How many calories are in a slice of cake?
A slice of frosted bakery cake — one twelfth of a round cake, 144 g — carries 546 calories. Per 100 g that cake runs 379 calories. Cut an 18 oz store cake into eighths instead and a slice is 243. The calories in cake are decided by the knife more than by the recipe.
You'd need to walk about 109 minutes to burn the 546 calories in one slice, 1/12 of a cake (144 g).
How long does it take to burn off cake?
One slice, 1/12 of a cake (144 g) is 546 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 546 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr 49 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 1 hr 8 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 1 hr 18 min |
| Jogging | 1 hr 4 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 2 hr 1 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (144 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Cake quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to a whole cake
- Chocolate, cheesecake, pound and angel food
- Frosting, not flour, moves the number
- Saturated fat and sodium are the rows to watch
- How does cake compare?
- Most popular cake brands
- FAQ
Cake quick facts
The record on this page is USDA SR Legacy 174944, "Cake, yellow, commercially prepared, with chocolate frosting, in-store bakery". That is the cake most people are actually holding: a round frosted cake from the supermarket bakery case, sold whole and cut at home. It is also the only cake record in the database with a full set of household portions attached — a twelfth of a round cake, an eighth of an 18 oz cake, one ounce, and the whole thing.
If your cake has no frosting, or it is cheesecake, pound cake or angel food, skip ahead. Those have their own records and their own numbers, and the difference between them is not small.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 slice, 1/12 of a cake (144 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 379 | 546 | — |
| Total fat | 17.75 g | 25.6 g | 33% |
| Saturated fat | 5.79 g | 8.3 g | 42% |
| Carbohydrate | 55.36 g | 79.7 g | 29% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.5 g | 2.2 g | 8% |
| Total sugars | 39.22 g | 56.5 g | — |
| Protein | 3.16 g | 4.6 g | 9% |
| Sodium | 310 mg | 446 mg | 19% |
| Cholesterol | 16 mg | 23 mg | 8% |
| Potassium | 187 mg | 269 mg | 6% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
There is no added-sugars row above, and that is deliberate. The SR Legacy edition does not publish added sugars for baked goods, only total sugars, so the row is left out rather than guessed. It matters here: the FDA Daily Value for added sugars is 50 g, and the 56.5 g in this slice is total sugars, which includes whatever the flour and dairy bring along. The two numbers are not comparable, however close they look.
US servings, from one ounce to a whole cake
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 107 kcal |
| 1 slice, 1/8 of an 18 oz cake | 64 g | 243 kcal |
| 1 slice, 1/12 of a round cake | 144 g | 546 kcal |
| 1 whole cake | 1729 g | 6553 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 379 kcal |
Every row here is a USDA portion for record 174944, including the 1,729 g whole cake — that is the weight USDA assigns to the full bakery item, not our estimate.
The gap between the two slices is the single most useful thing on this page. Both are called a slice. One is 144 g because a round bakery cake gets cut into twelve; the other is 64 g because a small packaged 18 oz cake gets cut into eight. That is 546 against 243, a factor of 2.2, for cake that came out of the same oven. A party where the host cuts generously and a party where the host cuts thin are two different logs.
Snack cakes are their own category and they are denser still. USDA's branded data puts Little Debbie Zebra Cakes at 446 calories per 100 g, with the labeled serving of two cakes (74 g) at 330 — more per gram than any bakery cake in the tables below, because the coating is most of the surface.
Chocolate, cheesecake, pound and angel food
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical piece | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow cake, chocolate frosting | 379 kcal | 1 slice, 1/12 of a cake (144 g) | 546 kcal |
| Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting | 389 kcal | 1 slice, 1/12 of a cake (138 g) | 537 kcal |
| Cheesecake | 321 kcal | 1 piece, NLEA serving (125 g) | 401 kcal |
| Pound cake, butter | 353 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) | 100 kcal |
| Carrot cake | 374 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) | 106 kcal |
| Crumb coffee cake | 396 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) | 112 kcal |
| Angel food cake | 257 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) | 73 kcal |
The last four rows are priced by the ounce because USDA does not attach a standard slice to them; those per-ounce figures are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g values, not USDA servings. Weigh your piece and multiply.
Angel food is the outlier, and it is not close. At 257 calories per 100 g it is the only cake here under 300, and it gets there by having almost no fat at all — 0.3 g per 100 g against 17.75 g in the frosted yellow cake. It is nearly pure egg white, sugar and flour. Crumb coffee cake sits at the other end, 396 per 100 g, because the streusel on top is butter, sugar and flour mixed and scattered.
Chocolate versus vanilla is a coin flip. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting runs 389 per 100 g against 379 for the yellow version, a difference of ten calories per 100 g that disappears the moment one slice is cut thicker than the other.
Frosting, not flour, moves the number
Take the frosting off and the same cake changes category. USDA lists white cake with no icing at 310 calories per 100 g — specifically 310 for white with no icing and 303 for chocolate with no icing, against 379 and 389 for the frosted versions.
| Cake | Per 100 g | Sugars per 100 g | Fat per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow, chocolate frosting | 379 kcal | 39.22 g | 17.75 g |
| Chocolate, chocolate frosting | 389 kcal | 39.96 g | 20.05 g |
| White, no icing | 310 kcal | 23.39 g | 12.78 g |
| Chocolate, no icing | 303 kcal | 21.52 g | 13.24 g |
| Cake or cupcake, NFS | 352 kcal | 39.53 g | 14.77 g |
The frosted and unfrosted records come from different USDA editions, but the gap is preparation, not bookkeeping: the frosted rows carry roughly 16 to 18 g more sugar and 5 to 7 g more fat per 100 g. On the 144 g slice, going frosted costs about 99 calories. That is the cheapest edit available at a birthday table — take the piece from the middle of the sheet rather than a corner, where the frosting piles up on two sides.
