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Coming soonNine calculators for anyone putting dessert in front of a crowd. If you are ordering: how many treats per guest, what size cake for your guest count, and the last day you can order it. If you plan events for other people: the same numbers per head, plus the questions worth asking a baker before you book one. If you are the baker: price a job off the menu, and measure the dough, icing and batter before you start.
Nothing here is saved or sent anywhere - it all runs in your browser, so bakers can put their own prices in. Every number is an approximate count, not a law: recipes, pans, ovens and Florida humidity all change what you actually need, so make a little more than the figure says to cover what breaks or sticks. Weigh one batch against these and keep your own.
How many treats per guest?
Type a guest count and it says how much to order. It reads the same chart the party guide prints for guests, so the number here is the number you will be quoted.
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
The chart, if you would rather read it
| Guests | Treats only | Beside a cake | Generous table |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 2-3 dozen | 1-2 dozen | 3-4 dozen |
| 25 | 4-6½ dozen | 2-4 dozen | 6½-8½ dozen |
| 30 | 5-7½ dozen | 2½-5 dozen | 7½-10 dozen |
| 50 | 8½-12½ dozen | 4-8½ dozen | 12½-16½ dozen |
| 75 | 12½-19 dozen | 6½-12½ dozen | 19-25 dozen |
| 100 | 16½-25 dozen | 8½-16½ dozen | 25-33½ dozen |
| 150 | 25-37½ dozen | 12½-25 dozen | 37½-50 dozen |
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
Where these come from. Two to three treats a head when treats are the whole table, one to two when a cake is beside them, three to four for a long grazing table or a room with children in it. The high end of every row is already the safety margin - order to it and nobody goes without. The same chart, laid out for guests.
What size cake for how many guests?
One slice each is the rule, cake or no dessert table beside it. This finds the smallest cake on the real list that does it, with what it cuts and what it costs.
One slice each is the rule, whether or not there are treats beside it - the treats are what people pick up after their slice, not instead of it.
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
Every size, and what it cuts
| Cake | Slices | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Round, single tier - 6" | 8-10 | from $70 |
| Number & letter cake - small | 10 | from $75 |
| Round, single tier - 8" | 14-18 | from $88 |
| Round, single tier - 10" | 24-28 | from $105 |
| Two tier - 6" + 8" | 22-28 | from $160 |
| Number & letter cake - medium | 28 | from $115 |
| Two tier - 8" + 10" | 38-46 | from $210 |
| Number & letter cake - full sheet | 60 | from $195 |
| Two tier - 10" + 12" | 60-68 | from $230 |
| Full sheet cake | 100 | from $295 |
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
Sizing up. Take the next size when the cake is the only dessert, when you want generous slices, or when the guest list may still grow - the slice, not the cake, is what changes. How the cutting style changes the count walks through it with pictures.
When do I need to order?
Working back from the day of the party, through the kitchen's lead time and the carrier's week, to the last day the order can be placed.
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
What to ask your baker before you book
- How many pieces per guest is that?Two quotes at the same price can be very different amounts of food. Get the piece count, not just the total.
- Is the cake counted in that number?A cake roughly halves the treats needed, so a quote with one and a quote without one are not comparable.
- What is the deposit, and when is the balance due?Most kitchens hold a date with a deposit. Know both dates before you book the venue around it.
- When do you need the final head count?Numbers usually lock a week or two out. That is also the last moment to add the cousins who just replied.
- Who sets the table up, and when can we get into the room?Setup time is the one thing a venue will not move for you.
- What comes with it - stands, signs, plates?Display rental is the line item that surprises people. Ask whether it is included, rented or yours to bring.
- How long will it sit out?In Florida, buttercream, meringue and chocolate behave very differently after an hour in the room.
- What happens if the date moves?Ask before you need the answer, not after.
Price a job
Pick what is going on the table and it prices it, says how many people it feeds, and works out what that is a head. Or type a head count and let it build the package for you.
