How To Make The Best Healthy Smash Cake For Baby’s First Birthday

I desiered to be a health-conscious mom. So, I baked a healthy cake for my baby girl’s first birthday, instead of feeding her sugar-filled overprocessed boxed cake mixes.

Exposing her to sugar scared me for several reasons. Some of them are because it is linked to hypertension, depression, cognitive delay, and sleep problems.

Healthy Smash Cake

Yes, I know, I know …it’s difficult these days to have little ones on a no sugar diet. It seems like most products out there are filled with sugars or preservatives. But, I tell you what it isn’t impossible!

This will be a small contribution to her life, yet it has effectiveness if you stick to no added sugar products. Start here with a simple but better option for your baby’s first cake.

Let’s dive in on “How To Make The Best Healthy Smash Cake For Baby’s First Birthday” with Organic ingredients, and no added sugar.

recipe healthy baby’s first cake

Make A Healthy Smash Cake Instead Of A Box Cake

Step by step instructions:

When I first made this cake, I didn’t have 4″ cake pans, therefore I used what I had which were 8-9″ pans. Once the cake mix is ready, butter the pan’s bottom with vegan butter and pour the cake mix at about 1″ thickness into the pans.

Bake them at 400º for 20 min., and let them cool before cutting and assembling the layers.

Use a storage container to cut out the circles and voilà you’re almost done with the cake.

What to Expect When You’re Done

This healthy baby’s first cake is denser than your store-bought cake, but it is healthier and you don’t have to worry about any unhealthy ingredients.

In fact, it works great as a smash cake for photos and can be eaten as a snack days after. My little ones loved snacking on the cake.

I had all the ingredients except the cream cheese, so the cost for me was super cheap.

Next Steps For You

When you have these supplies on hand, you can make several other Baked goods.

Babies first Healthy cake by Oh Everything Handmade

Healthy Smash Cake

Yield: 1 Smash Cake
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Additional Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

I wanted to be a health-conscious mom and make a difference by baking a healthy cake for my baby girl’s first birthday, instead of feeding her sugar-filled overprocessed boxed cake mixes.

Ingredients

  • 4-5 ripe bananas
  • ¾ cup organic cinnamon applesauce
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1½ cups whole wheat flour
  • 3 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • 2 egg whites beaten (3 egg whites for cupcakes)
  • For the frosting:
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese (if you need to make more frosting, double the ingredients)
  • ¼ cup (2 ounces) organic cinnamon applesauce
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Mash the bananas in a medium bowl.
  2. In a separate large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg together.
  3. Add the mashed bananas, applesauce, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated. Beat two egg whites until you receive a cone when pulling out the whisk, fold in carefully the beaten egg whites.
  4. Spray your 8 or 9″round (6″ pans are perfect for this) pans with non-stick cooking spray or coat with butter and flour.
  5. Spread the batter into the bottom of both pans.
  6. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.
  7. Cool the cakes, then use an overturned 16oz glade storage round to cut out 4 small cake rounds.
  8. Prepare the frosting, add in between each layer 2 tbsp. of your cream cheese mixture. When all layers are stacked on top of each other, cover the cake with the remaining frosting and decorate as desired.

For The Frosting:

  1. Soften the cream cheese.
  2. Whisk the cream cheese with the applesauce and vanilla extract until creamy.
  3. Decorate as desired!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 440Saturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 71mgCarbohydrates: 96gFiber: 10gSugar: 25gProtein: 18g

Common Questions & Issues:

  • Many of our readers asked me if this cake can be made ahead of time, and my recommendation is to make the cake 24h beforehand.
  • Store cake in the fridge and prepare the frosting the day of the celebration. If you don’t have time at all you can apply the frosting a day before but do not add any decorations until 30-60min. of serving.
  • If your cake turns out extremely dense, you didn’t whip the egg whites long enough or whipped them too long. Also, incorporate the egg whites gently into the cake mix, you need all that air for the cake.
  • If your cake bakes on the outside but is uncooked on the inside, you added too much cake batter/mix to the cake pan.

Hope you enjoy the cake, please share your version of a better cake option with us on IG or Facebook.

xo Betty

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258 Comments

  1. This sounds like the recipe I plan on using for Milo in January, but I didn’t have a frosting recipe, so thanks!! Happy 1st birthday to your little ball of sunshine!

        1. Hi Danielle, you can pipe it but it won’t last as long. So decorate the cake right before serving or taking pictures. You can also add more powder sugar to increase stability but that also adds more unnecessary sugar to the cake.

          Hope it works out for you.
          Xo betty

    1. Do you know approximately how many cups of banana you should have? 4-5 mashed bananas can vary widely in actual size . Thank you!

  2. I tried making the icing & it is really runny. Is it supposed to be? I used frozen apple juice concentrate. I wasn’t aware of any other way to buy it. Suggestions? Thanks!

  3. I tried this recipe yesterday as a trial run for my son’s b-day and while everything tasted alright, my frosting was runny (saw the tip above, will try more cream cheese next time) and the cake looked nothing like the one in the picture (is that a picture of this actual recipe?). The cake was sooooo dense my 8″ round was literally only 3/4″ thick and it didn’t have any cracking on top. I did halve the recipe but followed it to a t other than that. Am I missing something? Did yours puff nicely? I’m thinking maybe it’s the lack of egg or maybe I didn’t bake it long enough. Let me know if you have any suggestions. 🙂

    1. @Purduekel Thank you for trying my recipe, however I am sorry to hear your first batch didn’t come out right.
      The image of my cake was taken from the actual cake, with the recipe above!
      What I would try is to use baking or cake flour, that should help you get a lighter dough and have it rise.
      If you are certain that your little one has no egg allergies, you can use 1-2 eggs (depending on the size).

      Let me know if that helped you!
      Betty

        1. Did you read my comment after yours? You can also try to whip 2 egg whites and fold them in.
          My mom used to give cakes more fluff that way!

          I’ll bake the cake this coming week, and will fold in some egg whites as an addition. So if you like to wait, I’ll be happy to let you know how it comes out.

