This Healthy Easy Eggless Smash Cake is perfect for celebrating your baby’s first birthday! It’s moist, fluffy, and delicious. Plus, It’s refined sugar-free. Instructions to make it dairy and gluten-free are included too. Plus, step-by-step photos and lots of tips.
Healthy-ish Eggless Smash Cake for 1-Year-Old
A birthday celebration is incomplete without a cake! And this easy-to-prepare, refined sugar-free, and Eggless Smash Cake will be perfect for your baby’s first birthday!
I know how special our babies’ first birthday is, so I have created a tutorial to help you make their first cake, with all the goodness without the guilt!
Many of you have expressed concern about your 1-year-old child filling up on lots of sugar and fat, and I totally understand, so I have created this healthy-ish cake version that is still delicious and fluffy.
What Is a Smash Cake?
A smash cake is a small frosted cake made specifically for a baby’s first birthday. Parents usually let them dig into it with their hands and do whatever they want with it. Be warned that it gets messy, but it’s super cute. So get your camera ready to capture the cuteness.
Smash Cake Size
I personally like 5-inch diameter cakes, since it’s not too small and not too big. Other popular sizes are 4 and 6 inches. You can make a two, three, or four-layer cake…it’s totally up to you!
I made a 5-inch four-layer cake. Since I didn’t have small cake pans, I baked the cakes in 9×13 pans and then cut the layers out. Then, I used the cake scraps to make cake pops and decorated the cake with vanilla buttercream.
Before You Start Making the Smash Cake, Plan Ahead!
- Decided what size your smash cake is going to be:
- You can make a two, three, or four-layer cake.
- First, decide what diameter your layers will have: 4-5-6-inch. I personally like 5-inch.
- Decide if you will bake the cake in round cake pans or a rectangular pan. If you don’t bake many cakes, I find it’s a waste of money buying small cake rounds, so a rectangular 9×13 pan will work just fine. See the step-by-step photos below.
- Pick the flavor: I made this smash cake without refined sugar and flavored it with banana. Of course, you can use vanilla, chocolate, carrot, red velvet, etc… You can also use a cake mix box if you want. To learn how to make a boxed cake without eggs, check my How to Make a Cake Mix Box without Eggs recipe.
- Plan how you will decorate the cake: To frost the cake, you can use regular homemade buttercream or store-bought. I also include below an easy “healthy-ish” version of frosting if that is what you are looking for.
- To make your cake even cuter, add a nice topper. There are several cute cake toppers, such as these.
Healthy Eggless Smash Cake Ingredients
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and instructions (scroll down).
I love most about this recipe because it only requires a few basic ingredients. You’ll need:
- Flour: Standard all-purpose flour works best here, skip the cake flour, bread flour, and wheat flour.
- Baking powder & Baking soda: Make sure they’re not expired or too old.
- Salt: I prefer kosher or sea salt. If you only have table salt handy, I recommend reducing the amount to half.
- Milk: For baking, I like to use whole milk. However, you can use any milk you have handy, even plant-based milk.
- Vinegar: You can use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
- Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter handy, you can use it. In this case, skip the salt called in the recipe.
- Pure maple syrup
- A ripe banana
- Vanilla Extract: For optimal flavor, reach for pure vanilla instead of imitation. Even better, try homemade vanilla extract!
Make A Smash Cake Without Eggs
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and instructions (scroll down).
1 – Make the Cake Batter
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- In a mixing bowl, combine milk and vinegar.
- Beat butter until creamy on medium-high speed in a large bowl for about 3 minutes. Add maple syrup mashed banana, and vanilla; continue beating to combine.
- Add half of the flour mixture. Scrape down the mixing bowl with a spatula and turn the batter over several times to ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated. Add milk mixture; continue beating to incorporate. Add the remaining flour; beat just until combined. Do not overmix this batter.
- Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan(s).
2 – Bake and Let it Cool
3 – Make the Frosting
So many frosting options!! You can use Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Frosting. Also, Strawberry or Oreos buttercream or even cream cheese frosting. However, If you are looking for a healthier buttercream alternative, I included a recipe below, make sure to check it out.