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
How the guest count works. It reads off the same chart the party guide prints for her customers, so a package priced here feeds the number their own page would say: two to three treats a head when treats are the whole table, one to two a head when a cake is beside them. The cake caps it outright - once the slices are spoken for the number stops climbing, however many cookies are on the table.
Cookies, dough and icing
What one cookie takes, by the size of the cutter.
| Cutter | Dough each | Cookies per lb | Per half sheet | Icing each | Bake at 350F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 inch | 0.8 oz | 20 | 20 | 0.30 oz | 8-10 min |
| 2.5 inch | 1.1 oz | 14 | 15 | 0.45 oz | 9-11 min |
| 3 inch | 1.5 oz | 10 | 12 | 0.60 oz | 10-12 min |
| 3.5 inch | 2.0 oz | 8 | 9 | 0.80 oz | 11-13 min |
| 4 inch | 2.6 oz | 6 | 6 | 1.00 oz | 12-14 min |
| 5 inch | 4.0 oz | 4 | 4 | 1.60 oz | 13-16 min |
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
Dough
Rolled to a quarter inch. A standard sugar-cookie batch - one pound of butter to two of flour - comes out around five pounds of dough, so about eighty ounces. Divide by the column above to see what a batch cuts.
Icing
The icing column covers an outline and a flood. Detail piped on top of a dry flood adds roughly a third again. One pound of powdered sugar makes about nineteen ounces of royal icing.
Pans
Per half sheet, 18 by 13, cut an inch apart so the edges stay square. Chill the cut shapes before they go in and they hold the line.
Rough working figures. Your dough thickness, your flour and your cutter depth all move these. Weigh one batch once against the table and keep your own number - it will not change again after that.
Dough to dozens
Put a recipe in and it says how many cookies of a given size come out of it - or tell it how many you have been asked for and it says how many batches to mix.
The recipe
The default. A firm dough that holds a cut edge and does not spread - two sticks of butter to three cups of flour, chilled before it is rolled.
The cookie
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
Or start from the order
You already know how many you have been asked for. This says how much dough that is, and how many batches of the recipe above it takes - with the re-roll loss added back in, so the figure is what you have to make rather than what ends up in the box.
What that takes
| Ingredient | How much | In grams |
|---|
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
Decimal batches on purpose. Two and a half batches is two and a half batches - rounding it up to three adds a third to every line in this list. Round up when you buy, not when you calculate.
How this is worked out
- Every line becomes grams first. Grams are the only unit the arithmetic uses; ounces and cups are printed back out at the end, never calculated in. The cup weights in the picker are ordinary scoop-and-level figures - if you weigh your flour, choose gram and type what the scale says.
- The lines are added up, and that is what the recipe makes. Nothing is rounded at this step.
- Dough in one cookie comes from the table further up this page, scaled off its quarter-inch line. Roll to an eighth and a cookie takes half as much; roll to three eighths and it takes half again as much. Weigh one of your own and the box above overrides all of it.
- Cookies if none of it is wasted is the dough divided by that, rounded down. It is the ceiling: every scrap re-rolled and nothing left on the bench.
- The re-roll loss comes off the whole batch, not off each cookie. Ten per cent means a tenth of the dough never becomes a cookie - it dries out, picks up bench flour, or goes tough. Lower it if you chill and re-roll carefully; raise it for a shape that leaves a lot of dough between the cuts.
- Going the other way, the number of cookies you want is multiplied by the dough in one and then divided by what survives the loss - so the batch figure already carries the scrap, and batches are left as decimals.
Why the loss is not being counted twice. At three inches the table says an ounce and a half, where the shape alone - a three-inch circle a quarter-inch thick - works out at about an ounce and a tenth. Every row of that table runs a third to a half above the bare geometry, and the gap is real dough: the edge that rolls thicker than the middle, the flour worked in off the bench, the trim. So the table is a working figure rather than a mathematical one, and the re-roll loss is the separate second thing - the dough that never reaches the oven at all.
Weigh one batch once and the guessing stops. Your flour, your butter and how hard you lean on the rolling pin move every number here. Weigh the dough one time, divide by the cookies you actually cut, and put that into the weigh-one-yourself box - it will not change again after that.