          1. Wanted to circle back and let you know that I tried the original recipe again (without the eggs) and it worked beautifully. I made it once in a bunt pan and then again in a loaf pan and it was perfect. The first time I made it I used a 9″ round and I think it was just too big so the cake was really thin. My son had a little cake with two stacked rounds cut out of the loaf pan version for his first birthday and it was perfect. Loved the frosting too!! Thank you!

          2. @purduekel I am so glad you came back to share your outcome! Hope your little guy enjoyed the cake. Reminds me, I have a video that I should share on the blog, of my daughter eating the cake from the second trial.

    2. I have re-done the cake and changed a few things. I will be updating this post in a few minutes.
      Purduekel, I also added 2 egg whites and folded them into the cake.
      Before you make the cake, please wait for my updated post on this recipe.

        1. Yes, you can freeze it, but I recommend it be frozen without the frosting. You could freeze the layers and pull them out a day before the party, then frost everything a few hours before the party. Hope this helps?!

  4. Would this work for cupcakes? I’d like her to have a little cake of her own to go to town on. . .

    1. @Janice I haven’t tried it as a cupcake yet, I believe it should come out just right if you fold in 2 medium egg whites into the entire dough to make it fluffier. Be sure that your baby girl has no egg allergies!

  5. I am writing a blog post about unique ideas for birthday cakes for babies. I am linking to your recipe and was wondering if I could use a photo of your cake in the post? Thanks so much!

  6. Hi…what id the white stuff that you put ib your batter
    ? I don’t see it on your ingredients list. Is it yogurt? How much goes in? Thanks! 🙂

    1. Hi Sarah, I am guessing you are talking about the egg white that I had beaten until it was foamy. It’s a great binder and gives cakes fluff! Let me know if you have any other questions.

  7. Hi! Am looking to do a trial run of this cake on the weekend. No egg allergy so will use egg whites. Just wondered if I should mix wet & dry ingredients together 1st, then the beaten egg whites??? And how much should the egg whites be beaten? Fluffy & stuff like for pavlova?
    Thanks 🙂

    1. Hi there Nicola,

      glad you want to give my cake a try, its super delicious and after you have made it once you will be surprised how easy it will come when baking it again.

      To your question:
      1. Should I mix wet & dry ingredients together 1st?: Yes, please mix everything together before you add the egg whites
      2. How much should the egg whites be beaten?: Beat them until they are nice and fluffy, to the point where you can still see bubbles but dense enough to hold together if turned upside down.

      Note: The egg white go in last, so make sure you fold it in carefully so you keep the air in the whites intact. (This will make the cake nice and fluffy instead of a cookie dough textured after baking.)

      Hope this helped you, let me know if you have any other questions.

      1. Thank you so much. Will let you know how it goes. The challenge is the oven… We’ve recently moved cities and are leasing at the moment and its a ridiculously hot oven. Everything burns on the bottom. Have only done baked dinners so far, reducing temp each time to the point that the last 2 dinners have been charcoal free! This will be my first cake bake.

  8. Once made and iced how long will the cake last. I need to make this at the weekend for a party on the Friday.

    1. Rebecca, yes you can! However since the cake is made with banana, the batter is going to naturally brown even before baking. However I would suggest using organic or fresh veggies and fruite from your local farmers market. Simply juice each veggie or fruit separately then add the juice to each batter. Bake each colored batter individually. Make sure you taste the batter before baking. Some veggies can alter the taste quite a bit!
      These are the veggies I recommend:
      Beet for red, carrot for orange, egg yoke for yellow, spinach for green, blueberries for blue and blackberries for purple.

      Happy baking

      1. Hi Bettina,
        I am planning on making this recipe tomorrow for my son’s second birthday and was thinking of doing a green and a blue layer. How much spinach and blueberry juice would you recommend though? I don’t want to make the batter to liquid. And do you think a marbled effect would work or might it be easier to simply make solid colors? I’m not really a big baker but trying for my little guy so I hope that made sense 🙂

        1. Hi Dzifa, I saw this video the other day on Facebook and thought you might want to try it. It doesn’t seem to be too hard to make.

          As far as the coloring, if you have concentrated spinach and blueberry colors you should be fine with just one teaspoon. Not sure if it will work with the juice alone.

          Sorry I didn’t see your comment sooner, we are in the middle of packing and moving. So my time on the computer is cut down.
          Let me know if it turned out, or what you did!

  9. Hello, I am curious about the sprinkles you used in this picture. is there such a thing as sugarfree sprinkles or do you have to give in to make it look pretty and festive. I would like to add a little bit of something, decoration like, to make it more fun since it is his first birthday. Thanks!

    1. Connie, I would recommend Williams-Sonoma Natural Sprinkles (http://www.pinterest.com/pin/70650287877051998/) they are made with natural ingredients and are only semi-sweet, but since you won’t use an entire jar on your cake, your Bebe should be fine having a little sweetness. Happy baking!

      (FYI it appears that the Williams-Sonoma Site is down at the moment)

  10. Hi! DO you have the original recipe you used without adding eggs? My son’s doctor does not recommend him having eggs before his first birthday and I would love to use your original recipe if you still have it.

    Thank you!

    1. Hi Kristina,
      you simply leave the egg whites out for my original recipe. I would recommend on backing the mixture in small Tart/Quiche pans, filling them only about 1/2″ inch. That way they bake all through and won’t stay gooey.
      NOTE: Please bake only one Tart dish at the listed temp. and time, instead of your entire mixture. Should you have to make changes on the temp or time, please let me know so I can add this option to the recipe.

  11. Hi!
    I tried this recipe without the egg whites and didnt like that it came out so dense. I just think it would be too hard for my lil guy to dig into. With the egg whites does it make it alot fluffier? I was also wondering if it would make it lighter if i used a different flour? Thanks:)

    1. Hi Nina,
      yes, the cake will be dense if the egg whites are left out. However you can use cake flower or Bread flour for this recipe. I simply tried to keep this recipe a healthy choice, but if you like to leave the egg whites out, I recommend using the alternate flours.