4 – Assemble
If you make your cakes in round cake pans:
- If your cakes are not leveled, use a large serrated knife, and slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface.
- Place one cake layer on your cake stand. Evenly cover the top with frosting (about 3/4 cup). Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with frosting. And so on, until you’re done with all the layers you made.
- Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides.
- Decorate as your heart desires.
If you make your cakes in one or two 9×13 (rectangular) pans:
- When the cake (s) are completely cool, unmold.
- Place the cake (s) on a flat surface.
- Use a bowl, plate, or big cookie cutter to cut out large circles.
- Carefully remove the excess cake around the edges.
- Place one cake layer on your cake stand. Evenly cover the top with frosting (about 3/4 cup). Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with frosting. And so on, until you’re done with all the layers you made. Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides.
- Decorate as your heart desires.
5 – Decorate
When it comes to decorating the cake, it is totally up to you! In my opinion, since this cake is for a baby, the simpler, the better. You can frost your cake with just buttercream and add sprinkles.
I decorated mine with vanilla buttercream and made some cake pops with the cake scraps. Then, I dipped them in candy melts and added lots of sprinkles.
Eggless Cake Success Tips
Measure the ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale.
Preheat the oven at least 15 minutes before getting started to give it plenty of time to reach the ideal recipe temperature.
Don’t overmix the batter. Instead, mix just until you’ve evenly distributed the ingredients throughout the batter.
Bake the batter as soon as it is ready.
Don’t open the oven door until your baked good has set. Leave the oven closed until the minimum time stated in the recipe.
Every oven is different, so baking times always have to be taken with a grain of salt. Oven thermostats can be wildly off, affecting baking time, so keep an eye on yours.
Healthy Buttercream Alternative
If you are looking for a less buttery and sweet buttercream, this might be a great option:
- 1 (14-ounce) can of coconut cream (chilled overnight)
- 1/4 – 3/4 cup icing/powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Open the chilled coconut cream can and remove the hard cream on top of the can, leaving the liquid behind.
- Place hardened cream in your chilled mixing bowl. Beat for 30 seconds with a mixer until creamy. Then add ¼ cup of powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and mix until creamy and smooth – about 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust sweetness, adding more powdered sugar as needed.
Adapt This Recipe to Other Food Allergies
This recipe is egg-free and nut-free, but you can certainly adapt it to other food allergies.
Gluten-Free
Substitute all-purpose flour for 1-to-1 Gluten-Free flour mix. My favorite brands are Cup4Cup and King Arthur.
Dairy-Free
Use your favorite plant-based, dairy-free, or vegan butter and milk. Make sure to use an unflavored, unsweetened variety of non-dairy milk. Soy and oat milk have the best consistency and very neutral flavors. My favorite dairy-free butter brands for baking are:
Smash Cake Flavors
Use the batter for the following recipes to make different flavor smash cakes:
Storing & Freezing Instructions
Store
Unfrosted cake layers can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days or frozen for up to a month; defrost at room temperature before frosting and serving.
Frosted cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 1- 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If your kitchen is too hot, I recommend storing it in the fridge. Take into consideration that the cakes will lose some of their fluffiness if refrigerated or frozen.
Freeze
Unfrosted and frosted cake can be frozen for up to two months; defrost at room temperature before frosting and/or serving.
Frosted cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 1- 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If your kitchen is too hot, I recommend storing it in the fridge. Take into consideration that the cakes will lose some of their fluffiness if refrigerated or frozen.
To freeze, wrap the cake tightly in several layers of plastic wrap to ensure it is tightly sealed. You can also add an extra layer of aluminum foil for additional protection against freezer burn. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving.
Easy Eggless Smash Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (180 ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 ripe banana, mashed (about 90 g)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C). Using a baking spray, generously grease the cake pan(s). For a 2-layer cake, you can bake this cake in two 4, 5, or 6-inch cake pans, or in a 9×13-in rectangular pan and cut the circle as I show in the photos above (see notes for more details).
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine milk and vinegar. Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 5 -8 minutes. When it is ready, the milk will be slightly thickened, and you will see small curdled bits. Reserve.
- In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add maple syrup mashed banana and vanilla; continue beating to combine.
