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This easy healthy smash cake recipe is the perfect compromise for your baby’s first birthday cake. Your little one will be all smiles with their very own healthy smash cake, naturally sweetened and perfectly sized just for the birthday baby!
*Please note* this post has been updated as of June, 2021. The recipe remains the same, but the post has been updated to include a video at the bottom of the post to show you how easy these are to make!
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SMASH cake!! What every 1 year old needs for their birthday. Both hands in, face covered in icing, cake everywhere. Babies go from not being able to eat ANY solid food for the first 4-6 months of their life, to sloooowly adjusting to the tastes and textures of real food, to solely surviving on solids.
For most babies, I assume these first few solids are super-duper healthy and full of nutrients, carefully purchased and cooked by their loving caregivers. I love the idea of presenting a little baby with a giant cake, covered in sweet stuff, for them to enjoy all on their own. I’m pretty sure 99% of babies short-circuit when suddenly faced with the reality of their very own cake.
My second child, Walter, just turned 1 on Tuesday and I served him this healthy smash cake (read more about my year with Wally here). Wally took one look at the cake and thought, “challenge accepted”. Evidence below.
What is a smash cake?
Smash cakes are a relatively new concept. They’re typically a small frosted cake made just for the birthday baby. As much fun as it is to watch a baby go bonkers over a cake, a lot of parents I know don’t want their 1 year old child filling up on loads of sugar and fat (pssst – I’m one of them). I totally believe in moderation, and a sweet treat now and then, but there’s just something about letting a 1 year old have free rein on a super sugary cake.
SO, I created this much healthier version that I could feel good about watching Wally devour. I made something similar for Oscar on his 1st birthday, but Oscar has never been quite the enthusiastic eater that Wally is, so I probably could have given him the real McCoy and still been safe. (Mini orange carrot cake)?!
What flavor cake is best for a 1st birthday?
When you think of cake, you usually think of chocolate or vanilla, but this healthy smash cake recipe creates more of a big healthy strawberry-banana muffin than a cake. It’s made with whole wheat flour, whole milk, and a homemade fruit puree of banana, strawberry and unsweetened applesauce. I told you – healthy! You will want to choose a very ripe banana to ensure it adds enough sweetness, so there’s no added sugar.
How do you make a healthy smash cake?
After you prepare the fruit puree, combine it with the milk, egg and vanilla extract, and then gently combine it with the dry ingredients. Pour the cake into your prepared pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. I made my cake using this adorable little 6″ springform pan I found at Zest Kitchenware. You can also get one from Amazon
Once the cake was cool, I used dental floss to create 2 layers. You could also use two 4 1/2″ pans and have an automatic double layer. There is probably a more sophisticated way to create layers, but I love using dental floss. It works so well!! Hold both ends of the floss taught in your hands and just pull through the whole way.
The “icing” for the healthy smash cake is simply unsweetened whipping cream with a tablespoon of maple syrup. You could also add a little of the leftover fruit puree for some color and extra flavor. I liked the idea of a bright white cake. Prepare the whipped cream no longer than a few hours before you’re going to frost and serve the cake, to ensure it holds its shape.
If you’ve got a baby approaching the big “1” you’ll be happy to know that you can have all the fun of a smash cake without all the junk! I can confirm that my little buddy had no complaints about his very own healthy smash cake!
Happy birthday Walter!
Since you’ve arrived at this page, I’m guessing you’re into all of the healthy recipes for your kiddo. I’ve got some other amazing kid-friendly recipes that you need to check out. Most of them don’t contain any added sugar!
- Baby Banana Muffins
- Baby Banana Pancakes
- Banana Waffles for Baby
- Green Monster Muffins
- Raspberry Coconut Balls
- Mini Sweet Potato Muffins
- Green Monster Crackers
And be sure to PIN this recipe for later!!
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Healthy Smash Cake
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 1 smash cake 1x
Description
Let your baby have all the fun of their very own healthy smash cake, free of refined sugars and unhealthy fats. This easy healthy smash cake recipe is the perfect compromise for your baby’s first birthday cake.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 banana, very ripe
- 3 strawberries
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Frosting
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and butter and flour a 6″ springform pan*
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Place the banana, strawberries and applesauce together in a blender and mix on high until completely pureed.
