33 Wonderful 40th Birthday Cake Ideas To Try

Click through our list of 33 amazing 40th birthday cake inspirations you can try to make at home to impress your friends and family!

A Few Words About 40th Birthday Cake

If you’re looking for inspiration to make a 40th birthday cake, then you came to the right place. A 40th birthday is one of the most important milestones in a person’s life, so you would want to make that occasion as memorable as possible.

That’s why we give you this list of 33 of the most creative 40th birthday cake inspirations you can make at home to celebrate your loved one’s journey in life.

From the fashionista, the jokesters, and the classic, everyone will have their pick from the bunch. So read on and find the cake that best suits you!

1

Number 40 Birthday Cake

This is a classic number cake for those who are looking for 40th birthday cake ideas that are simple and elegant.

The base cake is made of moist chocolate sponge cakes that are shaped into the numbers 4 and 0. If you don’t have any special baking dish, you can just print out the numbers and carve them accordingly.

It’s a fairly easy two-layer cake that’s filled with buttercream and chocolate ganache. The toppings are made with macarons, fresh flowers, buttercream flowers, and your choice of chocolate bars.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

2

40th Birthday Cake Idea

Another simple cake that any beginner baker can make. This happy 40th birthday cake is made entirely of wonderful chocolate cake filled with chocolate ganache.

You can switch out the chocolate with vanilla for those wanting a lighter taste. The cake is then covered in dark-colored buttercream before you add more finishing touches, such as some cool haphazard red dots, to create a textured and watercolor-style decoration.

Then you can add the drips with white chocolate ganache on the edges. It’s a fairly simple process that you can do in under an hour.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

3

High Heel LV 40th Birthday Cake

Is the birthday girl a fashionista? Then this cake is the perfect companion as a happy birthday 40th cake.

The cake features a high heel LV shoe and LV present box that is embossed with the LV logo. This cake is a big undertaking since you need to finesse the shaping and cooling of the heels, which has several difficult elements.

You can always crave the elements using your hands and a carving knife if you do not have the utensils needed. Make sure you follow the tutorial very closely, as it can get quite complicated.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

4

Two Tier 40th Birthday Cake For Men

Here’s a masculine cake that you can make for that special man as his cake for his 40th birthday.

The base cake is made of chocolate sponge cake and chocolate ganache that are stacked quite high. This cake is also two-tier, so you’ll need a supporting structure such as skewers and straws installed.

The cake is then covered in dark-colored fondant, with the lower tier being a silver watch, and the second tier will feature the number 40 and fondant beer cans. Customize this cake by using his favorite colors as the theme.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

5

Ruffle and Silver Leaf 40th Birthday Cake

A beautiful classic cake that features a ruffle tier and silver leaf. This is one of the best cake designs for a 40th birthday because it’s simple enough so that everyone will love and appreciate this cake.

The cake is made of chocolate sponge cake and covered with buttercream. Then the first tier will be covered in silver leaf to create an expensive look, and the second tier will be covered with ribbons of fondant made into ruffles.

Follow along with the tutorial to see how you can achieve the ruffle look, and you’ll find no issues in making this cake.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

6

Hello 40th Birthday Cake

Here is another fairly simple cake that’s beginner friendly and can be made in under an hour. The cake is made of chocolate sponge cake and chocolate ganache sprinkled with some crumbled chocolate pieces.

It’s truly a rich cake, something you would not have thought since the exterior is very simple. Cover the cake entirely with white buttercream, and start to create an emboss with your skewers or knife.

Then stick on some edible pearls as a finishing touch before adding the cake topper and fresh flowers on top. Simple, easy, but still breathtakingly beautiful.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

7

40th Makeup Lipstick Selfie Theme Birthday Cake For Women

This is the best cake for your friends who are obsessed with social media. One of the most original 40th birthday cake designs, the cake features a figure taking a selfie in the middle of the cake.

It also has print-out lipsticks at the rims of the cake as a bonus feature. To make this cake, you need to be a bit more on the artistic side because it has many elements you’ll need to create, especially the person in the middle.

But the process is simple, and as long as you follow along with the tutorial, you’ll be fine.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

8

Gold 40th Cake

Another classic example of a cake that is suitable for everyone. If your birthday girl or boy is more into a warmer color scheme, then this gold 40th cake can be the perfect fit.