- Reduce speed to low and add half of the flour mixture. Scrape down the mixing bowl with a spatula and turn the batter over several times to ensure all of the ingredients are well incorporated. Add milk mixture; continue beating to incorporate. Add the remaining flour; beat just until combined. Do not overmix this batter.
- Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan(s). Bake until a skewer comes out clean when poked in the center. Baking times will vary, depending on what kind of pan you use, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For 2 small round cake pans bake for about 18-21 minutes. For a 13×9 rectangular pan bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Allow cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. The cake must be completely cool before frosting.
Make the Frosting:
- I used my easy Vanilla Buttercream to frost this cake. If you prefer chocolate, I have a Chocolate Buttercream recipe too. I included a healthy buttercream alternative in the recipe note (see below).
Assemble and Decorate:
- If your cakes are not leveled, use a large serrated knife, and slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface.
- Place one cake layer on your cake stand. Evenly cover the top with frosting (about 3/4 cup). Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with frosting. And so on, until you're done with all the layers you made.
- Then spread the remaining buttercream evenly over the top and sides of the cake. You can smooth the cakes' top and side with a cake scraper and an offset icing spatula if you like.
- Decorate as your heart desires.
- Round Cake Pans. I personally like 5-inch.
- Rectangular 9×13 pan
- Big cookie cutter
- To make your cake even cuter, add a lovely topper. There are several cute cake tops, such as these.
- 1 (14-ounce) can of coconut cream (chilled overnight)
- 1/4 – 3/4 cup icing/powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Open the chilled coconut cream can and remove the hard cream on top of the can; leave the liquid behind.
- Place hardened cream in your chilled mixing bowl. Beat for 30 seconds with a mixer until creamy. Then add ¼ cup of powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and mix until creamy and smooth – about 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust sweetness, adding more powdered sugar, as needed
Nutrition
Eggless Baking Frequently Asked Questions
You’ve asked, I’ve answered! Read on for a handful of answers to the most frequently asked questions about eggless baking.
Originally posted in March 2020, the post content was edited to add more helpful information, with no change to the recipe in May 2022.
Hi Oriana, what do you recommend to substitute the maple syrup?
Hello Hailee! I never tested this recipe with other ingredients so I can’t say for sure, but you can certainly give it a try. You can try Agave nectar or Golden syrup. Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)
Hi! Silly question but what do you mean by “reserve” in step 3? Do you need to remove the curdled bits? You say to let it stand for 5-8 minutes – does that mean no longer than 8 minutes?
Hello Laura! No problem, “reserve” means to put aside while you continue with the recipe. No need to remove the curdle bits. Usually, the milk and vinegar need a few minutes (about 5-8 mins) to curl and thicken. If you let it rest for more than 8 minutes is okay. Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)
Hi! Can I use breastmilk instead of regular dairy milk as an alternative with regular white vinegar?
Hello Amy! I apologize, but I have no experience baking with breastmilk. Thanks for your interest in my recipe.
This turned out wonderful for my daughter’s first birthday! It was so easy and looks beautiful too! Thank you for making journey with allergies a little easier! I made cupcakes with this recipe and they turned out wonderful!
Hello Rachel! It sounds like you nailed it! I am so happy my recipes are helpful to you and your family. Thanks so much for trying my recipe and taking the time to come back and let me know.
Hi, Oriana! Can I make this cake with the banana (none of us at home like bananas in general)?
Hello Prachi – If you dont like bananas I recommend using this recipe > Eggless Vanilla Cake Recipe
This cake looks fab! I’d love to make it for my son’s first birthday. He’s allergic to both eggs and bananas, do you have a suggestion for a banana substitute?
Hello Carly! I suggest you to use this recipe instead >>> Eggless Vanilla Cake Recipe Happy Birthday to your little boy =)
This was delicious, moist, simple, fast and most of all, safe for my baby’s 1st Birthday cake. We know he’s allergic to Dairy, Egg, Peanuts and some Tree-Nuts so I was happy to find your recipe! I baked the cake in a 9×13 pan, then cut out 2 circles (using a Drinking Glass) to stack and make his “Smash Cake” . The rest of the cake was enough for us and our guests. I opted out of making the frosting and instead purchased ‘Miss Jones Baking Co. Confetti Pop Frosting’ and also used Olive Oil spray for the pan. Loved it, thank you!
