After last week's discussion of cooking compromises, we felt honor-bound to share the recipe that makes us choose baking cakes from scratch over using a mix.

This one-bowl recipe can be mixed up in under 10 minutes, and it turns out a reliably light golden cake with a moist crumb. It's solid with flavor and the taste of butter, unlike the over-heightened, additive-ridden cake mix products, which usually taste overwhelmingly of sugar and not much else. More

What do ruffles, asparagus, and hamburgers all have in common? They're all themes around which people have designed birthday cakes. Some fancy, all fun, these cakes go above and beyond the sheet pan with their impressive and imaginative details. More

I'll be the first to say it: I don't make very pretty cakes. At least, not in that Pinterest-able way, with perfect swoops and swirls and curlicue handwriting. Personally, I like to find other ways to make birthday cakes look and feel special. Like using something completely non-edible, for instance, like these cute pom-pom cake toppers from 6 Bittersweets. More

Q: My husband cannot have anything that is made with any kind of flour. I would like to make cakes. Is there anything I can use instead of all-purpose flour, cake flour, etc. Is arrowroot something that could replace the flour?

Sent by Connie More

Baking a cake? Let's talk cake flour. Specifically, what is it, why use it, and whether it's really as crucial to the success of a cake as recipes make it out to be. Do you bake with cake flour? More

There's a lot of debate about sugar: is it toxic? Is it just the processed stuff that's harmful? Or is sugar, well, sugar, regardless if it comes from honey, agave, or the classic white granules? Whatever your stance, here are 10 dessert recipes that all get their sweetness from one non-white-sugar source: maple syrup! More

What's cuter than a full-size layer cake and more festive than a cupcake? A mini layer cake! Jordan from Oh Happy Day has a tutorial for making these adorable cakes, which are baked in repurposed tin cans. More

It's Birthday Week at The Kitchn, and if it's your birthday, you're in luck — it's all birthday cake today! We're swinging in with our favorite birthday cakes and cupcakes — sweet, pretty, and candle-ready. We have fudgy chocolate cakelets, and a Funfetti cake (from scratch!). There's strawberry milk cake, and a hot pink raspberry cake too. We have the perfect fluffy yellow butter cake, ready for your fudge frosting, an orange vegan cake, and deliciously light and fluffy gluten-free cupcakes. Read on for these and more — our favorite birthday treats from the archives. More

Calling all cake lovers: you don't need a cake pan to enjoy the sweet goodness of birthday cake. These five recipes show it's possible to not have a cake, but eat it, too. More

Consider this cake decorating for dummies—foolproof ways to make a layer cake look super impressive without a lot of fancy tools. Two even use store-bought candy. More