This homemade healthy smash cake 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 way to celebrate this family milestone {Gluten-free & paleo}
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If you’re looking for the perfect cake for baby’s first birthday, you’ll definitely want to try out this healthy smash cake. 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 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 banana, packed with moisture and nutrients, and has a soft and fluffy texture that’s perfectly smash-able!
Be sure to try my Carrot Cake Muffins and No-Sugar Added Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes too!
Why we love this recipe
- No added sugar: This cake is naturally sweetened with bananas and applesauce. With only 5 grams of sugar per serving, it’s ideal for those looking for a lower sugar cake option.
- Nutrient-packed: This cake is made with 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 cake only takes around 10 minutes to prep before it get baked in the oven. No high maintenance cake here!
- Easily adaptable: This cake can easily be made with different flavours, like chocolate, coconut and blueberries, so you can switch it up depending on your personal preferences!
Ingredient Notes
- Almond flour: To incorporate more nutrients, we use almond flour rather than all-purpose. Use 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 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 medium-sized 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. Top with desired toppings.
Recipe Tips
- 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 as well.
Recipe FAQs
You can store this cake covered in the fridge for up to three days. Beyond that, I recommend storing it in the freezer.
Yes, it freezes really well! 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.
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!
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 cake, simply double the recipe and add two extra layers.
Ideas for Serving Baby’s Cake
We used homemade whipped cream with no added sugar as the icing to keep the sugar content lower. We finished it by topping the cake with fresh mixed berries.
You can also top it with any or all of the following:
- Coconut whipped cream
- Homemade cream cheese frosting
- Nutella or other nut butter
- Yogurt
- Flaked coconut
- Banana slices (or other fresh fruit)
- Sprinkles
- Shaved chocolate or mini chocolate chips
Other Smash Cake Flavour Variations
- Chocolate: Add cocoa powder and chocolate chips for a chocolate banana cake.
- Blueberry: Add blueberries to the cake mix for blueberry banana cake.
- Coconut: Add unsweetened coconut flakes for banana coconut cake.
More similar recipes
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Banana Cookies
- Spinach Banana Muffins
- Banana Egg Pancakes
- Banana Blueberry Mini Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Cake
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Smash Cake Recipe {No Added Sugar}
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 large over ripe 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 medium-sized 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 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 the bottom layer and continue to apply frosting until the entire cake is covered. Top with desired toppings.
Notes
- 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.
Nutrition
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