      1. If I would like to replace the wheat for all purpose flour is it the same amount and would I still use eggs whites??

        1. Cheri, you can substitute all purpose flour, cake flour or bread flour. Same amount and keep the egg whites to give it more volume.

          1. Awesome! Thanks, I’ve already tried the recipe as above, and liked it, but I think I’ll make it with regular flower for my twins first birthday this weekend. I’m hoping it’ll be a little more “cake like” instead of bread. I really appreciate the quick response.

  12. Thanks! I’ll use the egg whites. I have an organic unbleached all purpose baking flour also and didn’t know if using that and the egg whites would work?

  13. This cake is in the oven right now. My little boy’s first birthday party is on Saturday! The batter (without the eggs) tasted delicious. I love the texture of the batter with the egg whites added in. I’m baking the cake in three loaf pans so that I can stack it and turn it into a fire engine. Thanks for this recipe. I was pleased to find a healthy, natural, and sugar-free alternative to the traditional birthday cake that I can feel good about him digging into.

    1. Mary, I am very happy to hear that you’re going to use my recipe for your little one! Hope he’ll enjoy it just as much as my daughter did. I might post a video of her eating her left overs.

      1. Isaac LOVED the cake! I dyed the icing red because I transformed the cake into a fire engine. It was tasty and moist…our party guests enjoyed it, too!

        1. Mary, I am so happy to hear you had a successful cake! Do you happen to have a picture of it to share with us?

  14. This looks great, I’m going to try it for my baby’s first birthday in March. Any reason not to use the whole eggs (instead of just the egg whites)?

    1. Amber, when you use hole eggs in this recipe it will most likely change the texture of the cake. My concern is that you won’t get the same results by using whole eggs instead of pure egg whites; but you could give it a try and make a trial cake before your baby’s b-day!
      I haven’t used whole eggs in this recipe, yet. If you do, please let us know!

  15. Hi Bettina! My first try it was dense, but wheat can do that without a rising agent. I did add lemon juice to the applesauce mixture before I combined them. I have systemic candida (I cannot have white sugar or flour and no yeast) and discovered in my baking that lemon juice acts as a natural “rising” agent; it just keeps things fluffy. It didn’t change the flavor either! Not getting the eggs whites right makes a different, they really give it that fabulous puffy flavor. Thank you for sharing this!!

    Do you know about how long this cake can stay refrigerated and still be good for?

    1. Hi Kaloline, I am so touched after reading your comment! I never thought that my healthy cake would make it this far, and that I am able to help someone with a special allergy makes me even happier.
      I didn’t know that lemon juice was a natural rising agent, that’s good to know -thank you for sharing.

      I had the cake refrigerated for 3 days after my daughter’s second birthday, the cream cheese frosting was exposed to air, so it really didn’t look and taste good anymore after 3 days.

      Hope I have been helpful, let me know if you have any other questions.

    1. Hi Miss.A if you or your little one are allergic to nutmeg or cinnamon you can leave them out. You can use these spices to give the cake some flavor: mace, allspice or cloves are great substitute spices!

      Hope this helped, let me know if you have any other questions.

      1. Thank you so much! My babies first birthday is in May so I’m preparing now. 🙂 I didn’t want to give my little one something unhealthy for his little body. Going to try to keep his body pure. lol Thank you again!

  16. I will be making this cake for my daughter’s 1st birthday this Saturday. I’m so excited to give it a try!!!

    1. Leah, please share a few images with me after the party. Or if you have a blog and will post about it, I’d like to take a look.
      Enjoy the cake and happy birthday to your daughter.

  17. I’d like to make this for my daughter’s 1st birthday next month. I have a gluten sensitivity and she eats mostly gluten free based on what we have in the house. Do you think coconut flour would work and or a gluten free all purpose flour? (King Arthur’s) Thanks!!

    1. Maureen, I would recommend the gluten free all purpose flour. Make a trial cake and adjust ingredients if needed. Let me know if you have any other questions.
      P.s. please share your cake with us on instagram with the hashtag #ohbabyhealthycake

      1. Unfortunately, the trial cake turned out very dense. Not smashable in my opinion. LOL. My daughter took a couple bites and threw the rest on the floor. I ended up eating the whole cake myself. 😉

        1. oh NO, did you add the egg white at the end? Try another gluten free flour sometimes it all depends on the brand.
          Let me know if you have any questions!

  18. Just made this cake for my little boy & it is the absolute perfect cake for the little ones! Wow, I made homemade applesauce & recommend adding a raw vanilla bean to make it even more flavorful. Best 1st birthday cake ever thanks to you 🙂

    1. Elle, so happy to hear that you made the cake. I love the idea of adding homemade applesauce and a vanilla bean. Please share images on instagram by hashtaging your photo with #ohbabyhealthycake and tagging @oheverythinghandmade

      xoxo
      Betty

  19. Hi! So I’m clueless. I’m making this cake today… I have no clue what to do with the egg whites. I’ve never made a cake before. They look almost cooked… Can I just use the white from normal eggs or do I have to buy the jug of egg whites. Jeeze, I must sound like an idiot lol. And what do you mean fold in?

    1. Hi Shannon,

      You know how you have the yellow and clear in a raw egg? You need the clear from the egg. So crack it open (carefully) and separate the yellow from the clear. YouTube it on how to separate an egg white if you are not sure!
      Then you need to use a handheld electric mixer and mix the whites (still in its raw stage) until you have bubbly white foam, it is done and ready to be used when you can turn the bowl upside down and nothing falls out or you can form a cone shape when lifting a spoon trough it! Hope that makes sense to you???

      Folding in will be your next step, you need to have your cake mix ready made, so make sure you get all ingredients mixed together before you start making the egg whites.

      YouTube how to fold in egg whites, it’s had to explain, you’ll see it’s not as hard as it sounds!

      Let me know if you have any other questions.

    2. I’m wondering how exactly to do the egg whites? Is it until there is a stiff peak? And what does it mean to fold it in? First time time cake maker here!

      1. Hi there, yes whip the egg whites until they are stiff and form a peak. And folding in means, you scoop some stiff egg white into the batter incorporating it slowly, once incorporated you add another scoop until everything is incorporated. Please youtube it, if you are unsure. Have fun baking!

