How to Make Your Own Three-Tiered Cake for a Party

You’ve seen all the cake battles, icing wars, and decorating skirmishes on the cable cooking shows. It looks simple and easy to make your own tiered cake for a birthday party, baby shower, or wedding, but can anyone do it? Of course you can. All you need are the right tools, a little patience, and a willingness to try and you, too, can make a professional-looking cake in a matter of a few hours. Here’s how to make your own three-tiered cake for a party.

The key to a perfect three-tiered cake is three separate cake pans of varying sizes. Whether you go for round or square pans, aim for 12 inch, 8 inch, and 6 inch pans as the resulting cakes will be ideal to stack. Before you actually start baking and assembling, make sure you have all of the proper tools. Simply visit a local bake store or an arts and crafts store for the things you’ll need.

Cake pans – 12, 8, and 6 inch pans
Cooking spray
Waxed paper
Two cake mixes (you can vary the flavors if you want)
Several cans of frosting (better to buy more)
Cake decorations of your choice (from store)
Large flat spatula for icing
Colored frosting tubes
Wooden dowels, if needed, or toothpicks
Cake plate or large piece of cardboard covered with aluminum foil

Preheat oven. Mix cake mixes according to directions on the box. Trace the bottom of each pan over a large sheet of waxed paper and cut to fit the pan. Spray with ample amount of cooking spray before pouring in the cake batter. Fill your three cake pans with equal amounts of batter and bake according to the directions.

Allow cakes to cool completely before trying to ice. If the cakes are even slightly hot, the icing will melt and not set right. Make cake plate out of cardboard and aluminum foil, large enough to accommodate the largest cake pan.

Take the largest cake and flip it upside down on the cake plate. Peel off the waxed paper and discard. Frost the cake all over and smooth out with the large spatula. Carefully flip the medium cake over in your hand and place in the center of the larger cake. Peel off the waxed paper, discard, and frost this cake. Repeat the process with the smaller cake. Use extra frosting to fill any holes or to smooth out the cake. Cake should be sturdy enough, but you can insert wooden dowels or toothpicks on each layer before icing.

Now, get as creative as you’d like by decorating the cake with candies, sugar flowers, or anything else you may get from the store. Use the colored icing tubes to make lattice work, loops, or to write out messages. Be creative and have fun. If you’re making the cake for a themed baby shower, pick decorative items that follow along the rest of the party theme and colors.

Your friends will be impressed with your handiwork…and may even have you make cakes for all of their future parties.




Criss White is a professional writer that writes about food, babies, and other party planning topics like baby shower cupcakes and other baby shower ideas. Criss enjoys hosting parties and baking when not writing.