This past weekend we celebrated Sawyer’s first birthday! In keeping with modern-day tradition, we threw him a cake smash to celebrate this special milestone. For Liv’s cake smash, we paid a photographer to provide the cake smash session and in our opinion, it was a huge waste of money. Liv was uncomfortable in the photographer’s studio, unfamiliar with her surroundings, and unhappy with the shining lights. They presented her with a food-dye filled sugary cake, and Liv took one bite and refused the rest, crying the entire time. I knew for Sawyer’s cake smash, I’d bake him something he’d love without any refined sugars. It never made sense to me that we celebrate birthdays and happy occasions with such unhealthy treats that ultimately lead our bodies to crash from the sugar high, making us feel sluggish and sick. For Sawyer’s cake, we stuck with the patriotic red, white, and blue theme since his birthday falls on July 4th weekend. The cake is made with simple, pure ingredients: organic oats (we use One Degree Organics sprouted oats, made without glyphosate), baking powder, salt, butter/non dairy buttery spread, pure organic maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla extract. For the frosting, it’s just Greek yogurt (we use Stonyfield Organic Greek Yogurt)/non-dairy coconut yogurt (we use Coyo Coconut Milk Yogurt Alternative), freeze-dried organic raspberries (to “dye” the yogurt red), cut up strawberries, and cut-up blueberries. It’s that simple. Sawyer first picked at his favorite berries, coated in delicious yogurt, and eventually made his way to the sweet maple cake (after tipping the cake stand over). It was such a successful cake smash without any tears or added sugars. He took his naps as usual afterwards, and we were able to enjoy the rest of the day without a cranky, sugared up baby. We highly recommend this cake for the entire family… it’s moist, perfectly sweet, and filled with REAL ingredients without the guilt.
Maple Smash Cake with Yogurt Frosting
Inspired by @yummytoddlerfood, we made this patriotic maple cake with yogurt frosting for my son’s first birthday cake smash, but it was so delicious that I now make it for special occasions and holidays. Made with simple clean ingredients, this cake can be made dairy-free (sub in coconut milk yogurt), and always yields a moist, deliciously sweet cake.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 3 6-inch mini silicone cake pans with coconut oil. (We repeated the process twice to make 6 layers)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the oil, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
Add the maple syrup mixture to the flour mixture until just combined.
Divide batter evenly into 6 molds and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Let the cakes cool before frosting.
Layer 2 rounds of cake together for each full layer of cake. Once the first 2 rounds are combined, cover in yogurt and decorate with chopped blueberries. For the second double layer, just put the yogurt alone.
For the berry frosting on top, crush up freeze-dried raspberries into the yogurt remaining and stir to combine. Spread over top double layer of cake and decorate with chopped strawberries.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 3 6-inch mini silicone cake pans with coconut oil. (We repeated the process twice to make 6 layers)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the oil, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
Add the maple syrup mixture to the flour mixture until just combined.
Divide batter evenly into 6 molds and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Let the cakes cool before frosting.
Layer 2 rounds of cake together for each full layer of cake. Once the first 2 rounds are combined, cover in yogurt and decorate with chopped blueberries. For the second double layer, just put the yogurt alone.
For the berry frosting on top, crush up freeze-dried raspberries into the yogurt remaining and stir to combine. Spread over top double layer of cake and decorate with chopped strawberries.