What should the difference in diameter be between tiers of a stacked cake?

I prefer 4 inches, 3 at the least. That is just my personal preference though!

I think 2 is fine. Almost all of my cakes are 2. like 12/10/8/6 is my most typical cake sizes.

Good question! I have that same question, so I'm eager to see the responses. My thinking, though, is this: it depends on the decorations you'll be adding. If there will be a top and bottom border on each tier, for example, I would say you definitely need a 4" pan difference (so there is essentially a 2" ledge under each tier). I would say the same thing if you will be cascading any flowers or resting any seashells or whatever on the ledge. On the other hand, if the cakes are covered in fondant (no need for a top border), and the decorations don't take up space on the ledge (like, say, scrollwork), you only need a 2" pan difference (so there is a 1" ledge).

But let's see what the experts say!
patti

I've always worked with 2"......

I agree with everybody above. I prefer a 3", but my brides tend to do 2". Either way will work, just some designs work better with a larger ledge as pattiverde said.

I prefer 3 or 4" between pan sizes, this allows you a ledge to place flowers on eaisly. If you do two " between pan sizes, that only allows a 1" ledge and gives the cake a more towered look instead of tapered look. But, it really depends on what look the bride likes best. It's very helpful to build the "look" out of dummies so they can really see what they are getting. Pans works well if you don't have dummies.

Jennifer

I dont' think there's a right or wrong answer. As already mentioned, it may depend on the design. Most of the time, I select the size of the cakes based on the number of servings needed. 6/8/10/12 works most of the time for my brides.

I agree. There isn't a right or wrong answer. It all depends on what you are going for.

I am using cake tins manufactured in Australia so this may or may not apply universally across the board...
Q. Have you ever noticed that when you get a full set of cake tins that they neatly fit inside each other so that the final tin that sits in the middle ends up level with the outer ring even though there is a lot of layered bases under it?
A. That is by design not coincidence. Visually as you build a cake, the higher it gets by tiers, the shorter the tiers get as you get to the top.
My tins are 3 inches which appears to be the standard but I do have some 4 inch tins for particular designs.
Therefore, the 3 inch rule works but the smaller the cakes get they are slightly shorter which is visually appealing and balanced. You don't want to end up with a top heavy looking cake unless you designed it to look that way.
If you don't believe me turn your entire cake tin set up side down on a bench, stack them on top of each other to form a pyramid and check them with a ruler. Interesting ha?

I was talking about the height of a cake baked in the tin as that is the only thing I could imagine having to cut the dome off the top (which I don't do). Now I get it that the issue is about which tins to use for a pleasing arrangement because you need a good shelf on which to decorate.

I could not imagine that a cake was being baked and then being cut down to another size. That means that you need a full set of tins! If you cut the cake it destabilizes the crumb and makes it so much harder to cover.

For a regular cake I do 5/8/11 or 6/9/12 or or 7/10/13 for tiered cakes that are joined as it makes a pleasing triangle line from the top to the bottom. And like I said before the top cake is slightly shorter than the bottom cake. I use 3 inch (high) tins most of the time.

If I am doing a tower cake I do 6.6/9.9 or 7.7/10.10 for a 4 tier double double.
With these sizes there is enough shelf to decorate but if you want to increase the decorating space you can use a bigger base board or put pillars in between the cakes to allow for the larger flowers.

I have examples of all of these in my blog but I didn't put the tin sizes used. I hope this helps answer the original question as well the the ones that came up along the way.

I almost forgot to mention. To test a design turn the cake tins you plan to use up side down and put some of the flowers/ornaments you intend to use on the tin to get a feel for how it looks.