This homemade healthy smash cake recipe is the perfect treat for baby’s first birthday and is so easy to make! Made with no added sugar and sweetened naturally with banana and applesauce, it’s packed with moisture and a delicious and fun way to celebrate this special day! {Gluten-free, dairy-free & paleo}
Table of Contents
Baby Smash Cake Recipe
If you’re looking for the perfect cake for baby’s first birthday party, you’ll definitely want to try out this healthy smash cake recipe. Our little guy just turned one and for his birthday, I wanted to make him a special cake that the rest of the family could enjoy too.
We opted for a banana smash cake with no added sugar and a light and creamy frosting. It was a major hit, not only for baby, but everyone else loved it too (especially his older brother)!
This cake recipe is naturally sweetened with ripe banana and applesauce, packed with moisture and nutrients, and has a soft and fluffy texture that’s perfectly smash-able!
For more naturally sweetened treats, be sure to try my refined Sugar Free Birthday Cake and No-Sugar Added Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes too!
Why We Love This Smash Cake Recipe For Baby
- No added sugar: This healthy smash cake recipe is naturally sweetened with bananas and applesauce. With only 5 grams of sugar per serving (much lower than your traditional cake!), it’s ideal for those looking for a lower sugar cake option.
- Nutrient-packed: This easy recipe is made with wholesome ingredients like almond flour, bananas and applesauce so it’s packed with healthy fats, in addition to fibre, potassium and vitamin C. Hard to go wrong with this healthy birthday cake!
- Simple to make: This little cake requires simple ingredients and only takes around 10 minutes to prep before it gets baked in the oven. No high maintenance cake here!
- Easily adaptable: This baby smash cake can easily be made with different flavours, like chocolate, coconut and blueberries, so you can switch it up depending on your personal preferences!
- Perfect size: If you’re looking for a small cake to serve up for baby’s first birthday celebration, this recipe is made in 6-inch pans and yields a 2-layer cake. It’s the perfect size for baby, but party guests can enjoy some too!
Ingredient Notes
- Almond flour: To incorporate more nutrients, we use almond flour rather than all-purpose. Use super-fine blanched almond flour for best results.
- Cinnamon and vanilla: To add flavour and sweetness to the smash cake.
- Baking soda and salt: So that the cake rises in the oven when it’s baked for a light and fluffy texture.
- Bananas: Use overripe bananas for this recipe. They will be easier to combine with the other ingredients and will be naturally sweeter compared to unripe ones.
- Eggs: Used to bind the ingredients together and incorporate protein into the recipe.
- Applesauce: Used to naturally sweeten the cake and add moisture.
How To Make a Smash Cake for 1 Year Old: Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray two 6-inch round cake pans (I used a springform pan) with non-stick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pans with a piece of parchment paper cut so that they they fit the bottom of the pans.
- In a large bowl, mix together almond flour, cinnamon and baking soda (and salt, if using).
- In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, eggs, applesauce and vanilla extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined (do not over mix).
- Divide mixture evenly between the two baking pans.
- Bake in oven for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool before removing from the cake pan.
- Meanwhile, prepare frosting of choice. We chose to to frost the cake with homemade unsweetened whipped cream. Using a knife, spread a thin layer of frosting on the bottom layer of the cake. Place the top layer on and continue to apply frosting until the entire cake is covered. Decorate the small frosted cake with desired toppings.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full recipe!
Tips for the Best Smash Cake Recipe
- Use overripe bananas (the brown spotty kind) which will be naturally sweeter. It’s best if the bananas are as sweet as possible since there is no added sugar in this recipe.
- I highly recommend that you line the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper to prevent the cake from sticking to the bottom of the pan and for easier removal.
- For this recipe, we whipped some 35% heavy cream using an electric mixer and used that as the icing for the cake for our baby’s first birthday. We spread the whipped cream in between the two layers, on the top and sides, but you can also just spread some over the top. If you prefer, you can add some icing sugar to the whipped cream, use coconut whipped cream or make a Greek yogurt or cream cheese icing as well.
