Kitchen cakes or sheet cakes are a great way to cut down on the cost of a large wedding cake or other large, decorated cake. Kitchen/sheet cakes are offered by a baker at a lower per serving cost since there is no decorating labor or material involved.  General pricing for a kitchen cake is around $5 per serving. For instance, if you’re serving 200 people and your baker charges $8 per serving for the design you want ($1600 for the full 200 in a decorated cake), you can consider a decorated cake for 125 people ($1000) and kitchen cakes for 75 ($375), which results in a $225 difference.

However, sometimes the feeling is that you’re receiving something that your guests might perceive as ‘inferior.’ When a kitchen cake or sheet cake is made properly, there is absolutely no difference between a slice taken from a sheet cake or from the decorated cake. Kitchen cakes or sheet cakes can be either covered in fondant or just buttercream. Another great plus with a kitchen cake is that you can get it in a completely different flavor than your decorated cake.

So as you take time to plan your cake budget, keep the kitchen cakes option open and discuss it with your baker.