If there is one day that is highly anticipated in a person’s life, it has to be the coveted birthday. It is a time for joy and celebration - or woe and despair, depending on your perspective. It typically involves coming together to commemorate another year of being alive and well. However, no birthday would be complete without the centrepiece of all centrepieces, the cherry on top, the pièce de resistance: a birthday cake.

Birthday cakes come in all shapes and sizes, flavours and fillings, and price ranges. Depending on where you reside, the price can go anywhere from a few dollars for your basic local grocery store cake to pricing in the hundreds for more intricate designs at speciality bakeries. Here in Chicago you can find most bakeries charge based on the slice, which averages at around $3-$5 per slice. As you add on more detail and design aspects, the price can easily steer upwards.

Chicagoans are willing to shell out the big bucks, so long as the design matches the price point. "A birthday is supposed to be special. Money shouldn’t be a factor," says one local resident. Touché, my dear, touché.

About TK
TK‘s love for cake decorating came by accident when she bought a YouSwoop (local deal promotion) for a cake decorating class in Chicago. She learned how to make sugar flowers and was soon taking Wilton (cake shop and school) classes, reading every cake design book she could get her hands on, and trying every recipe she could.