Recipe FAQs
A smash cake is basically a small birthday cake that’s served on baby’s first birthday. As we know, one year olds can be pretty messy when it comes to meal times, so this cake is specifically designed for them to eat, smoosh and play with. It also works well for those cute cake smashing photo shoots!
The flavour that you decide upon for baby’s cake is totally a personal preference, but we went with banana flavour since it’s a great way to sweeten the cake naturally without using any added sugar. Plus, most babies love bananas so it’s tough to go wrong with a banana cake that tastes like banana bread!
Smash cakes are traditionally made for 1st birthdays, but there’s no reason why you can’t make it for a 2nd or 3rd birthday (or another occasion) if you like. They are great for those special photos!
I used two 6-inch cake pans and found they worked perfectly for this cake. I haven’t tried making this cake in another size cake pan, so if you plan to use another size, you may need to adjust the baking time depending on the size of the pan. If you’d like a taller or larger cake, simply double the recipe and add two extra layers or use larger cake pans.
I haven’t personally tested this cake with all-purpose flour, but some readers have tried it and noted that the cake turned out way too dense with all-purpose flour. For best results, stick with the almond flour as noted in the recipe card.
Storage Guidelines
Refrigerator: You can store this banana smash cake covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Beyond that, I recommend storing it in the freezer.
Freezer: Freeze the unfrosted cake layers in a freezer safe bag or container for up to three months. Place in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for several hours to thaw before frosting and serving.
Ideas for Serving Baby’s Cake
We spread homemade whipped cream with no added sugar as the icing on our smash cake recipe to keep the sugar content lower. If you’re extra fancy, you could also use a piping bag to pipe a design around the edges. We finished the cake by topping it with some fresh mixed berries.
You can also top it with any or a few of the following:
- Coconut whipped cream
- Greek yogurt
- Homemade cream cheese frosting (try this peanut butter cream cheese frosting)
- Chocolate frosting without powdered sugar
- Chocolate sweet potato frosting
- Naturally sweetened frosting
- Nutella or other nut butter
- Vanilla buttercream
- Flaked coconut
- Banana slices (or other fresh fruit)
- Sprinkles
- Shaved chocolate or mini chocolate chips
Tip: Try blending up freeze-dried fruit like raspberries, strawberries or blueberries into a powder and mixing it in with cream cheese, Greek yogurt, coconut cream or whipped cream. It will add extra flavour and colour! Alternatively, you can add in vanilla extract, a little maple syrup, or date paste for some added sweetness.
Other Smash Cake Flavour Variations
- Chocolate: Add cocoa powder and chocolate chips for a banana chocolate cake.
- Blueberry: Add blueberries to the cake mix for blueberry banana cake.
- Coconut: Add unsweetened coconut flakes for banana coconut cake.
What Readers Are Saying
“I made this exactly as the recipe recommends for my baby’s 1st birthday. It came out great!! I made cupcakes and stacked two on top of each other + cream cheese frosting to make a mini “cake” for her. Then I stored the remaining ones and she ate the leftover cupcakes for breakfast! Great recipe, really flavorful and good texture.” – Vanessa
This turned out great. I made it for my niece’s first birthday and even grownups couldn’t stop eating them (made mini-muffins). – Alexa
“Loved it! Made these in a cupcake tin. I put a little bit of grease in the tin and put the dough straight in it, because the cupcakes would stick to the paper cupcake holders. Great recipe and the kids loved them! They make good breakfast snacks, also!” – Priscilla
More Healthy Treats
- 2-Banana Bread
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Healthy Banana Cookies
- Spinach Banana Muffins
- Banana Egg Pancakes
- Banana Blueberry Mini Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Cake
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a rating and review!
Healthy Baby Smash Cake Recipe {No Added Sugar}
Ingredients
- 2 cups super-fine blanched almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 large overripe bananas
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting (optional):
- 35% heavy whipping cream whipped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray two 6 inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pans with a piece of parchment paper cut so that they they fit the bottom of the pans.
- In a large bowl, mix together almond flour, cinnamon and baking soda (and salt, if using).
- In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, eggs, applesauce and vanilla extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined (do not over mix).
- Divide mixture evenly between the two baking pans.
- Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from the cake pan. To remove, run a sharp paring knife around the edges of the cake to help loosen it from the pan.
- Meanwhile, prepare frosting of choice. We chose to to frost the cake with homemade unsweetened whipped cream. Using a knife, spread a thin layer of frosting on the bottom layer of the cake. Place the top layer on the bottom layer and continue to apply frosting until the entire cake is covered. Top with desired toppings.
Video
Notes
- Use super-fine blanched almond flour. If your almond flour is too coarse, use a food processor to grind it to a finer texture and sift it through a mesh strainer. This is important in order to achieve the right texture.
- Do NOT use all-purpose flour as a replacement for almond flour. Some readers have tried it and noted that the cake turned out way too dense with all-purpose flour. For best results, stick with the almond flour as noted in the recipe card.
- Use overripe bananas (the brown spotty kind) which will be naturally sweeter. It’s best if the bananas are as sweet as possible since there is no added sugar in this recipe.
- I highly recommend that you line the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper to prevent the cake from sticking to the bottom of the pan and for easier removal.
- For this recipe, we whipped some 35% heavy cream and used that as the icing for the cake for our baby’s first birthday. We spread the whipped cream in between the two layers, on the top and sides, but you can also just spread some over the top. If you prefer you can add some icing sugar to the whipped cream, use coconut whipped cream or make a yogurt or cream cheese icing.
- If you want to make this recipe into banana bread instead, follow these instructions for baby banana bread!
Nutrition
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Was wondering about how much cake mix this makes? Wanting to use a giant cupcake cake tin and need to divvy up the mix on both sides. Thanks!
I haven’t measured out the exact amount of batter, but it makes about two small 6-inch cakes. I’ve also used it to make mini muffins too and it makes about 30 mini muffins. Hope that’s somewhat helpful!
This recipe sounds so yummy and I’m sure my little boy turning 1 next month will love it. I would like to make the icing with a blue color. Any ideas of how to make it? thank you!
I’m wondering if you could blend up freeze-dried blueberries into a powder and mix it in with whipped cream or whatever frosting you decide to go with. It might have more of a purple-ish hue, but could be worth trying. Another option would be mixing in a small amount (~1/4 teaspoon) of blue spirulina powder into your frosting. I haven’t personally tried it, but from what I’ve read, it creates a nice bright aqua blue color. Keep me posted on how it goes if you decide to try it! I hope your little guy enjoys the cake :)
Hi, what would I change if I was using it for muffins/cupcakes instead of a cake? How would the bake time change?
Sorry for the delay! Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to test these as muffins, but plan to soon! I would say start with 15-20 minutes. Check them around the 15 minute mark. If they’re not ready, continue to bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Keep me posted on how they turn out!
Haven’t tried this cake yet, but would like to! My son has an egg allergy. Is there anything I can substitue?
Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to test this cake with an egg substitute, so I can’t make any solid recommendations at this point since I’m not sure what the outcome would be. I’m so sorry! If you decide to experiment, please keep me posted!
The cake was perfect!! I iced it with full fat vanilla yogurt which dissolved pretty quickly. Can I still refrigerate or freeze even after icing with yogurt?
So sorry for the delay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake! Love how you used yogurt for frosting! You should be able to refrigerate it just fine. If you were to freeze it, I’m not quite sure what the consistency of the yogurt would be like once thawed, but keep me posted if you decided to try it out :)
Am I the only person who doesn’t see amounts listed for the ingredients other than what I can visually gather in the photo?
The quantities and instructions are listed in the recipe card at the end of the post :)
Delicious and easy! I love the cakey texture, and my son can’t get enough of these. I first did them for his Bday with whipped cream frosting as suggested, and now I make them as easy snacks to take to daycare. Great recipe!
That’s amazing!! So happy your son has been enjoying the recipe!
Thank you for this yummy recipe! Any suggestions for an egg substitute? My son unfortunately has an egg allergy and cannot have eggs even baked into things. Thanks so much!
