How to choose a cake size — a serves vs. kg guide for India
Indian bakeries quote cakes in kilograms; most cake guides quote them in slices. Here is the simple translation.
Most Indian bakeries — including ours — quote cakes by weight. That’s a holdover from the way bakeries in India have always priced sponge: per kilogram of finished cake. It is convenient for the kitchen, less convenient for the customer trying to figure out whether 1 kg is enough for a Sunday lunch with 12 people.
Here’s the working rule we use at Batter Up.
Single-tier cakes
| Cake weight | Generous slices | Dessert portions |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 kg | 4 | 6 |
| 1 kg | 8 | 12 |
| 1.5 kg | 12 | 18 |
| 2 kg | 16 | 24 |
| 3 kg | 24 | 36 |
A generous slice is the kind of slice you’d cut at a small dinner. A dessert portion is the kind of slice you’d cut at a buffet — narrower, often alongside other sweets.
If your cake is the only sweet at the table, count generous slices. If you’re serving it after a heavy Punjabi lunch, count dessert portions — guests will eat less.
Tiered & wedding cakes
Tiered cakes are sized differently because they’re cut into rectangular fingers, not wedges. As a guide:
- 2-tier (6” + 8”) — 30 to 40 dessert portions. Good for an engagement or family-only wedding.
- 3-tier (6” + 8” + 10”) — 70 to 90 dessert portions. Standard for a small Punjabi wedding.
- 4-tier (6” + 8” + 10” + 12”) — 130 to 150 dessert portions. Larger receptions.
Some of the cake will inevitably be used for the photographs and the cutting ceremony. Add 10% to your headcount to be safe.
Notice & ordering
We need 48 hours’ notice for most single-tier cakes, and two weeks for any tiered wedding cake (the lower tier needs to set fully before the next one is stacked).
If you want help sizing, message us on WhatsApp with your headcount, the time of day you’ll serve it, and what else is on the table. We’ll suggest a size.