Buttercream calculator
How much buttercream to fill and cover your cake, tier by tier, plus cupcakes, and what that frosting costs you. Free and no sign-up. It all runs in your browser, so nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
Put the frosting in the price
Know what the buttercream costs, then price the whole cake. The Popkiln Bakery Recipe Costing sheet (Google Sheets) does the rest:
- Unlimited recipes in one list, all feeding one overview.
- Adds your hourly rate and monthly overheads to every piece.
- Converts cups and spoons to grams, with 25 common baking ingredients already listed.
- Three pricing methods side by side, plus profit per hour of your time.
- Flags products you sell below cost or below your target margin.
- Scales any recipe up or down.
How much buttercream do you need?
The calculator works out the volume of frosting a cake takes and converts it to cups. It counts three parts for each tier: the filling between layers, the coat on top and the coat around the sides. With the usual thicknesses (about ⅓ in between layers and ¼ in outside), an 8 in round, two-layer cake 4 in tall takes about 3.8 cups, or about 4.3 cups with 15% spare.
Why add extra
Bowls, spatulas and piping bags all hold some back, and a crumb coat uses a little more. Most bakers make 10 to 15% more than the cake needs. Piped decoration (rosettes, swirls, borders) takes far more than a smooth finish, so add a cup or two for a decorated top.
Cupcakes
A simple piped swirl uses about 2 cups of buttercream per dozen cupcakes. Tall swirls take more; a thin spread takes less.
From cups to cost
Enter how many cups one batch of your recipe makes and what the batch costs, and the calculator shows what the frosting for this cake costs you. Frosting is often the most expensive part of a cake's ingredients, so it is worth knowing before you quote.
Method and thicknesses follow Chelsweets' buttercream guide; cupcake amount from the same guide. Estimates only: your spreading and piping will differ.