  20. Hi. Can I make this as a bundt cake? will the size give for a bundt cake? and i’ll just spread the icing on top of the bundt cake. What do you think? =)

  21. Thank you thank you thank you. This is absolutely perfect. Just finished cooking the cake and it tastes like a wholesome muffin. Tomorrow I can have the cute little pictures of my little girl smashing the cake around AND know I am not giving her gross amounts of sugar or something her little digestive system can’t handle. I made an 8 inch cake and 18 mini-muffins with your recipe. Fyi –you may have already stated this somewhere, but 10 minutes in mini-muffin tins worked nicely. Again – thank you.

  22. I made this recipe for my one year old’s first birthday and my nieces’s second birthday (born on the same day!). I followed the recipe to a T and used all of the same ingredients but got a DRASTICALLY different looking cake. The frosting is definitely not white (as shown in the picture). Try offwhite since you’re using apple sauce and cinnamon. And it is SUPER goopy. I have no clue how the author got such a pretty looking cake but my frosting was lumpy (I whipped it for a good 5 minutes) and really runny. I ended up adding powdered sugar (trying to avoid the sugar!) to thicken it up. And refrigerated it for 2 hours. Still goopy. If you’re going to use this recipe there are a few things you should know. Make sure you level the cake before baking. It comes out really lumpy if you don’t and since they’re so thin there’s not much to shave off to make it flat. If you’re going to use the frosting recipe make sure you use vanilla without alcohol (I didn’t see this mentioned by the author but it seems pretty important if you’re using it for a little one’s bday). Or better yet, find a different frosting recipe. I’m crossing my fingers the cakes stay upright until the little ones have a chance to knock them over.

    1. Hi Amanda, so sad it didn’t work out for you! I have made my cake recipe 3 times now, all images are from my cakes. And yes I used alcohol free vanilla extract and will updated the recipe as soon as I can. The cakes can also be backed in 6″ pans that way you will be able to use more cake for each layer. The frosting should be applied after the cake is fully cooled. I will also add some more details to the recipe about the frosting.

  23. So I dont think that I beat the eggs long enough. My cake has come out very gooey (still yummy though). I’m gonna wing it and try to help dry it up a bit but do you have any suggestions for fixing this after the fact?

  24. Hi Bettina! I’m going to dry my dab at this cake tomorrow… I have a question though, what temp and time would you recommend for using an XL cupcake pan and would you suggest I bake each halve by themselves separately or together is fine?

    1. Hi Candi,

      I would suggest to back a single XL cupcake first, before you do the rest! I haven’t backed them as cupcakes yet, so I want to avoid you having to create another cake batch.
      As far as heat and time, I would say 350 for 30-35 minutes. You can use a tooth pick at 30 min. to check if the dough is fully baked.
      Let me know if you should have any trouble or more questions as you go. Email me if you can or use FB, like you did today.

  25. Just tried making this cake without eggs as my son has an egg allergy. It tastes good but its very thin and has a weird texture. I used two 9 inch round pans. Should I double the recipe next time if using two pans? And what can I do to make the cake a bit lighter? Thanks

  26. Hi Bettina,

    I just made this cake as a trial run for my son’s first birthday on Jan 8 and it came out great! I used regular vanilla extract because the adults were going to eat it, but I’d like to get the alcohol free version for when I make it for him. What kind did you use or do you recommend? The imitation McCormick’s I looked at in the store still had alcohol in it….
    Thanks for the recipe!

      1. Thanks! I found that Frontier one at Whole Foods and I will try it for his cake next week! Sniff sniff I’m so happy but emotional!! I’ll try to share on Facebook if I remember! Thanks again for the recipe!

        1. Remember to always treasure the moment, they grow up so fast. My little one is already 18 months, I just love each stage they go through. It’s challenging but I know we will laugh about it one day.

  27. I want to make this for my son’s 1st birthday (Feb 1st). My question is does it make 2 8″ cakes or 1? If I get 6″ cake pans (assuming it makes 2), how long do I bake those? Thanks.

    -lynne

    1. Hi Lynne, You can only make one 8″ cake. But, I made two 6″ cakes before and stacked them with the cream cheese frosting in between. I backed both at 375 for 25-30 minutes (just make sure to keep an eye on them, if they bake too long they will turn out dry).

  28. I have a question…. it seems like no matter how long I beat the egg whites they don’t fluff. What am I doing wrong?

    1. Hi!! Thanks for the recipe. I plan to make it next week for my sons first birthday. My question is – I purchased a set of four 4 inch springform pans and wanted to layer the layers with frosting in between. How many 4 in pans do you think this recipe will fill? And what recommendations for baking temp and time do you have?

      1. Hi sweetie, so sorry I didn’t get to answer your comment in time. I hope you figured it out, I got to make 4-5 depending on how thick you will want the layer to be. I hope your son had a great birthday and got to smash this yummy cake.

  29. Hi Bettina,

    I don’t know what I did wrong, but my cake frosting is really gross. Is it maybe because I use Philadelphia cream cheese? It is salty and sour and really runny and not white like the picture. Please help! I have the cake smash photo shoot tomorrow

  30. Loved this recipie… The 4 year old that I nanny for had a blast making a Valentine’s day version of this cake with me. We added raisins and strawberries to the cake, and added red food coloring to the frosting, with red sprinkles. Very healthy and easy to make!

  31. Hey! Just did a trial run of this recipe and halved it. It turned out pretty good. The texture reminds me of zuchinni bread – which I love. I’m not a huge banana fan though and wish you couldn’t taste them as much or that there was an alternative. And I feel that the cream cheese frosting is too strong. I may try to add something else to cover the cream cheese taste a little more. Other than that it tastes really light and wholesome and I feel safe giving it to my 1 year old on OUR birthday, tomorrow! Thank you for a great recipe!

  32. Bettina,

    I just took two batches of this out of the oven, hoping to have it ready for my son’s 3rd birthday tomorrow.
    One question: How should I store this until tomorrow morning? Should I slather on the frosting and store it all ready to go in fridge? Or separate? Will the cream cheese keep ok?

    Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!

    Anna

    1. Hi Anna, store the cake once cooled down in your fridge. I would make the frosting in the morning and apply it to the cake a couple of hours before. You can store everything in the fridge until ready for the party.

      1. Oh crap. Already made the frosting. Will cover it and hope for the best in the morning. Thank you for your prompt reply!!

  33. I’m thinking about making this tomorrow for my daughter’s first birthday. My fear is that it will be too dense for her to tear apart herself. I just wanted to put it in front of her and let her destroy it. But, banana bread is a much tougher than cake….so my question is… does this recipe produce more of a bread or a cake consistency?

  34. Thanks for posting this. I’m looking forward to making our baby’s cake this weekend but didn’t want to give him simple sugars when his diet has been so pure. I’m not a great cook so can you tell me how you beat your eggs? Can you beat only two egg whites in a kitchenaid? Or do I beat them by hand? Do they foam up like that without sugar?

    1. Hi Sarah,

      I absolutely understand, and keeping his diet clean will only benefit. You can certainly beat the egg whites in a kitchen aid- it may take longer, but I will be the easiest way.
      Just beat them for 5-10 minutes and they should foam up (no sugar needed).
      Let me know if you run into difficulties. I will do my best to help you.

  35. This cakes looks beautiful and delicious and I would really like to make this for my daughters first birthday cake, but she is currently intolerant to wheat. Do you have any suggestions on a flour substitute that I could use?

  36. I made this for my baby’s first birthday party. I wanted a smash cake that wasn’t loaded with sugar. This worked on the low-sugar front, but the cake was rather dense. Maybe some babies are more exuberant about plunging in, but mine just kinda gnawed on it quizzically. As for the flavor, I wasn’t expecting much, but this was still pretty “meh”. Even when I broke it up into bite-size pieces my baby wasn’t interested, and she eats EVERYTHING.

  37. Just made a trial run of this cake for my little girl’s 1st.
    It’s like banana bread had an affair with an apple muffin, so yummy!!
    I love the slight tartness of the icing. I plan on having her dig into it tomorrow!
    I wish I could figure out how to add a picture. I did add 3 drops of food coloring to the icing to make it pink, husband says he doesn’t think it will have any effect but I worry that it makes me a horrible mommy

    1. So glad you like the cake, you are welcome to share an image on our Facebook page if you like @oheverythinghandmade can’t wait to see how it will turn out with the pink frosting.

  38. Amazing cake, everyone including my little one was very impressed. I only used 3 tiers as it was big enough. But my little one has been eating leftovers for snacks all week. I will make the cake again without the frosting just as a snack cake! I am not a cake maker usually so thank you for such a great recipe!

  39. Hi! This is the type of cake I’ve been looking for! My daughter turns one next weekend and lovvvves apples and bananas. May I bother you with a couple of questions?

    1. If I don’t have round cake pans, what would you suggest using? Could I use a regular cake pan, and maybe just cut out two round layers?

    2. I just made a batch of applesauce by simply boiling apples (she loves the chunks and puree). Do you think I could use this with a dash of cinnamon instead of buying organic applesauce?

    Thanks so much!

    1. Hi, just wondering if you tried this with making your own applesauce? I will need to do that too as i live in Asia and not sure my supermarket sells applesauce… Thanks

  40. I know this is an older post, but I am just looking for healthy options for my little girl’s first birthday cake on Pinterest and this popped up. I can’t wait to make this cake recipe, but I was wondering if you have any alternative suggestions for the cream cheese. My little girl has had some issues with dairy and I would like to avoid a lot of it if I can. If there is an easy substitute, I would love to try it! Thanks!

      1. hi there-

        do you think I could use baking powder instead of baking soda? my baking soda says not recommended for cooking?

        thanks

  41. I just made my 2nd batch. The first one was too dense since I didn’t whip the egg whites enough. Both ended up with kind of a skin on the cake. Is that normal? I have them cooling in the fridge before cutting out the circles.

  42. Hi Bettina,
    My daughter is turning one in a few weeks and I’m so glad I found your recipe. I’m super excited to make it for her. Bananas are her favorite! Before starting, I’m curious on the type of cream cheese you use. I have some Philly cream cheese, but hesitant to use it. Please let me know what you suggest.
    Thanks!

  43. Pingback: Smash Cake Recipe
  44. Hey there I am doing a theme which calls for a chocolate cake. If there a way to add something that would make this look chocolate and still taste the same? I am going to do a test run this weekend. Thanks!

  45. Hi, This recipe looks perfect for my little girls first birthday! Thanks! However i would like to colour the frosting, would it take well to natural food dye? and is it stiff enough to pipe into roses? or what would you suggest? Thanks 🙂

    1. If you like to make little roses I would recommend adding more powder sugar and less applesauce to the creme cheese.
      I haven’t tried coloring my frosting, but you should be fine adding just a little of the beet juice (a few drops, and if not pink enough add additional drops).
      Hope this helped! Please share your cake with me, once done. That would make me very happy.

  46. I’m going to make this tomorrow for my baby’s smash cake but I couldn’t find any alcohol free vanilla extract and I don’t want to make my own from scratch. Can I just use maple syrup as a substitute? Or is there another substitute I can use? Or if I leave it out will it still taste good? Thanks!

      1. Hi! Planning to make this cake for my daughter’s 1st birthday this weekend. Will the cake be as sweet if I sub pumpkin for the banana? I’m worried the cake won’t be sweet enough.

        1. I haven’t tried pumpkin as a substitute, therefore I can’t promise that it will be sweet. But you could always add a baked sweet potato, that may help.

          Are you able to make a trial cake before the weekend? I would make a small batch to test it.

  47. Tried this healthy cake recipe today for my sons 1st birthday and it turned out great! He loved it! I made the cake the night before and the frosting today. Thanks for the recipe.

  48. I used the recipe last week, and it was great- thank you!
    … but now a friend asked for the recipe and I see you have no list of ingredients?? you have changed it into a list of links to where one can buy the stuff but it is a nightmare for someone who is trying to actually make the cake. Unless the list was above the links? in that case there is some error in the code and it is not displaying properly 🙁 please fix it?