Hello Maria! It sounds like you nailed it! Thanks so much for trying my recipe and taking the time to come back and let me know. Happy Birthday to your baby =)
Can I use coconut oil instead of vegan butter?
Hello Camille! I am sorry, but I haven’t tested this recipe with coconut oil. If you do try using this alternative ingredient, please let me know the outcome. Thanks for your interest in my recipe.🙂
I used coconut oil instead of butter and banana flavored almond milk instead of milk and it turned out fabulous!
Hello Anna! It sounds like you nailed it! Thanks so much for trying my recipe and taking the time to come back and let me know.
Can I sub coconut flour??
Hello Erica! I am sorry but I haven’t tested this recipe with coconut flour. If you do try using this alternative ingredient, please let me know the outcome. Thanks for your interest in my recipe.🙂
Will this frosted cake travel well in a two hour drive commute?
Hello Priscilla! If the weather is not too hot, I would say yes. Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)
Thank you for this recipe! I made this for my son’s cake smash photoshoot and it turned out so great and yummy! We are supposed to have his photoshoot today (Sunday Sept 13th) but was rescheduled due to the rain 🙁 The next schedule is on Wednesday (Sept 16th). I already made the cake yesterday and also frosted it (Btw I used the coconut cream for the frosting and coconut oil in place of butter and coconut milk in place of regular milk). Can I store this cake with cover in refrigerator until Wednesday or do I have yo freeze it? Thank you so much for your help!
Hello Cha! I think you can store the cake in the fridge for two days, no problem! I am glad you liked my recipe. Happy Birthday to your son 🎂
Can i use something else instead of maple syrup? Do you have any suggestions . Thank you 😊
Hello Amah! You can use agave nectar. Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)
Can I use coconut sugar instead of it? And what’s the ratio of the substitution Thanks dear
Hello Amah! I am sorry, but I haven’t tested this recipe with coconut sugar. If you do try using this alternative ingredient, please let me know the outcome. Thanks for your interest in my recipe.🙂
I just tried making this and it was very delicious! 😀 Would the cake’s consistency and moistness be affected if I reduced the amount of maple syrup (or omit it completely)? I think I’d prefer it a little less sweet.
Hello Sandra! You can reduce the amount of sweetness by 10 percent without affecting the texture too much. Hope that helps!
Hi! Could you please let me know if there’s a substitute for Apple cider vinegar? Could I use normal vinegar?
Thanks a lot!
Hello Dinuka! Yes, you can use regular vinegar. Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)
This was absolutely fabulous! Thank you! So hard to find cake recipes for a smash cake that don’t have egg in them. Yours is just excellent! And your buttercream was just great too!
Hello Dinuka! I’m delighted to hear you enjoyed it so much. Thanks so much for trying my recipe and for taking the time to come back and let me know!
I made this cake for my daughter’s first birthday and it was so delicious! The idea to use a 9×13 pan and cut out circles was a great tip. Also, the coconut cream frosting was a hit! Will definitely be saving this recipe for future birthdays.
Hello Mary! I’m glad you liked the recipe and found it easy to make. Thanks so much for trying my recipe and for taking the time to come back and let me know! Happy birthday to your daughter ?
Can you also make the coconut cream icing in advance?
Hello Steph! Yes, you can make it in advance but it will harden and set in the fridge the longer it’s chilled. Will keep for up to 3 days. Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)
Tastes delicious. I am a novice baker, and this was easy to make. I followed the directions exactly as written. I did not use wax paper to line the baking dish (I just greased the dish with butter). My daughter has an egg allergy, so this is the perfect smash cake for her. Love it. Thank you!
Hello Katherine! Sounds like you nailed it. Thanks so much for trying my recipe and for taking the time to come back and let me know!
Hi how do I make this with the same ingredients but a different flavour? Or can it just Be banana flavoured?
Hello Hannah! You can use the batter of any of my eggless cakes to make different flavor smash cakes. You can find the recipes here (https://mommyshomecooking.com/?s=cake)Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)