How much icing, by colour
How much royal icing a job needs, split across the colours you are using - with what to mix for each one.
The background coat
The colour that covers the whole cookie. Every cookie gets a full flood of it, so it is counted in full and never as a percentage.
Split the detail by colour
These percentages divide the detail icing between your colours. They come to 100 between them - the background above is on top of this.
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
One batch here is a pound of powdered sugar, two tablespoons of meringue powder and five of water - about nineteen ounces of icing.
This is a rough idea, not a recipe. How much icing a cookie takes depends on how thick you flood, how far you come to the edge and how steady your hand is on the day. Treat the number as the shopping list, not the law. The background is the colour you run out of, which is why it is counted in full above and not as a share of the batch - and it is still worth mixing a little past what the figure says.
Consistency, by how far it runs
Drag a knife through the surface and count how long the line takes to disappear. That number is the name of the consistency.
Flowers, figures, lettering and anything that has to stand up off the cookie.
Outlines and borders, and piped detail on top of a flood that has already dried.
Flooding inside an outline. Settles flat on its own but does not run off the edge.
Wet-on-wet - dots, hearts, marbling dropped into a flood that is still wet.
The same thing the other way round, by job
Read the ladder above when you have a bowl in front of you and want to know what it is good for. Read this one when you know the job and want to know what to mix.
| Job | Consistency | What it does on the cookie | If it is wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flooding a whole cookie | 10 second | Fills to the outline and settles flat on its own. | Thinner and it runs over the edge. Thicker and your knife marks stay in it. |
| Outlining before a flood | 15 second | Holds a line that stands just proud of the cookie and dams the flood in. | Too thin and the flood walks straight over the outline. |
| Borders, shells and ropes | 15 second | Keeps the shape the tip cuts into it. | Any softer and the shells slump into one another. |
| Wet-on-wet dots, hearts, marbling | 5 second | Drops into a flood that is still wet and sinks flush with it. | Too stiff and the dot sits up as a lump instead of sinking in. |
| Small details on dry icing | 15 second | Sits on a dried flood without spreading out of shape. | Too thin and every dot grows into the one beside it. |
| Lettering and writing | Stiff, let down a drop or two | Holds an even line and stops dead when you lift the tip. | Too thin and the letters spread until they close their own gaps. |
| Thin fonts and hairlines | Stiff, let down a drop or two | Carries a hairline out of a number 1 or 1.5 tip without breaking. | Too stiff and the line snaps mid-stroke. Too thin and it doubles in width. |
| Flowers, figures, anything upright | Stiff | Holds a peak, so a petal keeps its edge and dries standing up. | Softer and the petals close and flatten as they dry. |
| Gluing pieces together | Stiff | Grabs fast and takes weight - boxes, houses, stacked shapes. | Softer and the joint slides while it dries. |
| Transfers piped on paper | 15 second | Keeps its outline on wax paper and lifts off in one piece. | Too thin and it spreads past the design, then tears coming off. |
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
How deep the colour goes
Reads true straight away.
Deepens a little overnight. Mix the day before.
Always mix a day ahead. Red and black look wrong until they have sat, and gel added to fix it turns the icing bitter.
Cakes, cupcakes and cake pops
How much batter a pan takes, how much a tray of cupcakes needs, and what goes into a batch of pops.
Cake pans
Each layer two inches deep, filled two thirds. A standard butter or box batch is about six cups, which is what the batches line divides by.
Cupcakes
Fill two thirds and they dome without spilling over the liner. Full to the top is where flat, spreading tops come from.
Cake pops
A pop is about eight tenths of an ounce, roughly six parts crumb to one part frosting. More frosting than that and it slides off the stick.
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
Two things that ruin a batch of pops. Warm balls crack the shell as they set, so chill them and dip them cold but not frozen. And melts that are too thick drag the ball off the stick - thin them with a spoon of shortening, never water.
Useful numbers
The tables worth keeping open while you work.
