A healthier smash cake recipe, made without butter or refined sugars. This easy whole wheat banana cake is sure to be a hit with your birthday girl or boy! Plus, I’m sharing photos and ideas from Hannah’s Purple Polka Dot 1st Birthday Party!
Plus an easy, how to VIDEO
A couple of weeks ago our sweet Hannah turned one! I’m not sure where the past year has gone- it seems like just yesterday that I was announcing my pregnancy and her birth.
Hannah’s first birthday brings up lots of mixed feelings. I’m sad that we are past the baby stage, but at the same time she is so much fun right now! She’s walking all over the place, she loves to play in her play kitchen, and she’ll try to climb up the stairs any chance she gets.
Hannah isn’t saying many words yet, but she does say “Ma ma ma,” which I of course love. And she is such a sweetheart, with her big smiles, laughs, and goofy grins. She gives me big hugs when I pick her up and my heart melts each time she wraps her arms around my neck. <3
We celebrated Hannah’s birthday with a Purple Polka Dot Party! The purple polka dot theme was inspired by the dress that Julia wore on her first birthday. I knew I wanted Hannah to wear the same dress, and I wanted a 1st birthday theme that was easy to work with, and purple polka dots definitely were!
The Cake
One of the most important parts of a birthday party is the cake, right? I’ve been thinking about Hannah’s birthday cake for a long time. Since Julia and William’s first birthdays, I’ve really changed the way that I cook and especially bake for my family.
These days, I use refined sugars sparingly, subbing them with honey, pure maple syrup, and other natural sweeteners whenever possible. I usually use whole grains rather than white flour, and incorporate lots fresh fruits and veggies into our meals.
We haven’t given Hannah anything sweeter than fresh berries. So giving her a sugar-filled cake for her first birthday didn’t make sense to me. I knew that she’d love a healthier cake just as much. (And she did!)
This healthier smash cake is made with ripe bananas and applesauce. Both of these add moisture and take the place of butter, and the banana adds lots of sweetness too. In addition to the banana, just ¼ cup of pure maple syrup brings a little more sweetness to the cake.
This cake is 100% whole grain. I’ve used white whole wheat flour, but regular whole wheat would work as well. The texture might be just a little denser.
This Healthier Smash Cake reminds me of a healthy banana muffin. It’s not light and fluffy like a traditional cake, but it is definitely delicious! We served our guests this Light and Fluffy Vanilla Cake, but I don’t think anyone would have complained if given a healthier banana smash cake cupcake with fresh whipped cream. 🙂
I’ve made you a video to show just how easy this cake is to make! You’ll notice I use a blender to puree the banana with the other wet ingredients. I tested this recipe both with the blender and with using a fork to mash the banana and the blender cake was much, much better.
I baked the cake in two of these mini 4-inch springform pans. They worked perfectly! You can also use this recipe to make cupcakes, which I tested as well. You’ll get 7 cupcakes from one recipe and can double the recipe if you need more.
The frosting for Hannah’s cake is something I debated and experimented with quite a bit. Originally, I thought I’d make a cream cheese and Greek yogurt frosting, but I couldn’t find a refined sugar-free version I was happy with. I finally settled on using unsweetened, freshly whipped cream. It worked great, and Hannah loved it.
I tinted the whipped cream purple for Hannah’s birthday cake with a homemade blueberry sauce, which I’ve left directions for in the recipe below. If you want to avoid food coloring, you can get creative with natural food colorings made with real foods. I haven’t experimented beyond the purple yet.
If you’re looking for a healthier cake for your little one’s birthday, I hope you’ll give this one a try! I’ve tested and retested it until I was completely happy with the results. Let’s just say a lot of healthy banana cake has been eaten around here lately. 🙂
The Purple Polka Dot Party
I had fun with the Purple Polka Dot Party theme! If you’re here just for the cake recipe, keep scrolling and you’ll find it below.
It’s become a tradition for me to make the kids a birthday banner each year. It was really easy to incorporate both purple and polka dots into this Happy Birthday sign. I used a circle cutting tool to cut out the circles in various colors, and my sister, Lisa, made the letters for me using her Silhouette Cameo. Mini clothespins are my favorite for attaching the pieces of the birthday sign to a ribbon for hanging.
I bought some purple and white polka dot tablecloths and some tissue flowers in pretty shades of purple. My mom picked up the plants and put them in purple boxes with tissue to help decorate the tables.
I knew I wanted to incorporate a monthly picture of Hannah into the party decorations somehow. I ended up buying a big picture frame and to hold a collage of pictures. I love the way it turned out, and now we can hang it in Hannah’s room. We displayed the pictures on the dessert table.
At first she wasn’t quite sure what to do, but then Hannah figured it out and dug right into her cake!
Happy Birthday, Hannah! We are so excited to see all the ways that you will learn and change over the next year. We love you sweet girl!
Healthier Smash Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- butter and whole wheat flour for the pans
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium ripe banana, about 3 ounces
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup milk, whole preferred
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For White Whipped Cream Frosting:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
For Purple Whipped Cream Frosting*:
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Make the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the cake pans and lightly dust with whole wheat flour, tapping out the excess. (I used two 4-inch pans. You can also make cupcakes - about 7.)
- In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Place banana, applesauce, milk, and maple syrup in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl or large liquid measuring cup. Whisk in the egg and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry and mix with a rubber spatula or spoon until just combined. Be careful not to overmix; it's ok if there are a few bits of flour still visible in the batter.
- Pour batter into the prepared cake pans. Pans should be just over half full with the batter. Bake for about 20-23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (Cupcakes will bake for about 14-16 minutes.)
- Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then, gently run a knife around the edges and carefully transfer to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.
To Make White Whipped Cream Frosting:
- Using an electric mixer, beat the heavy whipping cream until it is the consistency of whipped cream. Frost cake as desired.
- To frost a double layer cake, first add a spoonful of frosting to the top of the bottom layer. Place the second cake layer on top. Using an offset spatula, spread frosting over the top of the cake and then down the sides.
To Make Purple Whipped Cream Frosting:
- Place frozen blueberries and water in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring often, until blueberries soften and burst, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Transfer blueberry mixture to a blender and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. Place in a bowl to cool completely.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the heavy whipping cream until it is the consistency of whipped cream. Gently fold in the blueberry mixture. Frost cake as desired.
- To frost a double layer cake, first add a spoonful of frosting to the top of the bottom layer. Place the second cake layer on top. Using an offset spatula, spread frosting over the top of the cake and then down the sides.
Notes
- If you plan to make the purple whipped cream frosting, you will want to get started on it ahead of time as the blueberry mixture needs to cool completely before being mixed into the whipped cream. You can make the blueberry mixture the day before and refrigerate it until you are ready to use it.
- You can bake the cake up to 1 day ahead. Wrap the cake tightly with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature.
- Whipped cream frosting is best made the day of.
Can I add blueberries to the batter?
Yes, you can.
Hello, I’m baking this for my son’s first birthday and did a test run today. The cake tastes fantastic, but was raw in the middle of both cakes. I baked for 24 minutes and the toothpick came out clean for both rounds. Do you have any suggestions on how to get the middle to cook thoroughly? I followed the recipe exactly to make the two 4inch rounds.
Thanks!
Hi Katie,
It sounds like it needed to bake a little longer. You could also try putting a little less batter in each pan, to make the layers a bit thinner. Happy birthday to your son!
Hi, if i want to bake with a 6 inch pan, how long should i bake it for? Thank you
I haven’t tried this in a 6-inch pan. It would probably take longer to bake through, but you would have to experiment.
Hi! I made my first attempt of this cake today and it is really yummy but my only concern is the density of it. Is there anything I can do to make it a little bit softer? I’m just concerned about my son possibly choking while he’s digging in.
Hi Ashley,
The texture of this recipe is closer to a healthy muffin from the banana, applesauce and whole wheat flour than a fluffy cake. Unfortunately, you would need to remove those healthy ingredients to change the texture which would result in a different recipe. You are the best judge of your child’s chewing development.
Hi, can this cake be made 3 days in advance and stored in the fridge?
I wouldn’t recommend making the cake that far in advance, as it will probably dry out. You can bake the cake up to 1 day ahead and store it at room temperature, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap. The whipped cream frosting is best made the day you plan to serve it.
Can this cake be made as cupcakes? If so, how long do you recommend I bake it for? Also, can I lose almond flour instead? Thank you!
Hi Tara, Thanks for your interest in this recipe! Yes, as noted in the recipe, you can make 7 cupcakes with this recipe and they will take about 14-16 minutes to bake. I have not tested this recipe with almond flour, so I can’t advise on what adjustments to the other ingredients may be needed if made with almond flour.
Hi Kristine, i’m so excited to try this I’ve tried alot of your other recipes before! Just a question I need to make this for about 25 people what would you recommend in terms of the baking tin size and changing the ingredients for that many people?
Hi Jacqui, I’m sorry that your comment got buried and I didn’t reply sooner. This recipe works well to make a small smash cake, but I don’t recommend it to make a larger cake. I haven’t tested it in a large baking pan and it may not bake through well in a large pan.
Thanks for the great recipe. I used it to make my friend’s nephew a healthy smash cake!
I made this cake (at the mother’s request) for my granddaughter’s first birthday party. We didn’t want cupcakes, and I didn’t have the small pans, so I baked in an 8-in square cake pan, cooled it, then cut it (with a 4-in cookie/biscuit cutter) into three circles, which I then layered. During the party, several people asked about it, so I passed around the “leftovers” from the square, and everyone just raved about it. Thanks!
Hey , how big was the cup you were measuring ingredients in?
Hi J,
The US still uses a customary cup measurement. A US cup is about 237 milliliters in volume.
