include? (Cake, Frosting, Filling, Toppers)
- Are there any dietary concerns?
Once I have those more basic questions, I can hone in and figure how best to scale the cake for the size of the event.
Size is often the biggest question. Cakes of various different shapes can feed the same number of people.
- Sheet Cakes are typically one layer
- My standard Cakes have two layers
- Tall Cakes have 3-4 layers (in my bakery)
So let’s say you have 20 guests at your party. Here are some examples of cake suggestions I would offer.
- Wedding (Smaller Slices are served at weddings)
- A 2 Tier Cake with a 6-inch layer and a 4-inch layer (serves 20)
- A three-layer 6-inch cake (serves 21)
- Other Celebrations
- a 10-inch two-layer Cake (serves 21)
- an 8-inch three-layer Cake (serves 21)
- a 2 tier cake with a 6-inch layer and an 8-inch layer (serves 22)
The more people the more options available. Especially with tiered cakes. You Can mix and match the height of the layers for more drama or an eclectic vibe.
Once the basic choices are selected. I can create a customized quote for any additional design elements (cake toppers, fresh fruit, sugar flowers, etc.) I am also happy to sketch up some scaled drawings if you need some help visualizing different cake sizes.
