Celebrate your baby’s first birthday with this easy, healthy, and naturally sweet sugar-free smash cake — made with simple ingredients.

There’s something magical about your baby’s first birthday — and if you’re anything like me, you want to make it sweet, but still wholesome. When planning Callie’s first birthday, I was on a mission to create a cake she could dive into with joy — without introducing refined sugar just yet.

This naturally sweet smash cake is soft, simple, and made with just a few pantry staples. It’s sweetened entirely with ripe bananas.

Healthy Baby Smash Cake (No Added Sugar)

Healthy Baby Smash Cake is made with:

Almond Flour
Bananas
Eggs
Cinnamon
Vanilla extract
Baking Soda

How to make Healthy Baby Smash Cake:

Preheat your oven to 350°F
Lightly grease or line three 5-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
Mash bananas in a large bowl until smooth.
Add eggs, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.
Mix in almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
Stir just until smooth — don’t overmix!
Divide the batter evenly between three 5 inch pans.
Bake for 20–25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool completely before stacking or frosting.

Frosting Ideas for Smash Cake:

For a soft, baby-friendly “frosting,” I love using:

Whipped heavy cream
Whipped cream cheese or Greek yogurt
Coconut cream (chilled + whipped)
You can even tint the frosting naturally using pureed fruit like strawberries or blueberries
You can also top cake with fresh berries for decoration

Recipe Tips:

Make sure to use overripe bananas — the super spotty, brown ones — because they’re naturally sweeter and make all the difference in this no-added-sugar recipe. The riper, the better!
A quick tip I swear by: line the bottom of your cake pans with parchment paper as well as greasing the pans. It makes removing the cakes so much easier.
For Callie’s smash cake, we kept it simple and sweet by whipping up some 35% heavy cream with an electric mixer — no sugar added — and used that as the frosting. We layered it between the cakes and spread it on the top and sides. You can totally just frost the top if you prefer! Want to switch it up? You could add a touch of icing sugar to the cream, use whipped coconut cream, or even go for a Greek yogurt or cream cheese option. All baby-friendly and delicious.

Taste and Texture:

This cake is fluffy with a banana bread taste.

Smash Cake Moment:

Set up a cute little smash station with a drop cloth, bring out the camera, and let the baby-led mess begin. This cake is soft and easy to grab, making it perfect for curious little hands (and adorable cake-face photos).

Serve and Store:

Store smash cake covered in the fridge for up to three days. This cake can also be frozen.

Other Recipes You May Enjoy:

Pink Beet Protein Pancakes (baby/toddler friendly)