The "cake or cupcake, NFS" row at 352 is what to use when you genuinely do not know what you ate. It is a weighted average across cake types, not a recipe, so it is a fair default and a poor description.
Saturated fat and sodium are the rows to watch
Calories are the headline; the two rows that surprise people are lower down. One 144 g slice carries 8.3 g of saturated fat, 42% of the Daily Value, and 446 mg of sodium, 19% — about a fifth of a teaspoon of table salt. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans put a 10% cap on calories from saturated fat, and a single slice of frosted cake takes a large bite out of that before dinner is served.
The sodium number is the one nobody expects, because cake does not taste salty. It comes from baking soda, baking powder and salted butter, and at 19% of the day it outweighs the slice's protein contribution of 9%. If you are watching sodium, angel food is not the escape — its record runs higher per gram than the frosted cake does. The escape is a smaller piece.
Fiber is 2.2 g in the slice, 8% of the Daily Value, which is real but modest; MyPlate's guidance on grains and sweets treats cake as a source of added sugars first and a grain second, and the numbers agree.
How does cake compare?
| Dessert | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cake, yellow with chocolate frosting | 379 kcal | 1 slice, 1/12 of a cake (144 g) | 546 kcal |
| Cheesecake | 321 kcal | 1 piece, NLEA serving (125 g) | 401 kcal |
| Pound cake, snack size | 389 kcal | 1 snack cake, 2.5 oz (71 g) | 276 kcal |
| Blueberry muffin | 375 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) | 106 kcal |
Our take: for weight loss, the pick is portion, not flavor. All four of these sit between 321 and 389 calories per 100 g, so per gram they are the same dessert — what separates 546 from 276 is that one comes as a twelfth of a round cake and the other comes wrapped. If you want the taste without the total, take a 64 g slice at 243 or a 1 oz sliver at 107. If you want the cake to actually fill you, none of these will: 4.6 g of protein in a 546-calorie slice is the worst trade on the table, and a piece of cheesecake at 401 with 5.5 g of protein per 100 g is only marginally better. Eat it as dessert after a meal with protein in it, not as the meal.
Most popular cake brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Little Debbie Zebra Cakes | 446 cal |
| Little Debbie Zebra Cake (87 g) | 437 cal |
| Little Debbie Zebra Cake (61 g) | 443 cal |
| Little Debbie Zebra Cake Rolls | 452 cal |
| Tre Marie Cake | 386 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Cake FAQs
How many calories are in a slice of cake?
546 calories for a 144 g slice, one twelfth of a round frosted bakery cake, at 379 calories per 100 g. A smaller slice cut as one eighth of an 18 oz cake weighs 64 g and comes to 243. The weight of the slice decides almost everything here.
How many calories in cake without frosting?
310 calories per 100 g for white cake with no icing and 303 for chocolate with no icing, against 379 and 389 for the same cakes frosted. On a 144 g slice that gap is close to 100 calories. Frosting is sugar and fat sitting on top.
Which cake has the fewest calories?
Angel food cake, at 257 calories per 100 g. It is the only cake in this set under 300, because it is built on egg whites and carries 0.3 g of fat per 100 g. A 1 oz piece is 73 calories, our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure.
How many calories in a whole cake?
6,553 calories for a whole frosted bakery cake weighing 1,729 g, the USDA portion for the full item. That is twelve 144 g slices at 546 each. Sheet cakes and layer cakes vary in size, so weigh yours if you want the number to be yours.
How many calories in chocolate cake vs vanilla cake?
389 calories per 100 g for chocolate cake with chocolate frosting against 379 for yellow cake with the same frosting, a 10-calorie gap per 100 g. Per slice the chocolate one is 537 for 138 g and the yellow one 546 for 144 g. The size wins.
How many calories in a slice of cheesecake?
401 calories for a 125 g piece, the NLEA serving, at 321 calories per 100 g. Cheesecake is lighter per gram than frosted yellow cake at 379 because it carries far less carbohydrate, 25.5 g against 55.36 g per 100 g, though more fat at 22.5 g.
How much sugar is in a slice of cake?
56.5 g of total sugars in a 144 g slice, which is 39.22 g per 100 g, close to two fifths of the slice by weight. USDA's SR Legacy record does not split out added sugars for this cake, so there is no honest way to compare it with the 50 g added-sugars Daily Value.
Is cake high in sodium?
446 mg in one 144 g slice, 19% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, about a fifth of a teaspoon of table salt, and a bigger share of the day than the slice's protein at 9%. Baking soda and baking powder, not taste, put it there.
Similar foods
- Scone — 267 cal per regular scone
- Cinnamon Roll — 335 cal plain, 407 frosted
- Chocolate chip muffin — 523 cal per medium muffin
- Apple Fritter — 455 cal per fritter
- Crescent roll — 114 cal per crescent roll
- Croissant — 231 cal per medium croissant
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the slice for you, frosting and all.
