Cake Covering Guides

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 ???

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 . . .

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