This is the right cake if you’re looking for easy 40th birthday cake ideas since all you need to do is to make the base cake – which you can customize with your choice of flavor. Then create a tall stack before covering them with gold dust.

Add some finishing touches, such as their favorite colors on the bottom tier cake or their favorite flowers on top of the cake, and you’re done.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

9

40th Birthday Cake With Fresh Flowers

This is a cake 40th birthday worthy, thanks to its beautiful arrangement of flowers and simplicity.

This cake can be an option if you’re looking for something that has a beautiful aesthetic and showstopping elements but doesn’t have much experience handling fondant or buttercream.

The base cake itself can be made out of your favorite flavor, and the coverings are made of fondant. You can customize this cake by choosing the right color scheme and your birthday girl’s favorite flowers as a topper.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

10

Silhouette Cake For 40th Birthday

If you’re after a more sentimental present, this birthday cake 40th is the perfect fit. This multi-tiered cake features a lot of sentimental value thanks to its silhouettes.

The silhouettes will portray the person’s journey from childhood until now, so get ready to grab some of their most memorable pictures to create the silhouettes. Aside from that, the cake is fairly simple.

You can use their favorite flavor as the base cake, then cover it in white fondant to create the perfect background for a starking black silhouette.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

11

40th Birthday Cake

Here’s a simpler version of the silhouette cake. This one is a single-tier 40th birthday cake featuring the birthday boy and his family in silhouette.

Create the base cake with their favorite flavor and stack it with vanilla buttercream. The cake is then simply covered in white fondant and decorated with a blue fondant ribbon on the bottom.

Then stick on the silhouette that portrays the birthday boy’s family before finishing off with a 40th birthday topper made of fondant as well. A simple, easy cake that you can whip up in 60 minutes.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

12

Makeup Cosmetics 40th Birthday Cake

This is another unique idea to celebrate that special person’s 40th birthday.

This birthday cake is made of a chocolate cake base and covered in pink fondant before it is topped with their favorite makeup, accessories, and cosmetics.

The base of the cake is very simple, but you will need to be detail-oriented to create all the small elements that will portray the makeup. So, be sure to follow each step so that you can create each element nicely.

If you’re done, all you need to do is just to assemble everything on top of the cake.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

13

Bristol Rovers 40th Birthday Cake

If your birthday boy is a sports fan, then this cake will be the perfect fit to celebrate their birthday. This cake features a big 4 and 0 that are covered in Bristol Rovers color scheme, blue and white.

You can definitely customize it with the birthday boy’s favorite sports theme and include several elements typical of the sport, such as a small basketball or a hockey puck on the side of the cake.

You can also customize the base cake by using your favorite flavor. It’s a great cake that can inspire you to be more creative.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

14

40th Birthday Cake/Adult Birthday Cake

Here’s another simple cake you can whip up quickly to celebrate your 40th birthday anytime.

The cake is a simple white cake made of a vanilla sponge cake base, which you can switch up according to your preferences. The cake is then covered in white buttercream before being decorated with some beautiful edible flowers.

Follow the tutorial to learn a trick or two on how to create edible flowers using buttercream. Then decorate the cake with the flowers you just made as finishing touches, and you’re ready to present your cake.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

15

40th Birthday Weed Cake

This is a humorous cake that the jokesters in your family will surely appreciate. The cake is a self-proclaimed “weed cake” that features a pair of red eyes, a weed leaf, and a blunt.

The cake itself is made fairly simple, using three layers of chiffon cake that you can customize according to your favorite taste. It’s then covered up with white fondant before it is decorated with elements made from fondant.

Follow the tutorial to see how you can create each element using a printout and carving knife.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

16

40th Birthday Cake For Men

A simple, single-layered cake with a masculine color theme is the perfect cake you can make to celebrate that special man in your life.

The base cake can be customized with their choice of flavor, but you can follow the tutorial to create each element using fondant. You can also switch up the colors according to their favorite scheme so that the cake will feel even more personalized.

