The Smash Cake....

​It’s that time in your child’s life when you need to start planning the first birthday party. You planned your guest list, the food to be served and now you need to figure out the cake. Having two boys of my own and 12 years of cake decorating experience, I have learned a thing or two about 1st birthday cakes and smash cakes.  
 
For my oldest child, I made him a cake thinking he could smash into the front of it and then the adults could eat the part that was untouched. Not a great idea because 1) the child’s hands and slobber will be all over the cake, and 2) the child typically doesn’t just smash the front of the cake. Lesson learned, have two separate cakes. 

My oldest son's first birthday cake. He smashed into the flames on the car.

​I took what I learned from my first child and when my youngest turned one, I felt like I was fully prepared, so I thought. For his cake I ended up making a smaller cake that sat on top of the larger cake that was to feed the adults and other children.  This was a better idea because when it was time for the cake smash, I was able to lift his cake off the top and the party guests could also enjoy the cake sans baby slobber. However, looking back this was okay, but not ideal. I really wish I made a separate smash cake for both of my boys.

My youngest son's 1st birthday cake. The lion was lifted off for him to smash into and the party guests enjoyed the round cake. Other animals were made out of fondant.

Here are some dos for a smash cake:

1. Make sure that everything on the cake is buttercream. You want your child to really get in there and play with the cake. This is much easier to do with an all buttercream cake.
2. No sharp objects on the cake! This seems like a given but I just had to mention it. You can have a cute cake topper on it for the pictures initially, but once the child starts really getting into the cake, I would take it off. 
3. The cake doesn’t need to be big at all. 4-6 inches round is a good size. Any bigger than that and that’s a lot of cake to be cleaned up! 
4. Don’t get fancy on the flavors. A basic chocolate or vanilla cake will do. Save the fancy flavors for your party guest. Trust me, the child will not care. 
5. Make sure the cake matches your theme. 

 
Lastly, the child will make a mess. Be prepared! We laid a shower curtain down on our floor to help with clean up, but cake still got on our walls, tables and all over the high chair. If cleaning up your house does not sound pleasing to you then I recommend having professional 1-year-old pictures taken with a smash cake.  Professional pictures are a great way for you to capture that special, once in a lifetime moment of the cake smash without having to hose down the inside of your house afterwards.  Plus, with professional pictures you don’t have to worry about missing that one great pic of the smash. If you are local to central Ohio, Stacey Ash Photography takes the best newborn and 1 year old pics!

Here are some ideas for some great smash cakes: