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I am baking a 6 layer 9inch birthday cake for my daughter. How many cake mix boxes would I need to do this please? X

Mia
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    This is really a simple maths question, but you do need to tell us (a) the size of cake that one box is intended to produce (b) how deep you want your layers, otherwise it is not answerable. – dbmag9 Jan 20 '23 at 08:55
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    @dbmag9 On a first glance, you are right, math seems to be prominent. I decided to nevertheless answer - we don't have a rule against posting "too simple" questions - and writing up made me realize that there is quite a bit of baking specific knowledge that goes into making the right decision, while the math is almost a footnote. So, the question turned out to have unsuspected depths :) – rumtscho Jan 20 '23 at 11:07
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    How tall do you want your cake? If you’re comfortable with torting (splitting a baked cake into layers), and have taller cake pans, I’d bake two boxes of mix in two pans (one box each), then split each into three layers. But I have 3” (7.5cm) high cake pans… and only two of them – Joe Jan 21 '23 at 09:34

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According to another question we have about the size of boxed mixes, major mix brands in the USA use a roughly standard size, one box is intended to produce two layers of a 9x6 rectangular cake.

You say "9 inch layers", which sounds like you are planning round layers of a 9 inch diameter. The area of a 9 inch round layer is only 15% more than the area of the area of a 9x6 rectangular layer, which is immaterial for baking purposes. If you have a recipe which produces a good layer when poured into a 9x6 pan, it will produce just as good a layer in a 9 inch round pan.

So, there is a very convenient answer. Use three boxes, and bake them in six portion, each in a nine-inch pan. It will give you six suitable-sized layers.

On the logistic side, when preparing a child's birthday, you don't want to suddenly realize "it is 10 PM, I just burned two layers to crisps and now cannot deliver the exact promised cake for neither love nor money". So I would buy four or five boxes (plus any extra eggs, etc.) in the hope to only use three of them.

Also, don't be tempted to save time by mixing all batter at once and dividing into six. This idea sounds good on the surface, but is actually full of hidden traps that can make your cake fail to bake properly. Mix one box at a time, then bake, then the next, etc.

FuzzyChef
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rumtscho
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    Those "standard" US mixes will give a layer at least 3 cm thick, maybe even 4 cm. Six layers of that thickness is going to make a very tall cake. Depending what OP is going for, it might make more sense to make only 3 pans of cake cut them horizontally to get 6 thinner layers. – The Photon Jan 21 '23 at 16:41