    1. Karolina, thanks for the catch. It is actually an error in the plugin I am using, and I have contacted the support team to take care of it. But, I made you a recipe card that can be downloaded for free.
      When you print the recipe card, use the same printed paper and print the frosting recipe to the back.

  49. I want this cake to have a strong banana flavor. Is that the case with the addition of the applesauce? Can I omit the applesauce and add additional bananas instead? I’m going to try a peanut butter whipped cream for the frosting. Thanks for your help!

  50. You got a bunch of rewievs and replied to all of them. So interesting to read it!
    You don’t know how i am excited to find your page! I can’t wait to try it for the 1st bth of my baby boy! My mum makes cakes with egg whites so I am familiar with it. She actually uses like 4 egg whites for one. Makes it so fluffy.
    I couldn’t figure out how to decorate it that it looks so cute like on your picture and I came with an idea that I should just use colorful fruit like strawberry, blueberry and kiwi, to cut them in a little piece, I think that could work nicely! Going to do trial first.

    1. Hi Agnes, yes I reply to all my comments if time allows it. So glad you will give my cake a try and make it for your little one, I think cutting up the fruit and decorating the cake with it is a very good idea. I hope you will share some images on my FB or IG; you can find the hashtag on the bottom of this post. Good luck! xo Betty

  51. Hi! I’ve heard so many good things about this cake. If I wanted to do one large cake for the entire birthday party rather than a smash cake, would I need to make any adjustments beyond just not cutting out the small cake circles from the 9 inch round? Thanks!

  52. Bettina – curious if this might work for cupcakes? If so, how many would you guess? Have been looking for a healthy cake / cupcake recipe for my 3 year olds bday.

  53. Hi! Just came across this recipe and it looks great! I’m big on doing as much prep work for events a few days before. Is this a recipe that I can make the night before? If so, how would you suggest storing it until the party? Would you frost it the day of?

    Thank you!

    1. Hi Sarah, So glad you will give this cake a try. To answer your questions, I found that storing it in the fridge overnight is best, or if you have time to make it in the early morning even better. Frosting should always be applied on the day with cakes like this one, simply because it could start running even if placed in the fridge.
      I hope your little one will enjoy the cake as much as my babies did! xo Betty

  54. Hi Bettina,
    Do you have any suggestions on what type of gluten free flour would work best?

    Also, is the cake and frosting sweet enough without the added sugar?

  55. My little one will be turning 1 next week. I made this cake today as a trail one and my boy loves it. However, it is super dense! I put two whole eggs I’m wondering if that is the problem. Either way he loves it and I’ll definitely be making it again next week.

    1. Hi Teresa, instead of adding the entire eggs, just use the egg white and beat it until fluffy. Then mix it into the mixture carefully. Happy Birthday to the sweet birthday boy/girl!

  56. Omg this sounded so nice and dandy until…
    I baked the recipe in two 6 in rounds for 20 min at 400 degrees, I used a toothpick in the centers and it was clean. However when I flipped them out to cool they got all mushey and didn’t set. How is this possible? Is it safe to eat or egg is dangerous? So disappointed.. party tomorrow. :/

    It smells good at least
    Please help…

    1. This hasn’t happened with any of my readers yet, so it might be the oven! I hope you can fix it before the party.
      Do you have enough ingredients to make another one, and then bake it longer 25-30 min.

    2. Me too! Which is such a bummer because the flavor is great, but I’ve got two mushy discs not cakes.

      1. Extra baking time would have helped with this issue since not all ovens are the same, checking the cake before removing it from the oven is a must.
        Sorry, it didn’t work out for you. Hope you have more luck next time.

    1. I haven’t personally tried it. But I don’t think you will have any issues if you do so. Just add the cake to a zip lock bag once completely cooled down.
      To answer you first question, you can use a 6″ and just keep an eye on it once you have reached the time. Use a toothpick to see if it fully baked.

  57. I am going to be making the icing Sunday … how many cups of cream cheese do I use? One or two? Is the icing recipe above updated? It says 1 cups and in the comments it says you corrected the recipe to add one more cup of cream cheese… wanted to double check. Making the cake and icing for a shoot and I am trying to figure out how to keep the icing awesome for his shoot since it is at a park.

    Thank you for your time,
    Kat

    1. Hi Kat, sorry for the confusion. Please use 2cups of icing for your cake. I think I had used one for just a simple cake cover and 2cups if you want to give your cake a little decor.
      Would love to see some images once then party is over. Happy Birthday to the little one!!! Xo Betty

  58. I’m making this cake for my daughters bday tomorrow morning! We will be busy setting up for the birthday party in the morning can I make the cake the night before frosted/ decorated and everything? Or will it spoil in the fridge over night?

  59. I am planning to make this in one day for my baby’s first birthday. The receipe seems good to me. Had one question though, is it ok that the receipe doesn’t contain any oil content?

  60. Hi Bettina!
    This receipe sounds amazing and I plan to make it for my daughter’s 1st bday next week. Just a few questions:
    1. Instead of the apple sauce, could I use either blue berry, black berry or raspberry purée? I want to make an ombré multi colored cake. This goes for the icing too.
    2. I will be using regular white flour and I have 2 9 inch pans. I want to make them 2 different colors in 4 layers. I’m hoping once I cut out the circle center I can slice each in 2 so I can use the donut left outside for adult cake. My question is should I double the receipe? And same cooking times or different?
    This is my first cake ever so I’m sorry for all the questions but I want it to be as perfect as possible.
    Thanks soooo very much!

    1. Hi Sandra,
      Ok so since you are going to make more cake. Double the recipe, when you make the colored mix, add half apple sauce and half of the blueberry or any of your other fruit puree.
      NOTE: Substitute Applesauce for Eggs When Baking for Healthier, Allergy-Free Cakes and Muffins. The applesauce will act as a binder, and keep your baked goods just moist.
      Same cooking time, but still check it before taking the cake out, in case it needs a little longer. Each oven works different, so always check!

      Also, you can store the cake in the refrigerator for 1 day. On the day of the birthday, apply frosting before the celebration.

