If you’re looking for a special first birthday cake—or second, or third birthday cake!—you’ll love this Vanilla Oat Smash Cake with Greek Yogurt Frosting. It’s moist, flavorful, and super delicious, but it’s made without refined sugar or gluten. Plus, there are allergy-friendly options to make it without eggs and/or dairy if needed!
Healthy First Birthday Cake
This smash cake recipe comes from my friend Sarah of Punctuated with Food. She made it for her youngest daughter Ruby when she turned one and has been making it ever since for other occasions too!
“While we’re not particularly rigid about limiting sweets, especially when it comes to special occasions, I instinctively look for ways to keep treats as wholesome as possible. When I stick to that philosophy, I find we enjoy celebrations even more, having enjoyed something special to eat without crashing too hard in the minutes and hours that follow.”
1st Birthday Smash Cake Recipe
This healthy first birthday cake is made with whole grains and natural sweeteners, but it is joyfully gratifying to eat for both babies and their parents, should they not actually smash it all! The texture is light and delicate but the flavors are bold —hearty oat, floral maple syrup, and tangy yogurt.
It’s lovely even without the fruit, though I think the fresh berries make it extra special.
Remind me, what’s a smash cake?
A smash cake is a smaller cake meant for a baby turning 1 to eat, smash, and generally make a mess of all by themselves. It’s a fun tradition to mark a big milestone and this version of a smash cake is an easy one to make at home—and have it look beautiful and ready to dive into!
So while you can adjust this recipe to make a layer cake to feed all of the guests at a party, the main recipe is for a small three layer 5-inch cake.
Ingredients in this First Birthday Cake
Here’s a look at what’s inside this simple cake.
- oat flour (purchased or made by grinding rolled oats into a powder in a blender)
- eggs
- butter
- maple syrup
- vanilla extract
- a little baking powder and salt
How to Make this Vanilla Oat Smash Cake Step-by-Step
The process for making this first birthday cake is simple. Here’s a look.
- You’ll need three 5-inch cake pans for this recipe to make a small smash cake. (You can also make a standard-size two layer cake if you prefer. See the note at the bottom of the recipe.)
- Strain the yogurt in a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheese cloth or paper towels. (photo 1)
- Stir yogurt together with maple syrup and vanilla in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use. (photo 2)
- Grease the pans and line the inside of each with a round of parchment paper. Grease again. Gather the rest of the ingredients. (photo 3)
- Gently stir together oat flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, melted and slightly cooled butter, and vanilla extract. (photo 4)
- Divide between greased cake pans and bake. (photo 5)
- Let cool and frost and stack, or store in an airtight container overnight until ready to frost and serve. (photo 6)
- Top with berries!
Gluten-Free First Birthday Cake
The oat flour in the smash cake recipe is made from finely grinding rolled oats in a food processor or blender. You can buy oat flour if you’d like to skip a step. And if you need the cake to be gluten-free, simply buy certified gluten-free oats.
TIP: You can try making this with whole wheat flour if you prefer—though check for doneness closer to 12-14 minutes and stir very gently to avoid overworking the batter—though it’s very moist and delicious with the oat flour!
Dairy-Free 1st Birthday Cake
You can make this recipe without dairy by using coconut oil and a dairy-free yogurt. See the Notes section at the bottom of the recipe card for the details.
Egg-Free 1st Birthday Cake
After having a lot of requests, I tried this without eggs and am so happy with the results! I added a ripe banana and used a small amount of regular flour to help bind the batter. The banana flavor is subtle and the cake is moist and sweet. It’s a delicious alternative for an egg-free birthday cake. See the Notes section at the bottom of the recipe card for the details.
Can I make this birthday cake ahead of time?
Sure, this is a great first birthday cake to make in advance, especially if you’ll be busy celebrating your new toddler on their big day. Simply bake the cakes and make the frosting the day before. Store the cakes, once fully cooled after baking, in an airtight container (in one layer at room temperature). Store the frosting in an airtight container in the fridge.
What kind of yogurt is the frosting made from?
The frosting is made with whole milk plain Greek yogurt, strained to remove a bit more of the liquid, a little maple syrup, and a touch of vanilla extract. It’s slightly tangy from the yogurt and super simple to make. (Just drain any liquid in the yogurt container before measuring it out.) And there’s no need for cups and cups of powdered sugar to make it thick and spreadable!
Does this first birthday cake contain sugar?
It does contain natural sugars from maple syrup. Your little one’s first birthday is a big celebration, so it’s only fitting that they have a really special cake to mark the day! (Though this is so good you might hope that they don’t in fact smash it so you can have a piece for yourself!)