Working with almond flour is a little bit more finicky since the typical egg replacers like flax egg or store-bought dry egg replacers won’t properly bind the almond flour. You may need to add a different type of flour to the recipe in order for it to work, but unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to test this recipe with other types of flour/egg substitutes so I’m not 100% sure how it would turn out. Sorry I’m not able to help you out!
Perfect for my granddaughter’s first birthday! I’m gluten free and continue making this for myself as a sweet treat, so yummy!
I’m so happy the cake turned out well for your granddaughter’s first birthday and that it continues to be a nice treat for you too! I agree, it’s super tasty anytime…not just on birthdays ;)
um, how yum is this cake! I like it more for me than Maddie hehe
I baked a test cake with 3 small bananas as my large bananas were eaten. Baked in 4 x 4inch springform pans for about 20-25 mins. Everyone at home liked it. Bub has yet to smash the test cake as I wanted to see what it was like when I have it all ready (iced too) the day before as I don’t think I would have time to ice on the day. It still looks great. For some reason it did brown in one spot, not too sure why. So I’ve scraped it down again and reapplied icing on it. The icing I used for this size is 1 cup thickened cream, 1/2 cup coconut cream and 1 teaspoon of vanilla been paste (coconut cream chilled in the fridge for at least 24 hours). There’s a hint of coconut and it for me is really yum. I thought to make a 4 layer cake but with the icing not being as stable I only made a 2 layer cake. I’m going to test again with maybe 3 x 6 inch layers or 2 x 7 inch layers.
We’re just waiting for Maddie to wake up to hopefully smash it. I wish I could post photos here to share :)
Thank you Elysia for sharing this recipe.
Mellie-Mel
Sydney, Australia
Oh it’s my pleasure! Thanks so much for sharing such detailed feedback! This is so helpful for both myself and other readers :) Love the combination for the frosting too! If you’d like to send photos along, you can send them to [email protected] or through instagram if you’re on there! I’d love to see them!! Hope Maddie has fun smashing (and eating) the cake!!
I was tasked to make my nephew’s 1 yo bday cake and tried different recipes. I have to say this one is my favorite; it came out delicious, naturally sweetened, and fluffy (even after it cooled down). Thank you for sharing!
Amazing!! And my pleasure — so happy the recipe was a hit! Thanks so much for leaving such a kind review :)
Delicious, light and moist cake. Made three 4” tin cakes – took 35 mins to bake to perfection. Baby loved it.
Thanks so much for sharing the timing for the 4 inch cakes! So happy baby enjoyed it! Your feedback is very much appreciated :)
Made this and used 3 – 4” cake rounds. Came out tasting like a less sweet banana bread which I am happy with giving to my baby girl on her first birthday. I just wish it was a little fluffier like actual cake (reason for the -1 star). Also in case anyone is doing 4” rounds, I had to go 35min to fully bake through.
Thanks so much for the feedback! I’m sure that info will be helpful for those baking the cakes in 4 inch pans :)
how much cocoa powder should I add to make this a chocolate cake?
I haven’t personally tried it with the cocoa powder but I would maybe try 1/4 cup cocoa powder to start? Hope you enjoy the cake if you try it out!
LOVE this recipe! Made it for my baby’s 1st birthday cake and have been making it on repeat since. Instead of 2 six inch cake pans I bake the batter in a 9×5 loaf pan to make a banana bread! Thanks for the great recipe!
This recipe was perfect for my daughter’s first birthday! it turned out super cute and tasted great too!
Amazing!! So happy it turned out well for your baby’s birthday!
A wonderful recipe approved by my daughter-in-law who wanted absolutely no sugar. I had only one 6″ pan, so made mini muffins with leftover batter. Baby tested and approved – all muffins asked for.
So happy everyone enjoyed the cake and that it passed the test for your daughter-in-law! Love how you made mini muffins with the remaining batter :) Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a rating and review!
I was SO impressed by this cake recipe! Was perfect for 1st birthday smash cake & will likely be using this in lieu of banana bread for my baby in the future. A lot of the healthy smash cakes I looked up had more of a dense bread-like texture, which I didn’t want as it could be a choking risk, but this was such a light, fluffy, and crumbly yet moist texture that I didn’t have to worry at all. I whipped up some whipped cream for the in between & top, laid out some sliced strawberries & sprinkles, & it looked great in all the photos!
