Beginner
≈ 1 h 27 minSuggested range52 min – 2 h 20 min
Official LEGO® image · © LEGO Group and/or the respective rights holders. Source: LEGO Italy ↗
Seasonal · SET 40780
Birthday Cake
A buildable birthday cake.
- Pieces
- 160
- Release year
- 2025
- Theme
- Seasonal
- Set number
- 40780
- LEGO recommended age
- 7+
- New and sealed · indicative value
- ≈ 9.00 €
Indicative market reference published by Brickset for the stated condition. Not a launch price or a guaranteed offer: completeness, packaging and condition can change the price. Brickset ↗ · Reference checked on 28 October 2026
Official English name verified at: LEGO English archive ↗ · Checked on 26 October 2026.
TIME TO BUILD
How long does it take to build Birthday Cake?
A starting point for planning your build. Times for each experience level are editorial estimates, not measurements submitted by HowLongToBuild users.
Editorial estimate · first build
Intermediate
≈ 58 minSuggested range34 min – 1 h 33 minExperienced
≈ 41 minSuggested range24 min – 1 h 6 minBased on one person building the set for the first time, following the original instructions and using numbered bags where supplied. Includes normal piece-finding and minor adjustments; excludes long breaks, filming, dismantling and modifications. Sources may use different methods. This range is neither a statistical interval nor a limit: your build may take less or more time.
How we estimate times · sources and method
Editorial assessment: A buildable birthday cake. A little chef accompanies the cake. A first build following the instructions, including normal piece finding; an adult may help when needed. Breaks, subsequent play and any alternative models are excluded. For older sets, unnumbered bags or previously mixed pieces may prolong sorting. No verified timed build: indicative values with substantial variation.
Sources do not always specify the builder’s experience. The three experience bands are our editorial assessment, based on the complexity of the set and individual accounts where available.
- LEGO · set-specific instructions ↗
Official name, pieces, age and imagery; no timed building data.
- LEGO · set manual ↗
Document for this set number. The duration is an editorial estimate, not a LEGO timing.
Checked: 26 October 2026 · Method v1.0 · Limited reports; not a statistical average.
BUILT BY THE COMMUNITY
Yours could be the first building time.
0 reviewed solo building times.
No solo building times have been reviewed yet. You can still find editorial estimates under Suggested times.
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How much display space does it need?
Assembled-model dimensions are not yet documented for this set. Box dimensions cannot tell you how much display space it needs.
BEYOND THE BRICKS
Did you know?
Inside the set
The model in the photo
The large yellow slice has brown icing.
LEGO sourceAccessories and details
A little chef accompanies the cake.
LEGO sourceBeyond the set
The stories, places and inventions behind your build.
A crank in 1843
Nancy Johnson patented a manual ice-cream freezer in 1843 with an inner chamber and outer ice pail.
Read the full story
Nancy Johnson’s design combined an inner mixing chamber with an outer ice bucket and a hand crank. It eased a task previously done by turning a bowl manually. The museum also holds a circa-1910 freezer using the same basic components, showing the design’s long life.
Cold and effort
The machine sped up churning but still required crushed ice and work at the crank.
Read the full story
Before electric refrigeration, winter ice could be harvested from rivers and ponds and stored for summer. Refrigerator makers later published cookbooks explaining new uses of cold. The museum’s experiment with a 1927 recipe traces changing household habits as well as a new appliance.
Expanded stories updated on 29 October 2026
Written by HowLongToBuild · Sources are linked with each story · Checked on 26 October 2026. Historical facts and story details refer to the context described.
THE COMMUNITY’S EXPERIENCE
What was it like to build?
Three separate scores from 1 to 10. For difficulty, 1 means very easy and 10 means very difficult.
No approved ratings yet. Scores are never generated by this site or inferred from the recommended age.
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Building tips from the community
Specific steps, useful checks and sticking points. Contributions appear after moderation, in their original language. Do not upload instruction pages or personal contact details.
No approved tips yet.
Sign in to contributeSET THE MOOD
A soundtrack for your build
· Selected for the building rhythm
An understated option for following the instructions and working on details, without claiming a narrative connection to the subject. This pairing follows the pace of the session; the alternatives let you change the mood.
OUR PICK
Satie: 3 Gymnopedies and Other Piano Music
Pascal Rogé
Intimate and spaciousEditorial suggestions, not official soundtracks for the set. External services may require an account or subscription; editions and availability can vary by country. Suggest another soundtrack →
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YOUR NEXT BUILD
You might also like
Sets from the same theme or with similar suggested building times. The ranges shown are for intermediate builders.
Official LEGO® image · © LEGO Group and/or the respective rights holders. Source: LEGO Italy ↗
Birthday Diorama
157 pieces · 6+
34 min – 1 h 33 min
Suggested time · Intermediate
Same theme, a new build
Official LEGO® image · © LEGO Group and/or the respective rights holders. Source: LEGO Italy ↗
Wintertime Carriage Ride
153 pieces · 9+
34 min – 1 h 33 min
Suggested time · Intermediate
Same theme, a new build
Official LEGO® image · © LEGO Group and/or the respective rights holders. Source: LEGO Italy ↗