The way we cook has changed a lot over the past century, but one thing remains constant: Cake is always a reason to celebrate. We dug through hundreds of issues to find recipes from every era of this magazine and asked local cake designers to interpret them in their own style. From baked Alaskas to fluffy angel food confections and even cupcakes made with a can of tomato soup, it’s been a slice tasting every decade of Chatelaine through the lens of dessert.
Colleen Angel Cake
This fluffy confection was the first cake recipe we ever published in the 1920s, as part of a St. Patrick’s Day menu. We added balled fruit to brighten it up.
Orange Cream Cake
Originally developed as a two-layer snacking cake, this dessert would have been a rare treat for cash-strapped bakers in the 1930s.
Tomato Soup Cupcakes
A post-war hack of using canned soup to flavour tea loaf became a baking craze in the ’40s and ’50s. We swapped the loaf tin for cupcakes.
Baked Alaska
As impressive to serve at a party today as it was in the 1950s, this retro dessert is deceptively easy to pull off.
Creme Châtelaine
This frosty take on zabaglione cake was developed for the magazine in the 1960s by Graham Kerr, whose cooking show, The Galloping Gourmet, was a global hit at the time.
Grand Marnier Chocolate Torte
Readers requested this citrusy layered cake recipe from the 1970s so often that we reprinted it in 2000. Now we’re doing so again—with a little ’70s swagger in the decoration.
Decadent Nanaimo Cake
The beloved bar becomes a sheet cake! We take the recipe—first published in the 1980s—up a notch with decadent adornment.
Raspberry Trifle
Bust out your best novelty glassware: This no-bake trifle recipe from the 1990s remains unchanged and as delicious as ever.
Lemon Blast Bombe
Sliced jelly rolls make this refrigerator cake from the 2000s truly whimsical.
Cherry Cake With Marzipan Roses
This dense, nutty cake—created in the 2010s—has remained a staff favourite.
Lemon Poppyseed Layer Cake
Camilla Wynne developed this recipe, published in 2022, as a go-to when making wedding cakes for friends. Here, she’s gone all out with piped frosting for an extra-celebratory effect.
How To Pipe Icing Like A Pro
Want to decorate a cake like our cover stunner? Here are nine easy methods using just three piping tips.
Buttercream Icing
With just five ingredients, this foolproof buttercream icing is versatile and easy to make.
