I have made many wedding/tiered cakes in my time. Most came out pretty good. A couple not so good. The technique is still there, but the hands are rusty. Practice. Practice. Practice.

The basic is you want 4-inch differences between layers, so a simple 3-tier cake would be a 6″ top layer, a 10″ middle layer, and a 14″ base or bottom layer.

Here’s a handy-dandy chart to help you get those layers right.

Wilton Wedding Cake Data Chart

Use this chart as a guide when baking wedding cake tiers.
Fill pans 1/2 to 2/3 full; 3 in. deep pans should be filled only 1/2 full.
Batter amounts for the 2 in. cakes on the chart are for pans 2/3 full of batter. An average 2-layer cake mix yields 4 to 5 ½ cups of batter. For large cakes, always check for doneness after they have baked for one hour. For pans 11 inches and larger, we recommend using a heating core to insure even baking. Icing amounts are very general and will vary with consistency, thickness applied and tips used. These amounts allow for top and bottom borders. Number of servings are intended as a guide only.

2 in. Deep Pans

 
Pan Shape Pan Size Servings
2 layer		 Cups Batter for

1 layer

 Baking Temp °F Baking Time Minutes Approx. Cups Icing

to Frost & Decorate

2 Layer Cake
Oval 7 ¾” x

5 3/8″

 13 2 ½ 350 25-30 3
10 ¾” x

7 7/8″

 26 5 350 35-40 4
13 ½” x
9 7/8″		 45 8 350 35-40 5 ½
16 ½” x

12 3/8″

 70 11 325 40-45 8
Round 6″ 12 2 350 25-30 3
8″ 24 3 350 30-35 4
9″ 32 5 1/3 350 30-35 4 ½
10″ 38 6 350 35-40 5
12″ 56 7 ½ 350 35-40 6
14″ 78 10 325 50-55 8
16″ 100 15 325 55-60 9
Petal 6″ 8 1 ½ 350 25-30 3
9″ 18 3 ½ 350 35-40 4
12″ 40 7 350 35-40 6
15″ 64 11 325 50-55 8
Hexagon 6″ 11 1 ¾ 350 30-35 3
9″ 26 3 ½ 350 35-40 4
12″ 40 6 350 40-45 6
15″ 70 11 ½ 325 50-55 8
Heart 6″ 14 1 ½ 350 25-30 3 ½
8″ 22 3 ½ 350 30-35 4 ½
9″ 28 3 ½ 350 30-35 6
10″ 38 5 350 30-35 8 ½
12″ 56 8 325 45-50 9
14″ 72 10 325 45-50 10
15″ 74 10 325 40-45 11
16″ 94 11 325 40-45 12
Square 6″ 18 2 350 30-35 3
8″ 32 4 350 35-40 4 ½
10″ 50 6 350 35-40 6
12″ 72 10 350 40-45 7 ½
14″ 98 13 ½ 325 45-50 9 ½
16″ 128 15 ½ 325 45-50 11
18″ 162 18 325 50-55 12

3 in. Deep Pans

 
Pan Shape Pan Size Servings

1 layer

 Cups Batter for

1 layer

 Baking Temps. Baking Time Minutes Approx. Cups Icing

to Frost & Decorate

2 Layer Cake
Round 6″ 12 3 350 35-40 3
8″ 24 5 350 55-60 4
10″ 38 8 325 65-75 5
12″ 56 11 325 75-85 6
14″ 78 15 325 75-85 8
16″ 100 18 325 75-85 9
18″ Half Round 2″ layer 130* 9** 325 60-65 10 ½
3″ layer 130* 12** 325 60-65 10 ½
Square 8″ 32 6 ½ 350 60-65 4 ½
10″ 50 9 350 65-75 6
12″ 72 14 350 65-75 7 ½
14″ 98 19 325 65-75 9 ½
Contour 7″ 11 3 ½ 350 45-50 2
9″ 17 5 ½ 350 45-50 2 ½
11″ 24 8 350 55-60 3
13″ 39 13 325 75-85 4
15″ 48 16 325 75-85 5

* Two half rounds

** For each half round pan

Other Pan Depths

 
Pan Shape Pan Size Servings

1 layer

 Cups Batter for

1 layer

 Baking Temp °F Baking Time Minutes Approx. Cups Icing

to Frost & Decorate

2 Layer Cake
2 ½ deep Beveled 8″ 9 3 350 35-40 2
10″ 15 5 350 40-45 2 ½
12″ 21 7 350 45-50 3 ½
1 ¼ Deep Beveled 14″ 18 7 325 45-50 4
16″ 24 8 325 45-50 5