Thanks so much for your feedback on the cake! So happy you were a fan of the texture and the way you decorated it sounds super cute!
If making the chocolate flavor variation how much cacao powder would you add into the mix?
I would maybe start with about 1/4 cup cacao powder and increase the amount if you like it really chocolatey. I haven’t personally tested this cake with the cacao powder so keep me posted if you try it out!
Hi, I have 7in springforms. How would I go about making this? I am a newbie when it comes to baking. Ie, when you say double – I’m not sure if you literally mean double every single ingredient, bananas, eggs, applesauce everything? And would I double the time as well?
I made mine in 2 six inch cake pans, so I’m not sure if you’d need to necessarily double the ingredients unless you plan to make a taller 4-layer cake. If you stick with the ingredients as listed, the cakes might be slightly thinner since they’ll be baked over a slightly larger surface area. You may want to check the cakes at around 15-20 minutes. If they’re not done yet, continue baking for a few more minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Hope that helps!
When you refrigerate this cake do you do it with the whipped cream on it or add it after? I am wanting to make the cake the day before the party and not have to do anything to it the day of the party aside from serve it.
Also how long before serving should I remove the cake from the fridge if it is already decorated?
Although you can refrigerate the cake with the whipped cream, I would recommend that you put the whipped cream on after you refrigerate it since it can sometimes dry out in the fridge. You can make up a batch of whipped cream ahead of time and then quickly blend it again before you’re ready to frost the cake to help it get nice and fluffy again. I would take the cake out 1-2 hours before you’re ready to serve to allow it to soften up. Hope that helps!
Wondering if you can use oat flour instead of almond flour for this recipe? Has anyone tried this?
I haven’t personally tried this recipe with oat flour, but it may work if you substitute it for the almond flour. However, it does have a closer consistency to wheat flour so you may need to adjust the eggs or other binding ingredients. Keep me posted if you decide to try it out!
Hi! Super excited to bake this for my daughter’s first birthday this week but as cupcakes instead. Any tips please? Thanks in advance :)
I haven’t personally tried baking them as cupcakes, but I know that other readers have with success! Personally, I would use silicone muffin liners if you have them since almond flour baked goods do have more of a tendency to stick. Also, I would reduce the baking time slightly since they’ll be smaller than the 6 inch cake, and be sure to watch them very carefully to prevent them from overcooking/burning. Keep me posted on how it goes!
This made a great smash cake for my daughter’s first birthday! It was super moist and crumbly, which she loved. I followed the recipe as written, except I added frozen blueberries to the batter, as her party was blueberry-themed. I used yogurt mixed with maple syrup as the frosting.
So glad your daughter loved this cake for her first birthday! Love how you incorporated blueberries to match the blueberry theme. I bet that was super cute! The maple yogurt frosting sounds delicious too :)
can I use all purpose flour instead?
Other readers have tried it and reported back that the cake turned out very dense with all-purpose flour. One commenter did mention that she mixed all purpose flour and almond flour (I’m assuming equal parts?) and then added 1/3 cup of milk to the batter and had good results. I haven’t personally tried this cake using all-purpose flour so some adjustments would probably need to be made to the recipe if you choose to go that route. Hope that helps!
It would be helpful to put this note within the blog and/or recipe text for those who don’t scroll through comments. All it currently says is, “some readers have had success subbing it 1:1 for the almond flour”, so that is what I did and it was wayyyyyy too dense. Just a suggestion to update the text so others don’t make that mistake.
Thanks for the feedback! I updated the post and made a note of this in both the post and recipe card. I apologize that the substitution didn’t work out for you, but I appreciate you letting me know!
I mixed all-purpose flour and almond flour, the mixture seems too thick. So I added 1/3 cup of milk. It turned out perfect! My baby loved it:)
Thank you so much for the recipe!!
Oh I’m so glad that you were able to adapt the recipe to suit your needs…and that your baby loved it as well! Good to know that some extra milk did the trick with the addition of the all purpose flour!
