2 Layer Vs. 3 Layer Tier Help Please
Decorating By love2frost Updated 13 Jan 2010 , 1:19am by love2frost
When I bake a 2 layer cake and assemble it with a filling after it's settled it's not truly 4 " anymore. Especially if I put fondant on it. The last cake I made I did it as a 3 layer cake and to me it seemed more of the height that the 2 layer cake should be at. I use the wilton cake pans and am wondering if this could be part of it. When I look at the serving sizes they should be a 1x2x4 but my 2 layer cakes fall short. I do believe I put enough batter in the pans (they bake up past the rim of the pan) and I use the WASC recipe. Any suggestions?
Also, when you figure out servings for the 2 layer tier (say an 8" serves 24) for a 3 layer does it serve the same or does it serve more (say 36 servings for an 8" 3 layer)?
Thanks so much for you help!!!
Everything you need to know to make, decorate and assemble tiered/stacked/layer cakes:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-605188-.html
Above super threads has popular CC recipes for crusting American buttercreams, several types of fondant and doctored cake mix (WASC and other flavor variations) - and so much more.
The so much more includes (but is not limited to) extensive baking help from Wilton as well as members hints & tips. There are Wilton charts which give batter requirements by pan size/s as well as serving yields by pan size.
In short, it should answer all the questions you have.
HTH
Are you torting each tier so that you end up with 4 layers of cake and 3 layers of filling?
That would help with the height.
Also how thin/thick are you applying your icing? You should have a good 1/4" icing or icing/fondant combination.
Maybe you're not using enough batter in the pan.
I usually fill my pans to about 2/3 full and they rise above the top of the pan. So each of my layers are 2" before I even level, torte, fill and ice them.
My finished tiers always end up at about 4 1/2".
HTH
I personally doubt it's the pans - some cake batters just rise more than others. I just baked a from scratch banana cake and a doctored up chocolate cake mix - baked them in the same Wilton 3" deep pans @ 350 degrees, each pan half full and the mix cake rose up over the top of the pan where the scratch cake barely rose to the lip of the pan. So 2 layers from the scratch cake wouldn't have been 4" but 3 layers would have - but 2 layers from the mix would have been very close to 4".
I know this doesn't really offer a solution 
but you may find that it explains what is happening and as you try different recipes you'll get different results.
I have the same problem and I do think it depends on your cake recipe. I fill my pans 2/3 full..they rise to the top or above during baking, and by the time they are cooled they are slightly less than 2". A couple of times I have made a 4" cake and I have no idea how it happened! lol
if your 3" or 4" or 6" high cake consists of 2, 3 or 4 layers you're still only going to get the same amount of servings. the only thing that is changing is the serving size will be larger, therefore your per serving charge would go up. Kind of like the burger places that 'go large' charge extra for that.
Also, when you figure out servings for the 2 layer tier (say an 8" serves 24) for a 3 layer does it serve the same or does it serve more (say 36 servings for an 8" 3 layer)?
Let's run the numbers to show you how it works:
6" square, 2-layers tall (4") when cut in the standard 1x2x4 pieces, means the cake will be cut in 6 rows by 3 columns = 18 servings. The 4" is the height.
6" square, 3-layers tall (6") when cut in the standard 1x2x6 pieces, means the cake will be cut in 6 rows by 3 columns = 18 servings. The 6" is the height. Note with this serving, the guests is getting 50% more cake (12 cubic inches as compared to the 8 cubic inches of the 1x2x4) so your price per serving should be 50% more.
If you wanted to keep the serving size at 8 cubic inches, then you'd have to cut the 6" tall cake in 1x1.25" x 6. That is one skinny little piece of cake! The 6" square cake would be cut in 6 rows by 4.8 columns. Basically, it would almost be a 1" square pillar of cake that was 6" tall ... not very attractive.
The lesson here is that your surface area is still the same .... the cake is just taller. But you charge more because the customer is getting more cake .... even if they AREN'T getting more servings! 
Yes, the problem may very well be the pans. After all these years I happened to put a ruler into some of my old W pans. They were NOT 2" deep. 1 7/8, 1 5/16 . . . just enough to fool you. It also probably saves them a penny on materials.
Those suckers.... 
Thanks so much for every one's advice. I do fill my pans about 2/3 full with batter and they do bake up above the rim and I do trim the top off to level the cakes before stacking. I do not tort each of my 2 layers to have 4 layers with 3 layers of filling (really good idea, thanks dkelly).
Thanks indydebi for explaining the servings. That makes perfect sense!
leah_s I never thought about measuring my pans! I picked up a magic line pan at a store and every time I bake in it it seems to come out to a true 2". I know a lot of people like the magic line cake pans so I wasn't sure if that was my problem. If I should work on replacing my wilton pans with the magic line ones.
Again, thanks for every one's input!
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