The evolution of the cake has been one that I have enjoyed immensely. I love a good slice of cake….anytime.

As exposure increases and accessibility becomes the norm, having interesting, one-of-a-kind cakes is no longer only available to the wedding group.

Any party can have a four layered round cake, or one made into an interesting shape, or a topsy-turvy three-tiered creation.  Rectangular and square cakes are still fantastic, but the average consumer has so much choice now with relatively manageable costs.

But, as I realized recently, round cakes pose a bit of a challenge to serve; what is the best way to cut them to maximize the look and the yield?

Conference venues and caterers who specialize in weddings and large events have the technique mastered, but us regular folks sometimes struggle with floppy cake, broken pieces and difficulty cutting these beautiful creations. Even smaller venues and restaurants may not have the go-to solution.

At a recent event I styled and hosted, I had a lovely 10″ round cake that proved to be a challenge to cut.  I had 24 guests and the cake was set to yield 33-35 pieces. We had enough for everyone with a few pieces left over. I’d say, a maximum of 28 slices, maybe. Definitely not the total amount I was expecting.

When packing everything up, I noticed that on the box, my cake baker had enclosed the correct way to slice this cake to get the maximum yield.  And we had been cutting it the totally wrong way.

The trick is to cut a round cake similar to how you would slice a rectangular or square cake; cut the slices into square pieces.

Ah. Now it makes sense.

You’d think that after all of my years of experience I would’ve known this already. But, I didn’t. But, now I do. And now, so do you.

Attached is a cake cutting guide for a 10″ round cake. You would employ a similar grid for other round sizes, like 8″ or 6″.  The key is to slice your cake into 1″ x 2″ pieces for a four-tier cake, no matter the size of the round.

Feel free to save the guide and use it whenever you need. Just click on the image, go to file, then save.

Now, let’s go eat some cake!

(p.s. thanks to Erin at the sweetest thing for not only baking an absolutely delicious cake, but for showing me the correct way to cut it.)