      If you have any other questions, please feel free to comment.

  61. I made this cake last year for my nephew’s 1st birthday and I got a request to make it again, but for 25 people! Can I double or triple the recipe? I’m thinking I need a 3-tier 8″ round cake.

  62. Would this work to make in a rectangular baking dish? I don’t have round tins and didn’t want to buy any. Thanks

  63. Hi!
    I am hoping to make this for my daughters first bday. I have a small 4 inch cake pan. Could I use that and just cut the recipe in half? How would you adjust the time?
    Thank you
    Katie

  64. Im planning on making this cake for my son’s first birthday and he has egg and milk allergy- this would include: cream cheese, butter, sour cream.. etc… anything that has any milk products so anything dairy. Any suggestions for replace those items with non-dairy items? Thanks

    1. Hi Anna, Egg Substitutes for Leavening

      Eggs give texture and provide lift, especially in baking. Egg-free baked goods tend to be a bit dense and heavy, but there are several things you can do to lighten them up.

      Coconut milk + baking powder – Add 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons canned coconut milk (NOT light) and 1 teaspoon baking powder to your recipe.
      Ener-G egg replacer – Whisk together 1 packed tablespoon of powder and 2 tablespoons warm water until frothy.
      Carbonated water – Replace part or all of the liquid with carbonated water. Do not over mix after adding in order to retain the carbonation’s effect.
      Cider vinegar + baking soda – This is an old WWII-era trick! Substitute 1 tablespoon cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon baking soda for eggs in cakes, cupcakes, and quick loaves of bread.

      For the milk substitute, I suggest almond milk.

      If you can ask at your local grocery store for a dairy-free cream cheese, or you could try making this paleo cream cheese

      I know how hard it is to make something yummy when you have allergies, hope this helps.

      Here are also some dairy-free cream cheeses I found online:

      Plain Cream Cheeze Style Spread
      5 MINUTE COCONUT CREAM CHEESE
      Almond Milk Cream Cheese

      Good luck!
      xo Betty

  65. Have you made these in cupcake form instead of cutting out rounds? Any suggestions for bake time or modifications if I try it?

  66. Going to try to make this today!! For our sons first birthday crossing fingers it turns out! Trying cupcakes!

  67. Hi there! Just found your recipe and wondered if I should change the baking time if I am using 6” round pans instead of 8 or 9”? I’m not much of a baker so I have no idea! Thanks 🙂

  68. You say “pans” is the recipe and one of the pics shows 2 spring form pans in the oven. Is there supposed to be enough batter to do 2 x 8” or 9” pans?

    1. I had used the 8″ pan and cut out two 4″ rounds. I said pans in the recipe so you don’t waste any batter that happens during cutting out the smaller circles.
      The 9″ pan will make a thinner cake.
      I recommend using small spring pans that are already in the size of your cake. Fill the pans with only a 1″ high batter and once baked, pop them out t cool and bake the rest of the batter.

      Hope I didn’t confuse you?! lol

  69. Did you hand beat the eggs or use a hand held whisking device. I am doing it by hand and i am not getting the cone like structure..

    Thank you

  70. Hi! I’m so excited to make this cake for my son’s first birthday. Is it unsweetened apple sauce? Just wanted to make sure I get it right. Thanks so much!

    1. Hi Britt,

      I haven’t personally tried that option yet, but I don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to use any of those flowers. I would probably make a blend of almond and oat, they are great together. I would also add 1/4-1/2 cup of almond milk if you use those flours since they soak up a lot of the liquid. Let me please know how it turns out so we can make a vegan-friendly version of this cake.

  71. Hi there! Wow, I read through pretty much every comment and your replies (so many!) but it’s almost midnight and I’m not sure I’m totally clear on what size pan you recommend, because I know the recipe is for 9″ but in some places you mention that could be too thin. This is for my 29-weeker former preemie’s first birthday on Saturday, so I’d love to get it right the first time! I can get whatever pan(s) you recommend and is easiest. However many layers too. I’m not a baker so I will do exactly as you say 😉 Thank you so much!

    1. Hi Tanya,
      yicks, you really read over 100+ comments. WOW thanks!
      So, there are a few options you have with this cake, you can make a small one with a few layers or make a skinny cake with only 2 layers.

      1. Small Cake: You need 2 x 4″ inch cake pans – fill them halfway (about 1.5″ high) and bake them as recommended in the recipe.

      2. Skinny cake: You can use 2 x 8″ inch cake pans – fill them with batter about 1″ high and bake as recommended in the recipe.

      3. Option 3: I have an 8″ or 9″ cake pan(s) but want a small smash cake with layers, then bake the cake as you would in option 2. Once baked, use a 4″ bowl (in diameter) to cut smaller circles (your cake layers), now all that’s left is to make the frosting and stack those layers. Let me know if I confused the heck out of you (sorry, if I did).

  72. Hi there! I just baked this recipe and the cake tastes great. I used 6″ cake pans and was able to make 5 layers. A couple came out a bit flat but a couple have some rise. Overall, I’m happy with it so far.
    Question: has anyone used whipped cream cheese for the frosting? I bought a regular 8oz package but just wanted to ask.
    Thanks for sharing this recipe! I think my nephew will be happy to dig in tomorrow, no matter what.

    1. Hi Rach, so sorry I didn’t get to answer your question in time. I hope you were able to still figure out the frosting for the cake. And Happy Birthday to your nephew!

  73. About two weeks ago I was searching around for a good cake recipe to make for my son’s first birthday. I stumbled across this one and decided to go for it.

    I made some slight changes.
    Since I couldn’t find any applesauce with added cinnamon, I added another tsp to the cake. It tasted great, but since I didn’t want it to be too strong I omitted any cinnamon in the frosting and just went with my plain applesauce.

    I didn’t have any whole wheat flour, so just used cake flour. Looking through the comments, that seems to have been a good choice.

    One packet of cream cheese here is just shy of what was required in the recipe, but having read through comments I decided to add a bit of vegan cream cheese since it seemed people felt some more might be needed anyway.

