is there lighting tricks of the trade or do you just need to buy an expensive camera?

Hi! You will probably get a lot of differing opinions here, but an expensive camera is NOT required. I have a great Leica camera but I most often use my IPhone camera. Try taking the same picture with your phone and your camera and see what you like. My favorite - using natural light! I'm fortunate that I have tremendous natural light in my living room so if you look at my pictures, you'll see that many of them are taken from the same spot! Put your cake either on an appealing yet complimentary plate or cloth or some choose a white background all together. I'm far far from the best decorator on this site but I think I can make my stuff look pretty good in a photo!! Experiment - and see what works for you! Good Luck!
Theresa