Been looking and can't seem to find this anywhere. I keep hearing about it and am curious, thanks

a smash cake is a little cake that is for a 1 year old (typically) that can be a cake just for them to dig (or "smash") into...this way they can devour the cake without touching the cake that the adults want to eat. it coordinates with the theme of the party cake.

i offer it to all of my first birthday orderers (for an extra fee of course) and even my 2nd and 3rd birthday people if they want it!

you can see examples of them on my website www.gotwhatitcakes.com if you want to see more!

I believe a smash cake is a lil small cake that you make especially for smaller kids, like 1,2,3 year olds, they can have all to their own and make a mess of it while trying to eat it.

here is a pic of one I made especially for the 2 year old, since they don't know how to eat properly yet when they go to eat it they end up smashing it and that is why it's called a smash cake

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1529284&sub=1529287

i,ve only made them for 1st b/d.... it is for the one year old to just dig in with there hands and eat it like they want to.. then you take their pic. of the icing and cake all over their faces. it is cute. i,ve seen this for years. they are usually 4" or 6" little cakes. mine have been 1 layer cakes.

I just bake for family and friends, but I throw in a smash cake for 1st, 2nd and 3rd birthdays. That way everybody else doesn't have to eat cake with spit all over it!

the one and only time anyone gets to legally make a total mess of his/her food and not get yelled at by mom -- in fact will be encouraged to be messy cause it is so "cute"

madge, I gotta tell ya, I never heard of a "smash" cake until I came onto CC. And I hate using the word "smash" to describe food. (Rachel Ray and her "smashed potatoes" makes me want to climb a wall!)

Back in my day (said the old lady), a baby never got a whole cake to themselves. It was never heard of. We had the big birthday cake and baby got a piece of cake cut from the big cake, just like everyone else.

When my oldest turned one, I had the obligatory first birthday party. After it was over, I was thinking, "what the hell was that all about?" If I was Queen of the World, I'd outlaw first birthday parties. My son's 1st BD was just us ...no outside relatives allowed. My youngest, had a low key one only because I couldn't convince hubby that they were stupid!

The 1 yr old has no freakin' idea what the hell is going on and the adults/other kids are PITA's about the party. I've seen too many mothers (specifically a former sister in law) who get all political about it. This particular SIL was complaining because someone didn't show up at her 2 yr old's party. "Well-l-l-l-l-l-l, HE knows who came and who didn't!"

omg, no he didn't. MOM was keeping track but the 2 yr old had no freakin' idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kids parties might be ok if they didn't allow parents to attend!

Sorry for the rant .... I just think 1st birthdays are the biggest waste of time and money ever. Save the money and give the kid a party they will actually remember and enjoy when they are older.

Debi, LOLOL about 1st Bdys. I'm sure we all remember our first. I think a "smash" is one of the stupidest things there is. I can't find the rerasoning behind it. Give the kid a piece of cake, and be done with it. I mean it's all for the parents enjoyment anyways. If you really want some fun give him a big piece.

Mike

Yep it's all for the pictures!
My mom made us "muck up " cakes and I made them for my kids.
This year for their birthdays I made a fake cake ( in my pics , the halloween ribbon one ) so they didn't have to blow out the candles on the one we were all eating. It just grossed me out this year with flus and HINI going around to eat something someone blew on!!!
So maybe thats where the idea to give a child their own cake came from.

cookiemama good thought about the flu and such going around..........not to mention little kids always spit lol (love your signature line by the way, pretty cool thought)

I offer a "smash" cake for all 1st birthday cakes free of charge but I pick the design......that's the only rule.....usually I make a 4" round single layer and typically scoop that batter from the sheet cake they're ordering anyhow lol When my oldest son (now 10) turned 1 I made his 6 birthday cakes (I didn't even "make " cakes back then).......I didn't know about smash cakes either.....I made him a wilton pooh pan cake and 4 "balloon cakes" (baked in bowls) and a talk bubble shaped cake that said "Happy 1st Birthday Jonathan" on it and he wound up getting that entire cake (carved from a 10" round lol) placed on his high chair table..........we only had 6 people at the party LOL

I knew NOTHING about serving sizes back then.......just baked until it LoOKEd right LOL

I agree with you Deb, I can't figure why people have big parties for little wee people because they don't remember and are clueless. We just celebrated my husband son and I and maybe gram would come by. But the smash cake aha now I get it....would not a cupcake do the same thing hahaha...and if you are old, I must be ancient....I got 8 years on you haha.don't tell anyone I said that though hehe...have a Merry Christmas....I see we are both Marine Moms too.....

I'm Mexican. We have HUGE 1st birthdays, HUGE. But I've never given my kids a smash cake. On my 3 year ol's actual birthday, she got to jack up her own cake. We manged to save half the cake for us.

I offer wee cakes for kids under 3. It's a 3" cake that is lightly decorated to coordinate with the main cake. It's a little bigger than a cupcake. A 6" cake (even one layer) is way too much for a kiddo and just means a bigger mess. I like the teeny cake... it's little and cute and not a GIANT pile of sugar for a teeny little person.

Regardless of how I feel about huge parties for little (or any) kids... I'm glad people have them... put money in my wallet.

Hey whatever peeps want to do to help peeps in business I say can't be all bad

Debi, totally agree with you on the 1st birthday parties! I recently did a cake for a couple throwing a huge 1st birthday party for their daughter. The party theme was Cinderella, the cake they had me make was 3 tiers with Cinderella's castle on top. I told them I make a small smash cake (about 4"), they insisted that was too small. They had me make a 2 layer 8" cake for the baby which I thought was insane, but I did it. When I arrived with the cakes the house was filled with helium balloons, 4 of them were motion activated that were hanging over the front door and started singing when you walked in. They had it catered, a clown, a small horse for the kids to ride, airblown inflatables in the back yard and a petting zoo on the way. They had 60 people invited and actually had a relative there to park cars! Totally insane! I'm sure everyone had a great time while the baby took her afternoon nap! LOL I'm wondering what they'll plan for next year.

This is obviously an American thing, we certainly don't have smash cake in the UK, although I'm sure there are plenty here who would have it if they knew about it.

When my niece who is now 37 was turning one my sister made her BD cake/s and it was "novel" at the time and I thought pretty ingenius she took my easy bake oven pans and made a little 3 layer cake for her birthday. There was no big party, just parents and grandparents, you know those that WANTED to be there. My sis was a stay at home mom so the cake baking was just what she wanted to do. She also made all her clothes.