I tested this recipe for my granddaughter’s upcoming first birthday, using gluten free flour. It rose beautifully was just delicious. I baked four inch cakes, but it still required about 20 minutes of additional baking time, probably because of the flour. My granddaughter really loved it; she was shoveling it in until we finally had to take it away so I think we’ll have a lot of fun at that party. In addition my son and everyone else there couldn’t stop raving about it. Im adding this to my list of go to desserts. Great recipe. Thank you.
Can’t wait to make this for my son’s first birthday! Do you think oat flour would work instead of whole wheat flour?
Can I make in advance and then freeze? I’m guessing taking it out of the freezer and leaving at room temp a day or two before the party?
I haven’t tried this with oat flour so I can’t say how that would work. You should be able to freeze the cake. I’d suggest moving it to the refrigerator the night before and then letting it come to room temperature for a few hours before you plan to serve it.
I want to try this recipe for my daughters first birthday this weekend. But she has issues with bananas. Is there anything that would be a like substitute?
Fyi I made this for my son two years ago and he LOOOOVED it!
Hi Whitney, You could try subbing the banana with an equal amount of applesauce or another fruit puree, such as pear. I’m glad to hear that your son enjoyed this cake!
Thank you so much!
Others had asked about using a 6” – I only had one so I did the instructions completely as written, split the batter in half and did one cake at a time in the 6” springform.
Cooked at 350 for 15 mins and the center was undercooked, not completely but enough to put back in the oven. So my suggestion is abt 23 minutes as stated in her instructions for the 4”.
Thanks for the recipe 😊
Hi, am I able to use unbleached all purpose flour vs the whole wheat flour?
Not sure if there is a difference between them.
Thanks!
Yes, you can use all-purpose flour. The whole wheat flour provides more fiber and nutrients.
Made this for my daughter’s “ berry first birthday” using a frozen berry mix with blueberries strawberries and raspberries and it came out a pretty pink color! Highly recommend this recipe.
Delicious ❣️
If I want to make a third 4” cake layer, what would you recommend? Can I just multiple all the ingredients by 1.5? Or should I leave the current proportions and try to divide the batter into three pans?
Multiplying the ingredients by 1.5 and baking in three 4-inch pans should work. Good luck!
My cake come out very crackly on the stop is that normal? Or what did I do wrong?
Hi Aylin,
If you look at the photos of the unfrosted cakes in the post above, you’ll see that the top is a bit crackly. As long as the center is cooked through, a crackly top is normal. You can cover it with the frosting. 🙂
This looks fabulous! Could it be frozen ahead?
Hi Marissa,
You can make the cake layers and freeze them (without frosting), wrapped tightly, for up to 2 months.
I made this for my daughters 1st birthday yesterday and it turned out great! I didn’t have 4” pans so I used 2 16oz Corningware round dishes and they worked just fine. My daughter’s birthday theme was “bee-day” so instead of the blueberries, I softened some frozen mango, blended it with a little bit of water and dumped a little bit on top of the heavy whipping cream layer of “frosting” to give the cake a yellow color. Thank you for this recipe!
Hi there! I was wondering if I can substitute the flour for almond flour?
I haven’t tested that substitution. Typically you will need to make other modifications to the recipe to substitute almond flour.
Hi, I’m allergic to apples. Do you know of a substitute for the applesauce?
You could replace it with more mashed banana.
Hello, I am making this cake as cupcakes for one years, however they cannot have any salt. Would the recipe still work if I left out the salt?
Hi Kayla, The purpose of salt in baking recipes is to bring out the flavors of the cake (or bread, muffins… whatever you are baking). There is only a very small amount of salt in this recipe (1/8 teaspoon) so it may work ok without it. I haven’t tried this without any salt though.
Hi
Can I use all purpose flour instead of wheat flour ?
Thank you
Yes, that will work fine.
Hi,
I have not made this recipe yet but wondering why it calls for whole wheat flour and 1 cup of white flour. Unless I am not seeing it somewhere but I don’t see where both are used in this recipe. Could you elaborate a bit more on this? Thank you !! 🙂
Hi Bethany,
The recipe calls for 1 cup of white whole wheat flour, which is a particular type of whole wheat flour with a milder flavor and texture than regular whole wheat. It does not call for any white all-purpose flour, but I can see how that was confusing. If you can’t find white whole wheat flour (it’s been more difficult to find lately), you can use regular whole wheat or all-purpose flour.
Could I substitute coconut flour for the wheat flour?
Unfortunately, that’s not an easy 1:1 substitution to make. You would likely need to make some other adjustments as well. Without testing it myself, I can’t advise on how to use coconut flour in this recipe.
I tested this recipe using just 1 layer and a mini-loaf. It tastes like a light banana bread. I really liked it and love that the sugar comes from the banana and maple syrup.
Made this smash cake for first birthday. I also made extra for mini cupcakes for the babies at the party. I used almond flour and they turned out so delicious! Everyone wanted the recipe . Highly recommend! Also the frosting holds up and doesn’t get all melty if you put it in the fridge .