Cheers to 40: black, gold and white for Christopher

Milestone birthdays for grown-ups need a different kind of cake. No character on top, no bright colors — just something that looks like it belongs at a proper party.

Black, gold and white does that every time.

Knowing when to stop

The temptation with a big flat cake is to fill the space. This one goes the other way. Most of it is left as plain white buttercream with a scatter of gold, and everything else is pushed to the edges.

Black shells run right around the border, with gold dotted along them. Then a cluster of black and gold spheres piles into one corner and again into the opposite one, like balloons gathering. Two corners, not four — that's what stops it looking like a wreath and keeps your eye moving diagonally across the cake.

His name and the 40th sit in the middle with room to breathe. The number is gold, outlined in black so it holds its shape against all that white.

What's inside

Vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream frosting.

A full sheet feeds a milestone-birthday-sized crowd, which is generally the point of one.

Happy 40th, Christopher

Cheers to forty years.