- In another small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the fruit puree, the milk, egg and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and carefully stir with a large wooden spoon until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before running a knife along the edge of the pan and removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- If wanting to create 2 layers, use a long piece of dental floss to cut the cake through the middle. Wrap the cooled cake in saran wrap until ready to place on a plate and frost.
Whipped Cream Frosting
- Place a mixing bowl and beater in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours before you are about to prepare the whipped cream. Pour the whipped cream into the chilled bowl, and beat on high with an electric mixer until the cream is the consistency you prefer.
- Frost the bottom layer of the cake first, then follow with the top layer. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve*
Notes
- You could also use two 4 1/2″ pans. Reduce cooking time to about 20-23 minutes.
- I recommend frosting the cake no more than 3-4 hours before serving to ensure the whipped cream maintains its shape.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Update: June 2019
So, my 3rd baby, Hattie, turned 1 earlier this year and I made her the same cake, but added a bit of cream cheese to the whipped cream icing to stabilize it enough to pipe the icing on. I used a bit of beet juice to color half of it pink, for pretty rosettes!
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Will make this next month for my girl’s 1st. Since it won’t be berry season what other fruit can I replace the strawberries with?
You can always use frozen berries!
I am so excited to make this! The thought of my baby girl plunging into a full cake of sugar makes me cringe! Now I can happily celebrate with her cake smash! 🙂 Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that! I’m sure she’ll love it. I felt the same way about my baby and all of that sugar!
I am planning to make this for my one year old’s birthday. For practice, I had a 9” springform pan and I doubled the recipe and baked for 40min. The cake turned out ok. The problem is the cake is a little bit dense, tastes more like banana muffins and doesnt look like it’s smashable. Any thoughts?
Love this recipe idea! Where are those sprinkles from- those are so cute! Are they sugar free? I haven’t been able to buy sugar free sprinkles 🙁
I found the sprinkles at Bulk Barn, but unfortunately they aren’t sugar free!!
Hi, is this cake dense or does it rise well? I love this recipe and want to try it, but just curious on what the end product is. 🙂
also could i substitute coconut or almond milk? Thanks!
Hi there, so sorry for the slow response. It is not a typical “light and fluffy” cake, but more of a muffin texture. It does rise rather well, though!
Thanks so much for the healthy smash cake recipe! I made this for my daughter’s first birthday and she loved it! She’s hasn’t had much sugar in her diet thus far and it was great to be able to let her go to town on something that wouldn’t give her a stomach ache later 🙂
Ah I’m so, so happy to hear that. It’s exactly why I created it! Babies don’t need a ton of icing and sugar, right!? Happy birthday to your gal!
Hello! I was very excited to try this recipe but something went wrong. I followed the directions to the t and went over them a few times I can’t find what I did wrong. The batter came out as dough. I actually had to push it down into the pan to make sure it was even I baked for 25 mins and the outside is brown while the inside is still dough. How do I make it more like batter?? Add more milk? Thank you for you help in advance.
I cannot thank you enough for this recipe!!! My little girl is only 7 1/2 months but I’m already planning little details Haha and I have searched so many times for healthy cake smash recipes and I had yet to find another health conscious mom, surprisingly!! Lol so thank you!!!!!!
Thank YOU so much for the comment! Reading comments like yours makes me so happy 🙂 I know what you mean – it was strange to me how few options there were. Who wants to feed their 1 year old a bunch of sugar?! Haha! You’re so welcome. Let me know if you have any questions! XO
I never baked a cake in my life! So I tried this just to pre-plan. The top of it is all crusty,
cracked and mountain like…what am I doing wrong? I doesn’t resemble cake at all.
Hmm I don’t know! If you followed the directions, it should come out like a very large muffin 🙂
Should I double the recipe if I am using two 8in pans?
Hi Brooke, I don’t want to steer you wrong since I’ve only made the mini cake, but I do think if you doubled the recipe you could use two 8″ pans. Just be sure to check baking times, you’ll need less time since you have two. Start with 15-20 minutes then check with a toothpick every 5 minutes.