Do I have to top with berries?
You can do whatever you want after frosting! Leave it plain, top with sprinkles, or add a candle. It will be delicious no matter what!
What’s the texture of this cake like?
This cake, due to the oat flour, is a little denser than a traditional yellow cake. It will smash just fine though and has a wonderful flavor from the maple syrup and vanilla extract.
Can I make this smash cake into cupcakes?
You can! See the Notes section at the bottom of the recipe for details.
Tips for Making the Best 1st Birthday Smash Cake
- Grease each cake pan and line with a parchment paper round. Then grease again. This will help the cakes stay together well when you turn them out from the pan. (To make the parchment paper rounds, trace the pan onto parchment paper and cut out three times. Trim slightly to fit inside the bottom of the pan.)
- Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack before turning them out onto the rack. This will help to prevent them from crumbling.
- To make oat flour: Place rolled oats into a blender. Cover and grind until resembles a fairly fine flour. Measure the amount needed for the cake after grinding.
- To Make this Cake Ahead: You can bake the cakes up to a day ahead. Let cool fully on wire racks and store in an airtight container. Frost soon before serving. You can make the frosting up to a day ahead as well.
- To Bake this as a Regularly Sized Layer Cake: Double the ingredients and bake in two 8-inch round cake pans. Bake and frost as directed.
- To Make as Cupcakes: Use 3 tablespoons of the batter in each paper cupcake liner to make 8 cupcakes. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean (I did 20 minutes). The rest of the recipe is the same.
I’d love to hear your feedback if you try this cake, so please comment below to share!
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PinDescription
This fresh smash cake has a base of rolled oats and is simply decorated—so your little one can dig right into the deliciousness. This recipe is baked in 5-inch cake pans to create a small, personally sized cake for your newly minted toddler!
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Greek Yogurt Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh berries, to garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the Greek Yogurt Frosting.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 5-inch cake pans and place a round of parchment inside of each. Grease again. (Trace the pan onto parchment paper and cut out three times. Trim slightly to fit inside the bottom of the pan.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and place pans onto a wire rack. Let cool at least 30 minutes in the pans.
- Carefully turn cakes out onto a cooling rack and let cool fully to room temperature. Discard parchment paper rounds.
- Place one cake on your serving plate. Top with about 1/3 cup of frosting, spreading it in an even layer just past the edges. Add the second, repeat with frosting, and then repeat with the third cake . Use an offset spatula or knife to scrape off the frosting overhang for a “naked” cake look, or use additional frosting to coat the entire cake.
- Top with berries and store in the fridge if needed until 30-60 minutes before ready to serve. Let the birthday kiddo dig in!
Notes
Greek Yogurt Frosting
Place 1 cup whole milk yogurt in a sieve or fine-mesh strainer lined with a double layer of cheesecloth or paper towels with a bowl underneath. Let sit for 30 minutes or up to overnight. Transfer the yogurt to a bowl and stir in 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extra. Refrigerate until ready to use.
To Make this Cake Ahead: You can bake the cakes up to a day ahead. Let cool fully on wire racks and store in an airtight container. Frost soon before serving. You can make the frosting up to a day ahead as well.
To Bake this as a Regularly Sized Layer Cake: Double the ingredients (except the salt) and bake in two 8-inch round cake pans. Bake and frost as directed.
To Make as Cupcakes: Use 3 tablespoons of the batter in each paper cupcake liner to make 8 cupcakes. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean (I did 20 minutes). The rest of the recipe is the same.
To make oat flour: Place rolled oats into a blender. Cover and grind until resembles a fairly fine flour. Measure the amount needed for the cake after grinding.
To Make these Egg-Free:Â
1 cup oat flour
1/2 all purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 very ripe banana, mashed (about 1 cup sliced banana)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Then proceed with the recipe. They may need another 2-4 minutes to bake, but test it with a cake tester inserted into the center to be sure. It should come out clean. Let it cool completely in the pan. Store it in the fridge if you need to make it ahead.
To Make Dairy-free: Use melted and cooled coconut oil in place of the butter.
Sarah
May 18, 2019 at 11:06 amThis hasn’t worked for me at all. I doubled up as using 2x 8” tins. It’ crumbled when turning it over to put on cooling tray and all I can taste is baking powder and salt. Should I have not of doubled this? Also it didn’t raise at all. I have a fan oven.
I’m glad to see lots of people did have success.
Amy Palanjian
May 20, 2019 at 8:23 amIf it didn’t rise and you can taste the baking powder, is it possible your powder is off? I’m not sure what else might cause that. It’s best to let the cakes cool before turning them over and I updated the recipe to add lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper to help make this step more foolproof. I do apologize for the challenges!
