Turning one has become a huge event. Now, not only are kids getting a sugar rush at their parties, a lot of parents are doing smash cake photo shoots to document the fun. But, with the added fun, comes the extra pressure. Suddenly, first birthday cakes are becoming as elaborate as some wedding cakes!
This is said without judgment – my daughter just turned one and she had two parties (one visiting family who live out of state), AND a smash cake photo shoot. Buying separate little cakes for all of those events can really add up! So instead of hiring someone else to make an adorable cake for her to sit on (yup, she really sat on it), Mom and Aunt Natalie made it themselves.
How Easy Is Up To You. This cake can be made two ways. If you want the easy way, use the Wilton cupcake shaped cake mold. It is an extra expense, but it can be used over and over again. If you don’t want to buy the mold, you can make your cake in round cake pans, one larger than the others to create the overhang of the cupcake top. Then, you can shape it with a knife. We used the mold, because we already had it.
Consider The Visual, As Well As The Taste. If we were going to make a cake for ourselves it would be chocolate. But, with the colors we were using, brown cake smeared all over just wasn’t going to look as cute. So, we went with fun-fetti cake mix to keep it light and fun.
Choose Where You Spend Your Time. You can definitely make the cake from scratch if you want – but remember, very little usually ends up in your child’s mouth. You may want to save your energy for the visual appeal, especially if other birthday plans are stressing you out.
Test Food Coloring First. My daughter has super sensitive baby skin, and breaks out to almost everything. So, when I read that a LOT of children break out during smash cake shoots because of the amount of food coloring needed to make frosting the “right” color, I rethought our plans. We went with a plain buttercream, and accented with fondant that wouldn’t cover her skin the same way, so we didn’t have to photoshop out a bunch of splotchy hives. If you want to use a color, make a little frosting ahead of time and make sure your child isn’t sensitive to the coloring.
Start With The Fondant “Wrapper.” You can buy fondant and color it yourself, or buy it prepackaged (We used Duff’s bright pink fondant, from Michaels).
Roll it out to an even thickness, in a strip wide enough to cover the bottom, and long enough to overlap all the way around. You don’t want to do it in pieces, because hiding the seams can be tough. Cover the bottom of the cake with a layer of buttercream, then stick the fondant in place so that the top is even and the extra hangs off the bottom.
Cut the extra fondant off the bottom with a sharp knife. Then use a little warm water to smooth out any cracks and to try to hide the seam in the back. It doesn’t have to be perfect – that’s the side that won’t face the camera.
Next, move along the wrapper with your finger damp with warm water, and create the ribbing in the wrapper. Don’t worry if you can’t match it to the ribbing underneath exactly – it doesn’t matter. Just stay consistent all the way around.
Then, Prep The Toppings. If you are going to use fondant polka dots like we did, you want to make them now. Roll the extra fondant out thin, and cut out your spots. You can use a cookie cutter, the top of a thin glass, like a champagne flute, or the top of a bottle. You can also simply cut them out with a knife.
Next, Frost The Top. The key to covering a cake cleanly is to have enough frosting on. If the frosting gets too thin, smoothing it will pull up the cake and leave crumbs in your frosting, ruining the clean look. Once it’s all covered, you can go back and add the swirls to make them more pronounced.
Add Your Decorations. It’s important you do this quickly, while the butter cream is still sticky. Start with your biggest decorations first, then when you’re content with how they look, add any smaller decorations, like sprinkles. It helps if you gently push them into the frosting, so they are flat and photograph round, rather than stuck in sideways.
Top It Off With A Coordinating Candle. We found this one at Party City, but any big candle will do.
Then, it’s time to let the smashing begin!
