When I was a kid, birthday cakes had simple adornments: Some frosting, candles, and maybe the guest of honour’s name handwritten in red food dye. But times have changed. Nowadays, it seems that no child’s party is complete without a sugar-filled masterpiece in the form of a shimmery unicorn head or a Lightning McQueen race car.

While the trend may be good for Instagram pics, it’s bad news for parents’ budgets.

It is well documented that I am not above using a boxed baking mix, particularly those of the chocolate variety. But just because something doesn’t require any culinary creativity, that doesn’t mean you can’t play around with tweaks.

Nothing beats a homemade cake in terms of taste, but it can be hard to achieve that perfect, shiny finish. To give your buttercream a glossy, glamorous look, you'll need to grab your hairdryer.

You may think of olive oil as a strictly "savoury" cooking fat, but its fruity, grassy flavour can add surprising depth to all sorts of desserts.

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. They're also a highly versatile ingredient that can make everything from crispy chips to all-American pies. Here are 10 cooking suggestions for your next apple harvest (or trip to the grocery store). We've even included some ideas for the leftover peel.

When it's time to frost a cake, there is one major enemy you need to look out for: crumbs. This simple practice will keep your cake layers intact, and keep crumbs from invading your pristine frosting.