A photo of multiple cakes on platters, on a table draped in pink fabric.

11 Of Our Best Cake Recipes To Celebrate Our 95th Anniversary

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. The end result? A very celebratory spread.

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.

A photo of a white frosted ring cake with orange balled fruit in the middle.

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.

A photo of a tall, domed cake frosted with orange icing and adorned with a clementine and orange gerbera daisies.

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.

A photo of white cupcakes with dollops of deep red icing.

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.

A rectangular cake with a thick ice cream layer, covered in meringue.

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.

A tiered cake frosted in white frosting and topped with candied chestnuts.

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.

A photo of a very tall layer cake with shaggy, multicoloured icing.

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.

A sheet cake with chocolate frosting and elaborate garnishes.

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.

Layers of jelly roll, cake and custard in a trifle bowl.

Raspberry Trifle

Bust out your best novelty glassware: This no-bake trifle recipe from the 1990s remains unchanged and as delicious as ever.

A domed cake with an outer layer of jelly cake rounds, and raspberry garnish.

Lemon Blast Bombe

Sliced jelly rolls make this refrigerator cake from the 2000s truly whimsical.

A photo of a cake covered in pink icing rosettesand topped with cherries.

Cherry Cake With Marzipan Roses

This dense, nutty cake—created in the 2010s—has remained a staff favourite.

A layer cake on a pink pedestal with elaborate pink frosting.

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.

An elaborate icing rosette in various shades of pink.

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.