How to Make Cake Flights
Cake flights are the fast selling item every time I go to the farmers market! I love them so much and I’m going to give you all my details so you can make them too!
What is a Cake Flight?
I was inspired to create a cake flight when I was at a restaurant that served Margarita flights.
The restaurant served a flight of different flavored margaritas so you can have a taste of them all. The flight could include a sample size of a regular margarita, strawberry margarita, mango margarita, and a blueberry margarita all served on a single tray.
It’s similar to an appetizer or cake tasting box.
I love the idea of being able to try multiple flavors of a product so I knew I was going to create my own version of a flight in cake form.
What You Need to Make a Cake Flight
Making cake flights is pretty simple and doesn’t require a lot of tools and supplies. You probably have most of what you need in your pantry already, outside of the cake flight packaging.
You’ll need:
3-4 Cake Recipes
I personally favor my dream cake recipes because they taste absolutely amazing and bake up perfectly to achieve the right dimensions.
12”x18” Sheet Pan
I bake my cakes in a sheet pan to make the baking process quicker and to maximize the amount of cake flights I can make in one go.
1 Delicious and Adaptable Buttercream Recipe
Highly recommend using my Vanilla Dream Cream Buttercream recipe! It turns buttercream haters into obsessed, raving fans!
Cake Flight Packaging
I absolutely love and adore these boxes! They are the perfect size for the perfect cake sampler!
How to Make Cake Flights
Choose the flavors you will feature in your cake flight. I choose 3 of my most popular flavors and then add 1 new flavor. This time I went with cookie butter, chocolate, strawberry crunch, and rainbow cake (funfetti).
You can use my exact recipes that my customers go crazy for and cause me to sell out every time I make the cake flights. Grab them here.
Line a 12”x18” sheet pan with parchment paper and spray sides with Baker’s Joy to easily release the cake once baked.
Pour your cake batter into the pan. You can bake one flavor per pan or split the pan with two flavors. I usually do 2 flavors per pan.
If you choose one flavor in the pan, you will have enough of that one flavor to make 18 cake flights. If you split the pan with 2 batters, you will be able to make 9 of each flavor. I personally do 2 flavors per pan, so the instructions from here will be reflective of that.
Repeat as necessary until you have all 4 flavors that will go in your cake flight.
Once cooled, wrap your cakes and put them into the freezer to chill. This will make it easier to slice.
Once chilled, cut your cake in half to separate the two flavors. Then cut the halves in half again.
Add your buttercream and fillings on top of the first layer, then place the second layer on top. Ice that layer and decorate with any toppings or designs of your choice. Do not go overboard because we only have so much room to work with when making these.
The Dimensions
I make my cake flights with 4 flavors, but you can do however many flavors you choose.
The dimensions of each slice of cake in your cake flight needs to be 2” high, 2.5” wide, and 1.5” thick for 4 flavors.
If you are doing 3 flavors, the dimensions are 2” high, 2.5” wide and 2.2” thick.
If you are doing 2 flavors, the dimensions are 2” high, 2.5” wide, and 3.25” thick.
Use a serrated knife to make the cuts. It’s best to chill your cake before cutting for clean slices.
Pro tip:
You will have scraps left over. Instead of throwing them out, use them as samples at your event!
Packaging Cake Flights
Now that you have your slices, you can put them into your cake flight box. I use these boxes and they come in pink and white also.
Your slices should fit perfectly snug, but adjust if needed.
Label your products using my cake flight label templates and you’re all set!
I charge $15-18 for my cake flights, but will go up to $20 at my next farmers market because I sell out. You can use the same numbers or adjust for your market.
I hope this helps and you’re able to add Cake flights to your home bakery business and sell out too! Feel free to reach out with any questions you may have and happy baking!