I made the recipe exactly as called for but substituted the almond flour for all purpose flour and made cupcakes. They tasted good but they did turn out quite thick and dense, definitely not like a typical cake. My 1 year old would never be able to smash or eat something that dense. Perhaps adding 1/4 cup sourcream maybe would make the difference? My husband loved them.
Unfortunately, all purpose flour doesn’t always work out well if you substitute it 1:1 for almond flour, which is probably why it turned out dense. I haven’t had a chance to test this recipe with regular flour, so I’m not 100% sure what modifications would need to be made. For best results, stick with the almond flour as stated in the recipe. Glad your husband enjoyed them!
the fact that this is a simple recipe and only involved a few ingredients is what attracted me. Also, that it is healthy!
But the almond flour us huat no good at all. maybe there are different grinds, bought mine at Aldis and the result was a coarse style cake that just wasnt very sweet or tasty at all.
the coconut whipped cream and fresh berries saved it.
but at least it was healthy!
There are different types of almond flour and for this recipe, I used super fine blanched almond flour. I’m wondering if you maybe purchased a coarse almond flour or almond meal, which is why you ended up with a coarse cake? I updated the recipe to state that super fine almond flour is required. Hope it turns out better for you if you try it with different almond flour next time!
I made this this evening as a test run for our best friends baby’s 1st birthday and it came out like a brick. I doubled the recipe so that may have played a factor in it but are banana based cakes always this dense? I made a banana bread style cake a few years ago for my sons birthday and it was totally opposite, it was much lighter. I do think I slightly over mixed but following the recipe exactly did not work out for me.
If you doubled the cake ingredients, did you separate each batch into different bowls when mixing the ingredients? Unfortunately, if you doubled the recipe and mixed both batches together in one bowl, then the ingredients might not have been evenly distributed which is why you might have ended up with such a dense and heavy cake. Almond flour cakes do tend to have a more dense consistency, but mine definitely didn’t come out like a brick. It’s hard to know what might have gone wrong without seeing exactly how you made the cake.
I just made this (with a different Healthy Buttercream Frosting) for my son’s 1st birthday. He didn’t do a lot of smashing, but otherwise, the cake came out great. Even my husband liked it (he’s very particular on cakes) and my mother-in-law asked for the recipe.
That’s amazing! I’m so happy to hear that it was a hit with everyone (husband included). I bet it tasted delicious with the healthy buttercream frosting too. Thanks so much for taking the time to share some feedback :)
What healthy buttercream recipe did you use? Would love to try this for my twins bday this weekend! The cake was a hit with cream cheese for their photoshoot last week but wanting to do a different icing for their party.
please could I have the receipe in UK measurements, either pounds or grams. would love to make this but when looking for cup to grams, I’m getting different weights. thank you
Hi Anna, I apologize for the delayed response! I measured out the ingredients and got the following weights in grams:
2 cups (261 grams) almond flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large (184 grams each) over ripe bananas
3 large eggs (56 grams each) beaten
1/4 cup (65 grams) unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Hope this helps!
thank you so much. Will be baking this next week so will post out come then.
Turned out lovely, Customer was so happy with it. wish I could send you a photo
I’m so happy to hear that it turned out well and that your customer loved the cake too! I’d love to see your photos!! You can send any photos that you took to [email protected]. Thanks so much for reporting back :)
hello! I’m measuring out my bananas and I’m currently at 4 bananas to reach the 368g (184 each as stated above) is this correct??
Hi there, sorry if this gets to you too late! It really depends on the size of your bananas. Mine were pretty large and weighed about 184 grams each without the peel. It’s possible that you might have required four bananas if they were on the smaller size. Keep me posted on how it works out for you!
I made this for my baby’s first birthday and she loved it (so did we!) I ground up freeze dried strawberries and mixed with cream cheese for the frosting. I topped with raspberries. I only had 8″ cake pans so I doubled the recipe and ended up with two 8″ rounds and 4 cupcakes (I didn’t want to overload the cake pans and mess up the recipe, which is why I made a few cupcakes as well). Thanks for a great recipe! This is the best smash cake recipe we have tried in our family!
