Smash Cake

close up shot of a Smash Cake on a wooden board

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5 from 1 vote

Perfect for a baby's first birthday cake, this yummy smash cake is so much fun to make and watch your baby enjoy.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Smash Cake Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 603kcal

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup mashed ripe bananas, 3 to 4 medium-sized
½ cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup pure maple syrup
3 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting

¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
16 ounces full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
all-natural sprinkles, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray three (6-inch) cake pans with Baker’s Spray. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mash the ripe bananas until all lumps are gone. Add the buttermilk and stir to combine. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium-low speed, cream together the butter and pure maple syrup for 1 to 2 minutes or until fluffy and smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract. Continue to mix for another 1 to 2 minutes or until all the ingredients are completely incorporated. Don’t worry that your mixture will be very loose, that is how it is supposed to be. Once you add the flour mixture, it will thicken up.
Add half the flour mixture and mix for 30 seconds. Add all of the bananas and buttermilk, mix in completely, then add the remaining flour mixture. Mix just until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. Do not over mix.
Evenly distribute the cake batter between the three prepared cake pans. You can use a kitchen scale to weigh each pan to get the pans as evenly full as possible. This will ensure that all your cakes bake evenly.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Once baked, cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then flip them out onto a cooling rack to continue to cool completely before frosting.
While your cake is cooling, you can make your cream cheese frosting by adding the butter and the cream cheese into a large mixing bowl and beating on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes and all the lumps are smooth. Add the pure maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt and beat for another 1 minute.
Once your cakes are cool, very carefully slice off the domed tops of each cake so that when you layer them on top of each other, they are flat.
Place the first cake onto the cake plate and add ½ to ¾ cup frosting onto the center of the cake. Spread the frosting evenly to the edges of the cake. Place the second cake on top of the frosted layer, add another ½ to ¾ cup frosting, and spread evenly to the edges. Place the final layer upside down so that the smooth edge is on top, and frost the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting. Decorate the sides and top with sprinkles.

Notes

If you do not want to make the triple layer, 6-inch cake, then the recipe will also make a two layer 9-inch cake instead. You will just need to adjust your bake time to 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
You can also use parchment paper in the pans and you can buy pre-cut parchment paper rounds to make lining the pans easier.
You can use a kitchen scale to weigh each pan to get the pans as evenly full as possible. This will ensure that all your cakes bake evenly.
Because the cream cheese frosting is sweetened with pure maple syrup, it will not be as sweet as a traditional cream cheese frosting. If you wish for it to be sweeter you can add additional pure maple syrup (I would start with 1 tablespoon at a time and check for consistency of the frosting and for taste) or you can substitute ¾ cup powdered sugar for the maple syrup for a more traditional cream cheese frosting flavor.

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