Put everything together using skewers and water, and don’t forget to create the fondant ribbon to create the present effect at the end.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

17

40th Birthday Cake

A beautiful cake that will be loved by fashionistas everywhere. This cake is made to feature the classic black Chanel bag, so if you want to try the realistic cake theme, this is your chance to show what you’ve got.

The tutorial is very detailed because you can actually see how the cake is cut and how it all comes together, so even if you’re not familiar with working with baked goods, you’ll be in safe hands.

The decorative nature of the cake is made entirely of fondant, so get ready to shape and create structure. Show off your creative side with this cake!

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

18

40th Birthday Cake

A simple cake that you can use to surprise your best friend! This 40 and fabulous cake is made of some vanilla sponge cake that you can switch by using your friend’s favorite flavor.

The cake is made entirely of buttercream, so if you dislike fondant, this could be your choice. Cover the entire cake with cream-colored buttercream, then create beautiful flowers made out of buttercream and icing to decorate the cake.

You can definitely switch up the colors of the flowers and feature their favorite flowers instead.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

19

My 40th Birthday Cake

If you’re celebrating only with your close friends and family, this cake can be made to serve your closest circle. It’s a very simple but beautiful cake made out of buttercream.

One of the most beautiful aspects of the cake itself is the haphazard way the colored buttercream is put onto the cake to portray a sort of watercolor effect on the side of the cake.

You can customize it using your favorite colors instead of the chosen purple and pink color scheme here. Then finish up with some gold leaf at the edges and top it off with your favorite flowers.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

20

Amazing 40th Birthday Cake

If you’re trying to get more creative with your cake, this multi-tiered cake can deliver your wildest dreams.

This cake features four different layers that you can decorate to your heart’s desire. This recipe or tutorial shows you two different aspects: color block tiers and a tier with patterns.

The color block tiers are made and covered with dark fondant, and the pattern tiers are made of light-colored fondant (in this case, it’s green and pink) and then colored using food colorings.

The color block tiers are then decorated with fresh flowers. There are plenty of opportunities for you to customize this cake according to your taste.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

21

Gorgeous Surprise Birthday Cake

Here’s a cute cake that your fashionista friend will love. This cake features ruffles made of fondant to portray a skirt; underneath, there will be a pair of walking feet wearing high heels!

This cake is a great idea that surely deserves to be a centerpiece. You can customize the cake by using a specific taste and different colors to portray the skirt and the high heels.

Follow the tutorial to see how you can make each element. Finish off with some beautiful sugar flowers on top, and the cake is ready for your surprise party!

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

22

40th Birthday Cake

A simple cake that can easily be made but still very aesthetic looking, there’s nothing not to love about this chocolate cake.

The cake itself is super simple, a single-tier cake made of your favorite flavors, covered with dark brown chocolate buttercream. But on top, the decorations are what make this cake interesting.

First off, you will be using white chocolate ganache to create a drip effect, then the top of the cake will be decorated with cookie crumbles to resemble sand, and lastly, it will be topped with some chocolate-covered strawberries and wafer sticks.

Simple and can be made easily using available food products.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

23

Chanel Purse Cake 40th

If your friend loves branded things, this cake will be the perfect present for their 40th birthday. This cake is made to look like a Chanel bag, following the current trend of realistic-looking cakes.

It’s made from vanilla sponge cakes before being covered by pink-colored fondant to create the smooth texture and emboss of the cake.

Follow the tutorial to create the details and see how to make each element. Although it seems fairly simple, this cake still needs a lot of attention to detail.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

24

Buttercream 40th Birthday Blue and White Cake For A Man

A classic-looking cake that will suit a celebration with your family and friends.

This single-tier cake features a very simple blue-and-white color theme and is made entirely of buttercream, so those who dislike working with fondant should try this recipe.

The cake is made of vanilla sponge cake and covered with vanilla buttercream, but you can try switching it up with other flavors and using other color schemes. The bulk of the work will be about piping the details neatly.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

25

Bollywood Movies Retro Cake 40th Birthday

Is your birthday boy or girl a fan of Bollywood movies? Then this Bollywood Retro Cake will definitely suit their taste.

It features a red carpet, film roll, clapperboard, and popcorn. You can try to customize this and go for old Hollywood glamor as well by switching to different movie names on the clapperboard.

