Disclosure: I received compensation for this post. All opinions, as always, are 100% my own!
Children’s birthdays are the best. Especially a first birthday. I can’t believe my daughter’s first birthday was almost 2 years ago! They grow up way too fast! Here’s a picture of her eating her cupcake that we just let her smash into:
If you don’t know what a smash cake is, it’s just a small, simple cake that your little one can “smash” into. They’re kids, so they’re going to be messy – that’s part of the fun! If you have never made a smash cake before, here is a great infographic from Betty Crocker with step-by-step instructions along with some suggestions for toppings!
For our daughter’s smash cake we just did a simple cupcake with icing and sprinkles. Nothing fancy. You should see all the cool looking ones that Betty Crocker has! Here are a couple of my favorites!
This Sprinkles Smash Cake is adorable! You can do any color of sprinkles to match the party decor – definitely a great idea!
And what about this Polka Dot Smash Cake?! How cute is it?! I wish I would have seen this one to make for my daughter’s birthday! Maybe we’ll make it for her 3rd birthday in March – I’m sure she would love it! I would probably do pink icing instead of the blue with white polka dots!
If the above smash cakes aren’t to your taste, Betty Crocker has lots of other smash cake recipes to get your imagination going! I think it’s always more fun to make your own child’s birthday cake because seeing the enjoyment on their face makes the hard work you put into creating it all worth it!
Which cake above is your favorite? What kind of cake did your child(ren) have for their first birthday?
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
OMG! That is the cutest pic of a baby eating their cake! Frame worthy!!! Thanks for these steps! They will come in handy!
I love your cakes! they are SO cute! Your little ones isn’t too bad either… 😉 Love those blue eyes!
The Polka Dot Smash Cake is the one I prefer! I don’t think I ever heard of smash cakes before–not that kids ever didn’t smash, mash and otherwise mangle their first birthday cake!!
I love the sprinkles smash cake that looks amazing and what a brilliant idea,thank you for sharing
You know, Betty Crocker cakes taste better than most any home made cake I have ever made. I don’t know how they do it but usually homemade is better. Not when it comes to Betty Crocker cakes.
That makes me want to have another baby. Mine is 11 already, so no smashing anymore :(. But I would definitely want smash pictures if I would have another baby 🙂
We didn’t have a smash cake for my daughter’s first birthday but have been thinking of getting one for her second. She had a regular lalaloopsy cake that she dug her hands into. Those cakes look pretty good and I like the second one. 🙂
I love the idea of an official smashing cake, it makes for some really great photo opps too. 🙂
Smashing cakes came along after my boys got older and I’m glad. I know folks think it is cute, but it is a mess to clean up and teaches bad manners at a super early age.
I do like the little cakes and think they are cute. Your little one is precious as well.
These cakes look so divine!! And I love how easy they are to make! Thanks so much for sharing!
I LOVE the sprinkle 1. What a great idea
They have such adorable baby’s first birthday cake designs! I remember all the fun that happens on that day. ahhh….memories. 🙂
I think that polka dot smash cake is my favorite. It is just too cute!
Oh my that picture is just the cutest!
I love the idea of these cakes I will definitely have to give one a try 🙂 x
I just love this idea. I never even thought about it when my kids were little.
Bobbi ~ Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
We did a cupcake for a smash cake too, but I think if we have more kids, I’d probably get a little more inventive for the next one!
How cute, he is having lots of fun with the cakes.
I seriously didnt know that there were smash cake recipes. How cool. I just made a regular cake for my kids. Wish I knew.
This is such a great idea. We bought a small cake from the grocery deli for our son but it wasn’t very pretty. I love the blue block one in your post. Too cute!
I never did this but it sure looks cute!
The whole idea of a smash cake makes me happy. I’m glad Betty Crocker is making it fun!
you are right, it does look easy AND looks good too. can’t get better than that!
What a lovely cake. I’m sure he enjoyed smashing into it! Lol
What a cute idea! Babies love to smash cake and get messy lol. I love the sprinkles cake and the frosting looks so yummy on the polka dot cake.
Love the infographic for the smash cake
Cute cake and I think it is an amazing idea to give babies as much fun as possible on their 1st Birthdays. I wish my little one had this one, but I think my nephew will get one, his first birthday next spring.
I had a smash cake for my son’s 1st birthday party as well. He loved it!