40th Birthday Cake Recipe
The ultimate 40th birthday cake recipe with a lemon sponge, easily customisable and decorated with smooth buttercream icing and sweet treats – you can't go wrong!
The Ultimate 40th Birthday Cake Recipe
20
40 minutes
35 minutes
Cake
Happy 40th Birthday to us! We're celebrating with this delicious zesty lemon cake by @onesxitydegrees. It's such a special recipe to us, this cake says Whitworths Sugar all over - vibrant, colourful, sweet and extravagant💜🧡
Use our recipe to celebrate your loved ones’ 40th – it’s easily customisable with colours and sweet treats to make it as unique as they are!
Ingredients
Sponge
- 280g Whitworths Caster Sugar
- 280g Baking Spread, chilled
- 4 Large Eggs, at room temperature
- Zest of 2 Lemons
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 280g Self Raising Flour, sifted
Buttercream
- 600g Whitworths Icing Sugar
- 250g Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
- 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 Tbsp Milk
- 50g Lemon Curd
- Gel Food Colouring
Directions
Sponge
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan. Lightly grease and line a 10 x 8 inch number shape tin.
- Cream together the caster sugar and baking spread in a bowl for 2 mins, until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time along with a large spoonful of flour, mixing in between each.
- Mix in the lemon zest and juice.
- Fold the flour into the mixture using a spatula/metal spoon.
- Add the mixture to the tin and bake in the oven for approx. 35-40 mins.
- Leave the sponge in the tins for 10 mins, then carefully remove and cool on a wire rack.
- Once cool, wrap the sponge well with cling film and chill for at least 60 mins in the fridge or ideally overnight.
Buttercream
- With a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter for 3-5 mins until pale and fluffy.
- Add half the icing sugar and beat again until combined.
- Mix in the remaining icing sugar, along with the vanilla extract and milk and beat for 5 mins.
- Fold the buttercream using a silicone spatula, pressing out any air bubbles.
- Split the buttercream into however many colours you are using and mix in your food colouring.
Decorating
- Using a large serrated knife of cake leveller, cut the chilled sponge in half.
- Assemble the cake by piping a layer of buttercream on top of the first sponge and drizzle the lemon curd over the buttercream. Place the second sponge on top.
- Using different piping nozzles, pipe the remaining buttercream over the top of the cake.
- Decorate with sprinkles, mini cupcakes, mini chocolate bars or anything you like!