The cake itself is made of vanilla sponge cake that’s covered in different colored buttercream to portray each of the elements. The popcorn will be sprinkled on top to portray the movie-loving atmosphere, and your Bollywood cake will be made.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

26

40th Birthday Cake

Here’s an interesting cake for your alternative guy – a man spraying graffiti at a skatepark accompanied by a sports car.

The entire cake is made of vanilla sponge cake that you can customize using your favorite flavors. It is then covered with fondant to portray each of the elements.

Follow along with the tutorial to see how you can create them and how to paint the graffiti as well as the grass on the bottom layer.

Although it seems overwhelming, the tutorial is very detailed, and you can follow along comfortably.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

27

40th Birthday Cake Design Tutorial

This is another simple cake that you can whip up quickly if you’re suddenly invited to a 40th birthday party.

The cake is made of single-tier vanilla sponge cake. It is then covered with white buttercream before embossing with a crisscross pattern.

Then stick on some edible pearls to create more textures, and also, don’t forget the gold leaf on the edges of the cake. Finish up with some sugar flowers on top of the cake and then with personalized writing.

A very simple and easy cake that will take less than an hour to decorate.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

28

Brother’s 40th Birthday Cake – Birthday Cake For Men

You can make a classic cake for your family and friends celebrating their 40th birthday. The cake features a very simple three-tier cake that’s covered in fondant.

The showstopper lies with the writings on the cake: it says “the man, the myth, the legend” and then the year the person is born. The cake has a purple and yellow color scheme, but you can definitely try to customize using your favorite colors.

Don’t forget to cover the bottom of the cake with a fondant ribbon to make the cake neat. A simple but impactful cake everyone can enjoy.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

29

40th Birthday Decorating Idea

Here’s a very simple cake you can make in under an hour. The cake is a nice single-tier cake made of vanilla sponge cake.

It is then covered with dark-colored fondant to smooth out all the exterior textures. Afterward, it is decorated with different-sized circles made from blue fondant.

You can use different-sized cookie cutters to create these circles or even print out circles to trace with a carving knife. All the circles are then put on the sides of the cake before you top it off with a 40 cake topper.

Easy, tasty, and simple.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

30

Brother’s 40th Birthday Cake

This is a very cute tutorial on a themed birthday cake which you can follow step-by-step. This cake features two big balls with 4 and 0 written on them, made to portray a pool table.

You can customize this cake using different sports themes, such as soccer, hockey, or cricket. It all depends on the birthday boy’s favorite sport of choice.

This tutorial will show you exactly what to do in each step, which will be very helpful for beginner bakers. Everything will be shaped out of fondant, so you must get used to working with the material.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

31

40th Birthday Cake

This is a feminine cake made to portray the number 40. The cake is made of vanilla sponge cake that is shaped using a printout of the numbers using a carving knife, so be very careful to follow the guidelines.

The cake is then topped with white buttercream to act as a background for the whole cake before being decorated with pink buttercream on the lining. It is then finished with buttercream flowers and leaves to create a garden-like cake.

Make sure you have a steady hand so your cake will be as impressive as the one in the tutorial.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

32

40th Birthday Cake For Men

Here’s a simple single-tier cake for the workaholic men in your life. This 40th birthday cake features a sitting man, a laptop, a work bag, and the number 40.

It’s a fairly simple cake made of chocolate cake that’s covered with dark-colored fondant. The bulk of the work will be when you carve out the sitting man, which will require patience and artistic skills. But as long as you follow along with the tutorial, you’ll be fine.

If you’re not comfortable sculpting a person, you can just focus on the work bag and laptop instead.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.

33

Special 40th Birthday Cake Idea – Victoria Sponge Cake

Our last cake on the list features a simple number cake made from vanilla sponge cake. The tutorial uses a specially shaped-baking dish to create the 4 and 0 numbers, but you can create them using printouts and a carving knife.

The cake is then covered in buttercream before being decorated with chocolate fingers, chocolate bars, and crumbles. You can customize this cake using your favorite chocolate brands, candy bars, or even different flavored sponge cakes.

A simple cake that uses ready-made food products for decoration, it’s definitely one of the easier ones on our list.

Click here to see the instructions for the recipe.