Your Complete Guide to Cutting Cake Like a Pro

Written by: Stephanie Kaptein

Time to read 4 min

In this article

What is considered a serving of cake? Triangle Cake Slice Rectangle Cake Slice When Should I Use Small Cake Servings? When Should I Use Large Cake Servings? How do I Cut a Round Cake? How do I cut the Perfect Cake Slice? What Temperature Should the Cake Be? What Type of Knife is Best for Cutting Cake? Do I use a Hot or Cold Knife to Cut Cake?

What is Considered a Serving of Cake?

If the internet has shown us anything, it's that there is more than one way to cut a cake. From the classic triangle serving to scooping the cake up in a wine glass. So which way is best? It totally depends on your event. Having a girls' night where you dig your forks into the cake will be different than planning a wedding where you want uniform cake servings for all of your guests. So let's talk about it.

TRIANGLE CAKE SLICE

A triangle, or wedge, serving is easy to cut and gives guests a nice, generous slice. It also ensures that each serving looks the same and has the same amount of icing and cake. This is great for kid's birthday parties where they are expecting a big slice and it to look the same as everyone else's. However, most celebrations come with a lot of food. After a big dinner (or loot bag candy), not everyone is looking for a big slice of cake on a full stomach.

RECTANGLE CAKE SLICE

A rectangle, or slab, cake slice is the standard that bakeries and caterers use to measure servings. It is a great option if you are throwing a large event like a barbeque and want to make sure there is enough cake for all of your guests. At Ampersand Bakehouse, we provide two rectangle servings guides for small and large cake slices to help with your event planning.

When Should I Use Small Cake Servings?

The Ampersand Bakehouse small cake serving is the same as a dessert wedding portion. The cake slice is 1-inch thick x 2-inches wide x the height of the cake. Our cakes, along with most other bakeries, are about 5-inches tall. This serving size is perfect for weddings, afternoon tea and coffee.

Since we are talking about wedding cake servings, there is an even smaller size that gets referenced. A finger serving is 1-inch thick x 1-inch wide x the height of the cake. It literally looks like a "finger" of cake because it's thin and long. Since we're all about cake at Ampersand Bakehouse, we don't use this measurement. However, if this size works best for your event, you could multiple our small cake servings by 2 to get the approximate finger cake servings. This cake serving size is great for weddings, afternoon tea or coffee.

When Should I Use Large Cake Servings?

The Ampersand Bakehouse large cake serving is a party-sized cake serving. The cake slice is 2-inches thick x 2-inches wide x 5-inches tall. The large serving is perfect for parties and events where dessert is more predominantly featured like birthday parties.

How Do I Cut a Round Cake?

Once you've decided on the serving size that works best for your event, let's figure out how to cut your round cake into rectangle servings. Referencing the cutting guides above, find the correct size of your cake. Our example will be a small 6" cake with the large serving size.

You'll start by using the blade of your knife to gently mark the icing on the top of the cake where you want to cut each slice. At this time, we only need to mark the vertical lines which should be either 1-inch or 2-inches apart. In our example, this is dividing the top of our cake into thirds.

Next, you'll cut the first section all the way through and gently tip it onto a cutting board. This will make it easier to cut your sections into serving sizes. Referencing the cutting guide, you'll see that you need to cut this section in half while the middle section is cut into three. Plate each serving and repeat the last three steps until your cake is fully cut.

How do I cut the Perfect Cake Slice?

If you are looking for the perfect aesthetic slice of cake, there are some tips to make sure your icing doesn't pull through your cake and you are left with nice, clean cake layers.

WHAT TEMPERATURE SHOULD THE CAKE BE?

I recommend eating your cake at room temperature. However, you'll want to chill it 10 to 15 minutes in the fridge before cutting. This quick chill is long enough to set your icing so it doesn't smear while cutting, but not long enough that your cake is too cold to serve.

If you forgot to take your cake out of the fridge to warm up to room temperature, don't worry! Go ahead and cut the cold cake. The individual cake slices will warm up faster than waiting for the whole cake to come to room temperature. Plate your cake slices and just wait before serving.

WHAT TYPE OF KNIFE IS BEST FOR CUTTING CAKE?

A long, thin serrated knife works the best! (I personally use a bread knife.) It will cut cleaner slices without causing the icing to smear from the wide blade of a chef's knife. Since serrated knives have little teeth, you can use a gentle sawing motion instead of cutting straight down, which can smush the cake. This is especially important on lighter cakes like angel food cake.

Be sure to wipe your knife clean between slices with a damp cloth. It’s normal for the knife to collect icing and crumbs as you cut cake, but if you let it build up too much, you won't get clean cuts where you can clearly see each layer of the cake.

DO I USE A HOT OR COLD KNIFE TO CUT THE CAKE?

You can make cutting even easier by running your knife under hot water before using. If there isn't a sink nearby, you can fill up a pitcher with hot water to have on hand. Be sure to dry your knife thoroughly, then cut your slices while the knife is still slightly warm to the touch. The warm knife will cleanly glide through the icing.

White woman with blunt bangs and ombre blond hair hair

Hi! I'm Stephanie

I’m a farm girl who moved to the big city, just to end up in the small town neighborhood of Danforth East. I love it so much that I opened my bakery Ampersand Bakehouse just down the street.