That’s amazing!! I’m so happy that everyone enjoyed the cake! I love how you made the frosting and modified the recipe based on the cake pans you had. Great thinking! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and modifications!
Would I be able to use all purpose flour for this recipe?
I haven’t personally tried it with all purpose flour so I can’t comment on the outcome, but some other readers have had success using it instead of the almond flour. Keep me posted on how it goes if you try it out!
Hello, can I leave out the eggs? What do I substitute them with? She’s allergic to eggs :(
Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to test this recipe with an egg substitute so I’m not entirely sure if it would work out. You could try using chia or flax eggs instead of the regular eggs if you wanted to experiment, but once again, I can’t guarantee that it would turn out. To make 3 chia eggs, you would need to mix 3 tablespoons of chia seeds with 9 tablespoons of water. Leave the mixture to rest for 5-10 minutes or until it thickens and resembles raw egg. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe. Keep me posted if you decide to test it out!
Mine didnt rise properly it’s very small
Cakes made with almond flour don’t tend to rise the same way that cakes made with regular all purpose flour would rise since there is no gluten present. If you want the cake to rise more, you could try adding a bit of xanthan gum to the recipe. I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet with this recipe, but hope to experiment with it soon. This cake is also smaller than your traditional cake since it’s made in a 6-inch pan. If you want a taller cake, you can always double the recipe and make it 4 layers instead of 2. Hope that helps!
Hi, i made this cake today in 2 5inch by 2 pans and I followed the recipe step by step but once cooling the center of my cake fell in then when I proceeded to cut into layers it was still doughy. Is there a step I missed or what caused this to happen? Thank you
It’s hard to know exactly what may have gone wrong without being there to see each step, but it sounds like the cake may have been undercooked? Since you used slightly smaller cake pans, the cakes were probably a bit thicker and therefore may have required some extra cooking time. The only other thing I can think of is that perhaps your oven runs hot and the outside of the cake cooked faster than the inside of the cake. In that case, I would reduce your oven temperature slightly next time and bake it a bit longer than the recommended time. Hope that helps!
Hi there! Making this for my daughter’s first birthday party and doubling to make 4 tiers. About how much heavy cream would you suggest for whipping for the icing? Thanks!
I think I used about 1 cup of heavy whipping cream for the 2 tiered cake so I would try about 2 cups cream for the 4 tiered? I apologize — that’s just a rough estimate. I should have recorded the exact amount I used. If you have some left over, you can always serve it on the side or dip some fruit into it. Keep me posted on how it turns out and hope your baby enjoys the cake!
Thank you so much! We ended up sticking with the 2 tier and 1 cup of heavy whipping cream. It was perfect, and my daughter loved it!
That’s amazing, thanks so much for reporting back! So happy your daughter loved the cake :)
Hi! I’m gonna try this for my daughter’s first and want to try making the homemade cream too :) I’m wondering if I can make this cake and frosting the day before… do you know how well the cream holds? If I make it the day before, will it melt? Or if I keep it in the fridge, do you think it would be fine?
I’ve made the whipped cream in advance before and it tends to solidify in the fridge a bit and lose some of its creamy texture. You should be able to whip up a batch ahead of time, but right before you’re about to spread it on, I recommend leaving it at room temperature for a few minutes and then whipping it up again with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) to get it fluffy again. The cake can definitely be made the day before. Hope your daughter enjoys the cake!
Hi! I love your recipe and will definitely make it for my daughter 1st birthday. I would like to make enough batter to fill 3 cake pan instead of 2. What changes would you suggest?
Hi Julia, sorry for the delay! I would recommend multiplying each of the ingredient quantities by 1.5 and then evenly dividing the batter between the 3 cake pans. The cooking time should remain roughly the same, although I would check it after the recommended cooking time is up to see if all of the cakes have cooked through. Hope your baby enjoys the cake! :)
Hi, is it possible to sub in coconut flour? I suspect my baby might have a mild but allergy. She reacted to cashew but I don’t think I want to try almond for her birthday.