Mira
April 28, 2019 at 3:38 pmI usually give my daughter goat yogurt. Would it be possible to use it in the frosting? If not I get the normal one no problem.
Amy Palanjian
April 29, 2019 at 8:57 amI think it would work fine to use goat milk yogurt if you strain it over a cheesecloth overnight to make sure to get out the excess liquid!
Maggie
April 24, 2019 at 8:51 pmIm going to make this for my sons second! Do you think I could use cupcake pan?
Amy Palanjian
April 25, 2019 at 9:02 amYes! Here’s the info to make as cupcakes: Use 3 tablespoons of the batter in each paper cupcake liner to make 8 cupcakes. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean (I did 20 minutes). The rest of the recipe is the same.
Larissa
April 18, 2019 at 5:27 amWhat bake time. Would you recommend for 2 6″ cakes or 2 8″ cakes?
Amy Palanjian
April 18, 2019 at 9:24 amThe baking time should be similar. Test with a cake tester (you want it to come out cleanly) to be sure. Two smaller cakes in circumference with more batter in each may take a few extra minutes.
Larissa
April 27, 2019 at 7:19 pmThank you. I made it and it tasted great but was very dense. I’m nervous that my son wont be able to smash it. Is there a key to getting it fluffier?
Amy Palanjian
April 27, 2019 at 8:09 pmI think it should still smash okay! It’s possible it baked for a minute or two too long. It’s not super fluffy in texture but it should smash okay!
Niki Drage
April 12, 2019 at 3:21 amAWESOME smash cake!! My one year old loved it and tried to put the whole thing in her mouth at once hahaha
★★★★★
Amy Palanjian
April 12, 2019 at 8:06 amI bet that was adorable!
Kim
April 9, 2019 at 12:21 pmI made this cake for my son for his 1st birthday and it turned out great. I replaced the maple syrup with apple sauce and it turned out fine. I also left it out of the yogurt frosting since my son gobbles down regular yogurt anyways. Baked it on a cookie sheet (formed a rectangle it does not fill the sheet) and then cut out 2 x #1 shapes after it was baked. Iced the #1s and stacked them with some blueberries and raspberries as decoration. He gobbled it up! I make just the cake and cut it up and freeze it and it makes a great easy snack. Thanks for the great recipe.
★★★★★
Amy Palanjian
April 9, 2019 at 1:33 pmI’m so glad to hear that it went well and thank you for sharing how you baked it! Happiest birthday to your son!
Alexandra
April 29, 2019 at 1:25 pmLove that you replaced maple syrup with apple sauce! Will definitely give that a try!
Melissa
March 25, 2019 at 10:55 amI’m so excited to try this recipe for my daughters first birthday this weekend! I’m curious is I can add fruit for a naturally sweet fruit flavor. I’ve read a lot of recipes with banana or even freeze dried strawberries. Is that something I could add to this recipe?
Amy Palanjian
March 25, 2019 at 1:33 pmHi Melissa! I haven’t tried it, but I think that adding a small handful of blueberries to the batter would work. The berries on top do add nice flavor of course. (If you want to look at other options, here’s a Banana Cake that’s delish and a Sweet Potato Apple Cake.)
Jen
March 15, 2019 at 4:43 pmDid anyone try this with removing the egg? Did it turn out?
Amy Palanjian
March 16, 2019 at 7:09 amI can test it for you this week if that works!
Amy Palanjian
March 23, 2019 at 4:07 pmHi Jen- I tried this two ways today without egg and have a good way to do this. For the ingredients, use:
1 cup oat flour
1/2 all purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 very ripe banana, mashed (about 1 cup sliced banana)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Then proceed with the recipe. They may need another 2-4 minutes to bake, but test it with a cake tester inserted into the center to be sure. It should come out clean. Let it cool completely in the pan. Store it in the fridge if you need to make it ahead. I hope that helps!
Susan
February 27, 2019 at 6:00 amHi ,
Can you suggest something to substitute eggs in this recipe? My baby can’t have eggs.
Thanks !
Susan
Amy Palanjian
February 27, 2019 at 9:53 amI don’t have an egg alternative for this recipe, I’m sorry!
Karen
February 22, 2019 at 3:23 amHi!
I’m currently looking into healthy smash cakes (as I’m not much of a baker) and your recipe looks like the one! But I was wondering if I can add a mashed banana or coconut oil to make the cake more dense/moist? Just thinking of incorporating foods my boy currently enjoys.
Amy Palanjian
February 22, 2019 at 9:02 amThe cake is very moist and dense as it is and I can’t say about those additions since I haven’t tried them. You could decorate the top of it with sliced bananas though!
