How many people does a 1 kg cake serve?

A 1-1.2 kg cake serves 8-12 people as party portions, or 6-8 as proper dessert slices after a meal. Richer cakes stretch further because portions get smaller.

What size cake do I need for 20 people?

For 20 guests, a 1.5 kg two tier cake (from Rs.999) is the right size. A single large cake that heavy becomes wide and awkward to cut, which is why we move to tiers at this point.

How many does a 0.5 kg cake feed?

Four to six people as small party portions, or three to four as dessert slices. It suits a couple or a very small family gathering.

Is it cheaper to order one big cake or two small ones?

One larger cake is usually better value per kilo, but two smaller cakes let you offer two flavours. For a large group, a 1.2 kg cake for the cutting plus a brownie slab for volume is often the most practical combination.

Do children need smaller cake portions?

Yes - count roughly two children to one adult portion. For a classroom, a brownie slab from Rs.499 is easier, because it cuts into identical squares.

Cake Buying Guides

What Size Cake Do I Need? A Guest-Count Guide for Tenkasi

Serle's Bake9 September 20263 min read

How many people does a 1 kg cake really feed? A practical sizing guide - party portions versus dessert slices, when to go tiered, and what each size costs at Serle's Bake in Tenkasi.

"How many people does a 1 kg cake feed?" is the question we are asked more than any other, and getting it wrong is expensive in both directions. Order too small and you are cutting slivers in front of guests. Order too large and you are eating cake for four days. Here is how the sizes we bake actually work out at a table.

The short answer

Cake size	Party portions	Dessert portions
0.5 - 0.6 kg	4 - 6	3 - 4
1 - 1.2 kg	8 - 12	6 - 8
1.5 kg (two tier)	15 - 20	12 - 15
2 kg (three tier)	25 - 35	20 - 25

The two columns matter. "Party portions" are the small squares handed round after a cake-cutting, which is how most birthday cake is actually eaten. "Dessert portions" are proper slices on a plate, served as the sweet course. The same cake feeds roughly a third fewer people when it is dessert.

Three things that change the answer

How rich the cake is

Rich cakes go further because people eat less. A Choco Truffle at 1 kg will satisfy a group that would finish a 1.2 kg Black Forest and ask for more. If you are ordering something dark and heavy, you can size down slightly.

Whether children are eating it

Children take smaller portions and frequently leave half. For a classroom or a children's party, count roughly two children per adult portion - and consider a brownie slab (₹499 for 0.5 kg) instead, because it cuts into identical squares with no arguments about who got the flower.

Whether it follows a meal

Cake cut after a full dinner gets picked at. Cake cut mid-afternoon gets eaten. If your event is a lunch or dinner, size down one step from the table above rather than up.

When to go tiered instead of bigger

Past about 20 guests, a single cake starts to look wrong - wide and flat rather than impressive - and it becomes awkward to cut. That is the point to move to a two tier cake (₹999 for 1.5 kg) or a three tier (₹1499 for 2 kg). You are buying height and presence as much as weight, and tiers cut into even portions far more easily.

A cheaper trick for a big group: order a 1.2 kg cake for the cutting ceremony and a brownie slab alongside it for volume. The photographs are of the cake, and nobody goes without.

What each size costs

Cake	Small	Large
Black Forest / White Forest	₹299 (0.6 kg)	₹599 (1.2 kg)
Chocolate / Butterscotch	₹399 (0.6 kg)	₹799 (1.2 kg)
Red Velvet	₹499 (0.6 kg)	₹999 (1.2 kg)
Choco Truffle	₹599 (0.5 kg)	₹1199 (1 kg)
Fudgy Brownie	₹499 (0.5 kg)	₹999 (1 kg)

Browse everything by type in the flavoured cakes, premium and brownie ranges.

Still not sure?

Tell us the number of guests, whether it follows a meal, and roughly how many are children. We would rather talk you into the right size than sell you the biggest one - an oversized cake is not a good advertisement for us when three quarters of it goes in the fridge.