Unfortunately, coconut flour cannot be used as a direct replacement for almond flour since it’s highly absorbent and typically requires more liquid. I haven’t tested this recipe with coconut flour, so I’m not able to provide any exact proportions. Sorry about that! If you do decide to modify the recipe and make it with coconut flour, please keep me posted on the outcome. Hope your baby has a great birthday!
I Trippled the recipe and got a double layer 6 inch cake and 18 cupcakes for a baby boy done recipe exactly as said and used plain heavy whipping cream for icing turned out very cute 😊
I love this idea!! That’s so smart tripling the recipe to make cupcakes to go along with the cake! So happy it turned out well for you :)
Would this recipe work for 4″ round pans? Not sure if I need to alter ingredients or baking times in any way?
I haven’t tried this recipe with 4″ pans but I’m sure it would work. If you’re using two 4″ pans, I would keep the ingredients the same, but possibly adapt the cooking time. I would start with the cooking time listed and then check the cakes after that time is up. You may need to cook them a bit longer since the cakes would smaller, but thicker. Keep me posted if you try it out!
HI Stephanie I also want to use 4″ pans – did you alter the cooking time?
Can you add mini chocolate chips to this recipe?? Thank you
Definitely! I’m sure it would be really good! Let me know how it goes if you try it out :)
Thank you for this great recipe! Made it with homemade whipping cream as you suggested with fresh raspberries on top for my son’s first birthday. He loved it!! I also have tried your blueberry muffin recipe and my son loves that one too! (As well as me and my husband too :) ) Can’t wait to try more of your recipes out!
It’s my pleasure! I’m so happy that your baby loved the cake and that you’ve all been enjoying the blueberry muffins too! My baby always does a happy dance when he eats those muffins haha. Thanks so much for providing feedback on the recipes :)
Can I use pears sauce instead of apples? I’m so excited to try this recipe, my little one turns one soon and I want to make him a delicious smash cake and I love all the ingredients in this recipe. Thank you for sharing this.
I haven’t personally tried it, but I think pear sauce would work just fine! Hope your little one enjoys the cake if you guys decide to try it out! It was definitely a hit with my little guys :)
Can you use all purpose flour?
Generally all purpose flour can be used as a 1:1 substitute for almond flour, but I haven’t tested it so I can’t guarantee that it would work out. Almond flour typically requires more eggs to bind the flour, so you may want to eliminate an egg if you try the all purpose flour. Please keep me posted if you try it out!
Hello! Curious to see if you/anybody else has tried this recipe using all-purpose flour? If so, would love to know how it went!
Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to test this cake out with all-purpose flour. Sorry! If you do try it out, I would recommend possibly eliminating an egg since almond flour typically requires more eggs to bind the flour. Keep me posted if you try it out with the regular flour!
Do you think this would work using Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour? I have that on hand. Excited to try this!
Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to try this recipe out with gluten-free flour so I can’t say 100% if it would work out. Typically almond flour can’t be replaced 1:1 with gluten-free or wheat flour without making some modifications to the recipe. If you do try it out, you may need to increase the amount of gluten-flour. 1 cup flour is equivalent to about 3/4 cup almond flour. Also with the gluten-free flour, you may need to increase the cooking time. Hope that helps if you decide to try it out!
Hello! Just wondering if you or anybody else has tested the recipe using all purpose flour? Please let me know how it went and if you made any changes! Excited to try out this recipe for my LO turning 1 soon!
I tried this recipe using all purpose flour and reduced to two eggs as recommended – it turned out VERY dense. I didn’t remake it with three eggs because it was still edible and I didn’t think my baby would mind, but I would suggest attempting it with the original three eggs and not reducing. Outside of the density the flavor of the cake was great!
Thanks so much for the recommendation! I haven’t personally tried making this cake with all purpose flour so it’s good to know that 3 eggs would probably work better than 2. Glad you enjoyed the flavour!
We served this cake to our baby for his first birthday and he loved it!! It was so much fun watching him stuff it into his mouth! I love how there’s no added sugar…and it was so easy to make too. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Yay!! I’m so happy your baby enjoyed the cake! It’s always fun watching them take that first bite (or mouthful) :) Thanks so much for returning to leave a rating and review!