Natalie
February 19, 2019 at 8:38 pmMy cake turned out really crumbly and broke into pieces! Where did I go wrong? It tastes delicious though!
Amy Palanjian
February 20, 2019 at 8:17 amDid you make any changes to the recipe? It may have been baked a little too long?
Ana
February 22, 2019 at 3:10 pmThe same thing happened to my cake. It was too crumbly and broke. I used vegan butter instead of regular one. Do you think that could be the reason?
Amy Palanjian
February 22, 2019 at 3:19 pmI haven’t made this with vegan butter so I can’t say but it’s possible. I’m sorry you had an issue though!
Tara Hudson
February 17, 2019 at 2:20 amFood photography is a separate art form, so far I’m not doing very well, but I read a lot about it and your blog helps me improve my food photo skills!
★★★★★
Judy
February 15, 2019 at 3:17 pmHi! Can I bake this cake in 5in glass pyrex bowls? If so, how might I have to adjust baking temp and time? Look forward to making this for my little one’s first birthday!
Amy Palanjian
February 15, 2019 at 3:26 pmI haven’t tried that so I can’t say for sure, but this might give you some clues on what to watch for with the timing!
https://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2018/03/29/glass-or-metal-or-stoneware/
Shraddha Naik
February 11, 2019 at 12:09 amHi, can i make this with honey instead of maple syrup that is used in the recipe?
★★★★★
Amy Palanjian
February 11, 2019 at 9:37 amYou can!
Hannah
January 28, 2019 at 9:43 pmHi there I cannot seem to find the recipe for the yoghurt frosting? Am I blind?! 🙂 Can you please tell me where to find it? I am hoping to make this for my girls first birthday tomorrow!
Amy Palanjian
January 29, 2019 at 9:59 amIt’s at the bottom of the recipe in the Notes section!
JoAnn
January 24, 2019 at 7:25 pmWhen the yogurt is sitting for 30 minutes or overnight do you keep it in the refrigerator at this time or after this time is finished?
Amy Palanjian
January 25, 2019 at 7:15 amYes, keep it in the fridge.
Mugglet
January 24, 2019 at 12:28 amThis sounds fantastic. Could I use cream cheese instead of the yoghurt for the icing? If so, I assume it wouldn’t be necessary to strain it first. My little girl’s first birthday party tomorrow and really keen for her to get to eat some cake.
Amy Palanjian
January 24, 2019 at 9:52 amAbsolutely! This is typically what I do for a cream cheese frosting:
Beat together 1 8-ounce package cream cheese (softened at room temperature), 2 tablespoons butter (softened at room temperature), 2-3 tablespoons honey, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla with a hand-held mixer. Pipe or spread onto cooled cakes.
Eva
January 19, 2019 at 8:58 amLooved the icing recipe! I didn’t use the cake recipe. I had planned to make banana bread as the cake. So I just slather this icing over it and done! Super easy to make. Everyone loved it including picky dad. Will make it again for sure. Thank you for the recipe.
★★★★★
Amy Palanjian
January 19, 2019 at 10:01 amHooray and I love the idea of using the icing with banana bread!
Erin
January 17, 2019 at 8:58 amThanks for replying so fast! If I redo it I am going to double the recipe so I can fill the pans a bit more. I used whole milk greek yogurt from trader joes. It also seemed like 1 cup was not going to be enough. I had to use coffee filters because I didn’t have a cheese cloth…maybe it wasn’t strained enough
Amy Palanjian
January 17, 2019 at 9:04 amThat sounds like a good idea given the pan size. You will need to bake them a little longer but use a cake tester or a toothpick in the center and stop baking when it comes out cleanly. (You should also be able to tell when the center gets firmed up.) You could add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to the batter to help it rise more but I think the main issue was likely that there simply wasn’t enough batter. If you don’t have cheesecloth, a thin kitchen towel might help strain it a little better. (I’m surprised that it was runny though, but I’m crossing my fingers that the second go turns out better!!)
Erie
January 17, 2019 at 6:30 amI used 6 in pans and my cake didn’t rise. There was barley enough batter to fill two cake pans. And then my frosting was extremely runny. This was a major fail for me. The taste of the cake was great and I’m considering trying it again 🤔 is the cake in the picture from a single recipe or was it doubled?? Wondering how mine could have been so off
Amy Palanjian
January 17, 2019 at 7:54 amHi! Making this in 6 inch pans would make the cakes thinner since they are wider than 5 inch pans and would need more batter. Did you make any other adjustments? If you used Greek yogurt and strained it, it should be thick. I’d love to help if you have any other info you can share!