Cake Covering Guides

Cake Covering Guide for sugarpaste and marzipan

The following information is for general guidance only

Each manufacturer of sugarpaste and marzipan offers slightly different advice

Some brands, like Massa Ticino and Saracino, advertise that their sugarpaste can be pinned / rolled very thinly, so you use less to cover a cake.  Some stockists use this as a selling point but, while we're not disputing that it can be rolled thinly, we want to point out that not ordering enough - or a little extra - will always prove to be false economy

We feel there is a risk in accepting claims about how little of some brands you'll need without considering the consequences of under-ordering . . . if a certain brand of sugarpaste doesn't roll out just as thinly as claimed, then you won't have enough to complete the cake and ordering more could be both time-consuming and costly

Other brands, like Satin Ice, actually advise a thicker coating of sugarpaste meaning you'd use more to cover a cake, so we've come up with an average figure for each size of cake - these figures are very similar to those advised by Renshaw, Südzucker and Couture

If you order Massa Ticino, Couture or Saracino then you'll probably need a little less than the table shows, but factor in what you'll need for added decoration and the odd little mistake, mis-hap or repair and we feel it's always better to have a little extra than to run out before the cake is complete . . . agreed ???

how much will you need?

Use this table as a guide for round cakes

You can also use this table as an approximate guide for heart, hexagon, oval, petal, octagon etc tins measured between their widest points

 

   diameter       sugarpaste      marzipan  
6" 500g 650g
7" 750g 900g
8" 900g 1.1kg
9" 1kg 1.25kg
10" 1.25kg 1.5kg
11" 1.5kg 2kg
12" 1.85kg 2.5kg
13" 2.25kg 2.8kg
14" 2.75kg 3.5kg

 

 

Use this table as a guide for square cakes

You can also use this table as an approximate guide for oblong cakes measured on the longest side - the amounts will be overestimated, but on the safe side

 

   size       sugarpaste      marzipan  
6" 500g 750g
7" 750g 1kg
8" 1kg 1.25kg
9" 1.25kg 1.5kg
10" 1.5kg 1.75kg
11" 1.75kg 2kg
12" 2kg 2.5kg
13" 2.5kg 3kg
14" 3kg 3.75kg

 

 

Madeira Cake Mix usage guide

This table shows the quantity of Madeira Cake Mix required per cake tin.  The figures are very approximate as every baker has their own preferences, plus there are so many other variables (like height) but we're happy to offer them for guidance only

Actual make-up quantities and instructions are supplied on the box - the figures below are a rough guide to how much dry mix you can expect to use per tin

The quantities for other cake mixes are fairly similar, so you can still use this as a guide . . .

 

    tin size        round*     square       oval       oblong   
6" 500g 500g - -
7" 600g 750g - -
8" 750g 1kg - -
9" 1kg 1.25kg - -
10" 1.25kg 1.5kg - -
11" 1.5kg 1.75kg - -
12" 1.75kg 2kg - -
6" x 4" - - 500g -
8" x 6" - - 600g -
10" x 8" - - 1kg 1.25kg
12" x 10" - - 1.5kg 1.75kg
13" x 9" - - -

1.75kg

 

 

*the quantities shown for round cakes are more-or-less the same for heart, petal, hexagon, octagon etc