Batter by the pan
| Pan | One 2 inch layer |
|---|---|
| 6 inch round | 3.5 cups |
| 8 inch round | 5.5 cups |
| 9 inch round | 6.5 cups |
| 10 inch round | 8.0 cups |
| 12 inch round | 11.0 cups |
| 6 inch square | 5.0 cups |
| 8 inch square | 7.0 cups |
| 10 inch square | 10.0 cups |
| 9x13 quarter sheet | 7.0 cups |
| 12x18 half sheet | 14.0 cups |
| 18x26 full sheet | 28.0 cups |
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
Scoops
| Scoop | Holds | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| #16 scoop | 1/4 cup | Standard cupcake, filled two thirds |
| #20 scoop | 3 Tbsp | Slightly under a standard cupcake |
| #40 scoop | 1.5 Tbsp | Mini cupcake, or a cake pop ball |
| #60 scoop | 1 Tbsp | Mini cupcake, small cake pop |
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
Royal icing, per ounce made
| Goes in | Per oz of icing | In a 1 lb batch |
|---|---|---|
| Powdered sugar | 0.84 oz | 16 oz - about 4 cups |
| Meringue powder | 0.32 tsp | 2 tablespoons |
| Water | 0.26 Tbsp | 5 tablespoons |
| Makes | 1 oz | about 19 oz of icing |
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
Keeping it
| What | Where | How long | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Undecorated cookies | Airtight, room temperature | 2 weeks | Freeze 3 months, baked or as cut dough |
| Decorated cookies | Airtight once fully dry | 2-3 weeks | Never the fridge - condensation lifts the colour |
| Royal icing, made up | Airtight, room temperature | 2 weeks | Stir before use; it separates, that is normal |
| Buttercream cake | Room temp 2 days, fridge 5 | 5 days | Out of the fridge an hour before it is cut |
| Cake pops | Airtight, room temperature | 1 week | Fridge dulls the shell and sweats it |
| Meringue | Airtight, room temperature | 2 weeks | Humidity is the enemy - never the fridge |
Approximate. Recipes, pans, ovens and the weather all change what you actually need, so read every figure here as a starting point - and make a little more than it says, to cover what breaks, sticks or goes wrong.
Questions people ask us
The ones that arrive by message most often, answered with the same numbers the calculators above run on.
- How many cookies or treats per person at a party?
- Two to three each when treats are the whole table, and one to two each when there is a cake beside them. Make it three to four for a long grazing table or a room with children in it.
- How many desserts do I need for 50 guests?
- About 102 to 150 pieces - 8½-12½ dozen - if treats are the only dessert. With a cake on the table it drops to about 48 to 102 pieces.
- What size cake do I need for 30 guests?
- The Two tier - 8" + 10" cuts 38 to 46 slices, which is one slice each for 30. Size up if the cake is the only dessert or you want generous slices.
- How far in advance should I order?
- At least 5 days for pickup or local delivery. A shipped order needs those 5 days in the kitchen plus about 5 business days with the carrier, and we stop guaranteeing arrival inside 9 days of your date. Popular weekends fill first, so earlier is always safer.
- How many different desserts should I put on the table?
- Three to five kinds reads as a spread without looking chaotic, and it keeps the price down - every extra kind is another minimum order.
- What should a baker charge for decorated sugar cookies?
- Work it from the bottom up rather than copying someone else: ingredients, your time at a real hourly rate, packaging, a share of overhead, then the margin you want. Weigh and time one real batch before you set the number - a guess at either end is what makes a dozen cookies quietly lose money.
- How accurate are these calculators?
- They are approximate, on purpose. Every figure is a working average - your own recipe, your pans, your oven and the humidity on the day all move it, and two bakers flooding the same cookie will not use the same icing. Use a number here to shop with, weigh one real batch against it, then keep your own figure. Whatever the tool says, make a little extra: something always breaks, sticks or gets dropped.
- Do you deliver or ship?
- Local pickup and local delivery around Sarasota, FL, and standard shipping on cookies. The order form works out the dates for whichever you pick.
Keep going: the party guide lays the same numbers out for guests with pictures, the menu has every price, and a custom quote comes back with the exact figure for your date.