    I used my 6 inch cake pan, and decided to divide my batter in four. Then I just poured a fourth into the pan and cooked each for about 10 minutes, rather than 20. Had to do this for each fourth since I only had the one pan.

    In order to make the cake a bit more festive, I decided to add some food coloring gels, even though I knew the colors would be muted due to the bananas baking brown. I used one neutral, then the other three colors were red, blue and purple.

    Now, my son basically only loves protein it’s the only thing I’ve seen him eat enthusiastically. This cake though, he went to town on it! I think it helped that there wasn’t any added sugar and as such, not too sweet. He eats a lot of fruit purees so my guess is, this seemed familiar. Thank you, Betty for this wonderful recipe. Everyone at the party wanted to taste the cake too and they all thought it tasted better than the sugar version I’d ordered for us adults. They were also so impressed with how it looked. So again, thank you!

    And for everyone else; make this cake! You won’t regret it. I’ve shared pics of it in my Stories on Instagram just now, my handle is @rhulth and I’ll add it to the highlight “baking“.

    1. Same time, just keep an eye on it. I would check it 2-3min before the time is up to see if it’s dense enough already. If it is take it out and let it cool.

      Thank you for giving our smash care recipe a try.
      xo Betty

  74. Hi there,

    I’m going to try the recipe today but I have 3 of the 6″ pans. I have 2 questions for you. If I use 2 pans do I just divide the batter evenly between the two ? If I add another egg white would I be able to use the 3 pans?
    Thank you

    1. Divide the batter into the two 5″ pans, once baked at the regular heat and time, check with a toothpick if it’s baked -toothpick should come out clean if there is batter on the toothpick then let it bake a couple of minutes longer.
      If the baked cake is too thick, then wait until it is completely cooled and slice the cake in half so you have two thinner layers.

  75. I’m wondering How do I make the egg whites? If I’m using a whisk by hand how long will it take? Is it to form stiff peaks? I just made the cake it was very dense I’m wondering if I’m not doing this step properly.

    1. Hi Sarah,

      the cake is naturally a bit denser but with really stiff egg whites and the slow incorporation of them you should end up with a soft cake base. It also softens once you add the frosting to it, both my kids loved the cake and the firmness of it. Hope this helped?

      1. How long should it take to whisk the egg whites by hand? First time baker here and I am hoping to get this right for my daughters first birthday cake. Thank you!

  76. Hi Betty I have tried to make the cake twice already and am at a loss I haven’t been able to get it right. I cooked it in two 5×2 pans at 400 for 30 mins and some parts are still goopey. I filed it about 1 inch. Please help.

    1. Hi Christina,
      unfortunately, that something to be expected when a recipe is changed. However, this recipe is easy to work with, and I am happy to help. I would bake it in 5-minute increments, check after the first 5 min. by inserting a toothpick into the batter you can do this in several spots, and if one side is baked but the other isn’t then you can bake it a bit longer but turn the cake so the front is in the back. This way it gets to bake more evenly.

      I really hope this helps, one of my favorite memories from my babies was their birthdays, they are a bit too old for the cake now, but I am sure your sweet baby will enjoy it just as much.

      xo Betty

      1. Do you mean to bake it 5 min increments after it’s already been baked for 30 mins? I’m confused as to why it isn’t baking properly when I only filled the pans 1 inch and had it in for 30 mins rather than the 20. Do you think my oven is on the hotter side and maybe I should bake at 350?

  77. Hi! I really want to try out this cake for my son’s 1st birthday, but i dont see the list of ingredients? Am i missing it?

  78. For some reason this page isn’t fully loading and the list and amounts for the ingredients isn’t showing 🙁

  79. Hi Bettina, I made this cake back in January of 2018 for my sons 1st bday and now today I’m making it for my daughters 1st bday. The recipe was easy to follow and it came out so yummy! My parents and some other family members tried it back when I made it for my son and they all loved it and said it tastes better than a store bought cake! Just wanted to say thank you for sharing the recipe with us!

    1. Hi Daisy, thank you so much for sharing your feedback with me and all the other moms that like to offer their babies a healthier version of storebought cakes. Thank you Thank you Thank you

    1. Hi Sarah, I had made our cake the day before (I didn’t add the frosting until 30min. before serving) simply because it may make the cake too moist. The frosting can also start running, and then you have to do touchups, so I recommend frosting it 60-30min. before serving.

  80. Hello! I added batter as I do but the inside stayed uncooked while the outside burned. Do you think it gets better when I take it out and wait? Thanks!

  81. Hi Betty,

    This recipe looks great and I can’t wait to try it for my baby’s first bday!

    Can I ask you, did you use any particular cream cheese? I have read in other recipes to use brick cream cheese. Is there any you would recommend?

    Also when it comes to decorating the cake, would you have any tips and tricks how to decorate it healthy? I was looking at using 100s and 1000s but if you have a sugar free idea, I’d really appreciate it.

    Can’t wait to make this cake for my daughter!

    Thanks a lot in advance
    Franzi

    1. Hi Franzi, thank you so much for your comment. Before I give you any suggestions, are you by any chance from Germany?
      I am asking because this might be important if you are looking for ingredients.

      Over the years I have also learned that what doctors and the FDA has told us about dairy products is not applicable anymore. Therefore, I highly recommend substituting any dairy products with plant-based products.

      I will be working on a plant-based version for this cake, but please do your own research on which products would be best for your family.

      And lastly to answer your question about a healthy decorative option, you can add apple sauce, maple syrup, or coconut sugar in small amounts.

      Hope this helps, and if you have any other questions please comment below.

      Thanks,
      Betty

  82. Hi, first of all, that recipe looks great!
    I want to make it for my child’s second birthday but I’m a bit confused about the amounts…
    On the pictures you’re using two 9”(?) cake forms but the amount is for a layered 4” cake, is that right?
    I want to make a 9” cake (for the guests) and a small version for my son. I’m not sure how much of the ingredients and how many cake forms I need then.
    I don’t really have time for a trial run. Sorry, maybe I just didn’t understand your description right, I’m a foreigner.

    Thank you in advance for your help!

    Reina

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