my brother wants me to do a cake for his wife. her 40th birthday is in december (so at least i have some time). i have no good ideas yet though. he wants it to be something special as she works hard (as a doctor) so that he can stay home with the kids (weird, i know). i need suggestions for cake flavors (she doesn't love cake that much) and for a great way to decorate it! any and all ideas welcome (i'm not usually at a loss)! tia

I hate "over the hill" birthday stuff so I made this one for a friend's 40th: http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1182526 This design has become very popular, especially since we Baby Boomers are all past the "over the hill" birthdays!

If she's not a cake person, I think it would be hard for us to recommend cake flavors. If I'm not a cake person to start with, I wouldn't go all out there with freaky weird off the wall flavors. If they aren't fond of white or chocolate cake, then they probably wouldn't like purple pumpkin laced with sassafras either. I'd make brother name the flavor!

How about a purse? You could make the latch a "40". Or if she's not a cake person, maybe cover a cheesecake instead?

Indydebi: I agree about over the hill cakes. That is definitely not what I am going for. I don't think she is upset about turning 40, but I don't imagine she wants that to be the focus of the cake either. Perhaps just something festive is a good way to go. Yours is cute! I agree too that my brother should name the flavor. I don't want to be responsible for that choice!

Yes, I meant to cover in fondant, sorry! I tried it once- just as an experiment for family. I bought the cheesecake and adde a little buttercream to fill in the indention on top & a little on the sides. Then I covered in fondant. I'd read the threads on it here if you're interested. Could use ganache instead of buttercream, maybe? But, I used Satin Ice and put it covered in the fridge and it was fine. Don't see why you couldn't dowel and use 2 smaller sized cheesecakes to make a taller covered cake. Good luck!

cool idea. I'll have to try covering cheesecake in fondant!

How about one of those strawberry shortcake cakes!? that way it's just a pretty design and then you don't have to do anything "over the hill" like.

How about one like this?

This was one I had wanted to do, so I got the opportunity when my dad ordered an anniv. cake for his wife. There are better/fancier examples on CC, but all my peeps around my town love it!

OMG jammjenks that cake is sooooo cute!. Tell me how you did it!

Thanks, I thought the name was somewhat clever (being that I'm a housewife and all!). How did you get the indented/tapered area where the ribbong goes around? Did you carve the cakes to have that?

yes, I carved them a little. I don't normally refrigerate, but I did in this case. I thought it would travel better.

If she isn't a cake person, then I would steer away from cakes. But that's just me. I would want something that the birthday gal liked to eat and not just to look at. Of course that is up to your brother. I love the cheesecake idea!

My daughter isn't crazy about cake, so I made her a dark choc ganache covered cheesecake. It turned out very nice and she loved it!

There are those few people out there who do not like cake. In that instance my old standby is an Amaretto cheesecake. Sometimes I make some chocolate scrolls or lace to make it a bit prettier, but none of it ever makes it home!!

This is one that I did and someone posted a variation that is pretty as well. And it's very mature.

Is she a specialist? Surgeon? Family practice? Radiologist?...

Well, how about a nice cake for everyone else and a lovely cookie bouquet for her to have and enjoy. Does she like sugar cookies. I make a vanilla with or without almond flavoring and then a chocolate that tastes like a brownie?????

Just a thought......


cakeymom

why not make a tiered cake out of cheesecake? or brownies? or some other dessert she likes ?

Thank you for all the suggestions! I feel like I have some good alternatives to cake if I want to go that way and some cute ideas for cakes too! Sugalips: she is an internal medicine doc.

Yes, I know you are wanting a cake idea...but just in case! My hubby is one of those odd people who doesn't like cake! For his birthday every year I make him Strawberry Banana Crepes. They are delicious! I fill them up nice and fat and arrange them nicely with strawberry and banana slices cascading down the sides. Yum! We even put some birthday candles in the stack! I've been using the same recipe for years. It's from Taste of Home and the link is here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Strawberry-Banana-Crepes. In case it doesn't work, go to their site and search for Strawberry Banana Crepes. Good luck finding something she will love!

I just made this cake for my Mom's 60th Birthday. I'm sure you could adopt the same idea to cover a cheesecake. Just an idea.


http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1474517.html

i do like idea of making a cake for everyone and then cookies for her. my favorite cake to make for family that seems fancy is what i call an italian lady i do a layer of a heavier chocolate cake and then a layer of cheese cake and i fill them with cannoli cream and ganache the outside everyone likes it cause it cake and cheese cake and its vanilla and chocolate so a lil bit for everyone!!